Showmen's Trade Review (Jul-Sep 1941)

September 6, 1941 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW Page 17 For Better Shoiv Selling Showmanalyses Have Appeared In STR on Following Pictures Big Store June 21 Billy the Kid May 31 Blood and Sand May 24 Blossoms in the Dust July 26 Bride Came C.O.D July 19 Charley's Aunt Aug. 2 l;evil ar-l M Innr \pnl 19 Dr. Jekyll and Mr.' Hyde Sept. 6 Here Comes Mr. Jordan Aug. 16 Ice-Capades Aug. 23 In the Navy June 7 Lady From Cheyenne April 12 Lydia Aug. 30 New Wine Aug. 9 One Night in Lisbon June 14 Penny Serenade April 26 Puddin' Head June 28 Rookies on Parade May 3 Sis Hopkins April 5 There's Magic In Music May 17 Tom, Dick and Harry July 5 Woman's Face May 10 'Personal Letter' to Hitler Is Ad Idea for 'Men of Boys Town' Residents of Ronan, Montana, were surprised recently to see an unusual form of advertising on "Men of Boys Town." Concocted by Manager Ted Taylor of the Gaiety Theatre, it was a mimeographed sheet containing a "personal letter" from Taylor to Adolf Hitler "wherever you are in Germany or elsewhere." Speaking of the assertions that Hitler is "coming over here one of these days," Taylor advises him that before he gets here "I will have played 'Men of Boys Town' . . . and that great picture will make several hundred people of this community very happy." "You know, Adolf," the manager continues, "we have a great humanitarian over here ; he is known by the name of Father Flanagan. The world has learned part of the story of his life in the great moving picture, 'Boys Town,' but now we are going to complete the story in 'Men of Boys Town' right here at the Gaiety Theatre in Ronan. It's a good thing you won't be here to see it 'cause you'd surely feel ashamed." Concluding the letter, Taylor contends that " 'Men of Boys Town' . . . stands for everything you don't." A cartoon showing the ramshackled "palace" that will be "awaiting you when you come over" accompanies the letter. It was sketched by Erma Lofts. Girls Casually Read Novel A highly effective method of bringing "The Stars Look Down" to the attention of many thousands of persons was the stunt employed by Phil Laufer, publicity director of Loew's Criterion, N. Y., for two days in advance of and during the film's premiere. Laufer arranged for three girls to visit some of Gotham's busiest spots in the Times Square and Radio City area, to stand in groups and, with apparent casualness, to read copies of the A. J. Cronin novel of the same title on which the film is based. The girls were dressed in ordinary street clothes, resembling the average stenographer or salesgirl. That's Me! Oh Yeah? Prove It! Photos made by a roving street photographer were posted in the lobby of the State, Rhinelander, Wis., as a feature of the "They Met in Bombay" campaign put over by Sam Miller. Those persons identifying themselves received s;uest tickets. Promotes $100,000 Art Exhibit In Season's Most Unique Tieup Auto Club Cooperates With Soriero in Making Display a Successful, Profitable Venture So far as we know, and so far as Thomas D. Soriero knows, no other theatre in the United States has had the benefit of the type of exhibit he promoted a few weeks ago at the United Artists Theatre, Los Angeles. Soriero promised us something unusual and different when he first informed us of the promotion, and we must readily admit, after studying the material carefully, that we have never seen anything like it. It truly is unusual and different. We may sound prejudiced, so we'll let you judge for yourself. Promoting the special exhibit required much advance work to put it across, and Soriero suffered many disappointments until it was finally achieved. The idea first came to him following the booking of "Billy the Kid." Knowing that it was an outdoor picture and that it was filmed in Technicolor, the enterprising manager wanted to make a tieup out of the ordinary. He hit upon the idea of showing the Auto Club of Southern California a new field wherein a theatre tieup would prove valuable to them. Soriero had a good reason for making this move. In the first place, he knew it was the tourist season and that most of those coming to California would contact the Auto Club for information. Because the Club has 130,000 members, because he wanted to reach these tourists and make them movie-minded, the theatreman persuaded the head of Wheeler Illuminated Transparencies of Scenic Art to tie in with him. And so, within a short time, the lobby of United Artists Theatre became a beautiful art gallery showing the transparent displays. Most of the scenes were chosen to fit the outdoor locale of "Billy the Kid." Now that the exhibit is continuing, at least for the remainder of the summer, the pictures vary in subject manner and scenic locale. Each is an enlarged, transparent photo and each depicts a scene typically Americana. The entire display is valued at a figure in excess of $100,000. "It makes a great show in the lobby," Soriero reports. "You can't visualize the effect of this marvelous exhibit unless you attend the United Artists Theatre." But to get back to the work required to make the exhibit possible, to make it a goodwill stunt and at the same time a profitable venture for the theatre. Through the tieup with the Auto Club, tourists who visited its offices were told to be sure and see the exhibit — labeled the "Call of the Open Road" exhibit at the United Artists. For example, if tourists were headed for Yosemite, they were told they should see the beautiful illuminated pictures of Yosemite. This encouraged them to visit the theatre. In this way, the Club was rendering a valuable service to its members and to tourists, for the exhibit, under this form of advertising, couldn't help but sell the theatre, the state and the attraction being featured at the time. On display at each entrance of the Club was a 40x60 display of the picture on view at the United Artists. During the first week, over 10,000 people telephoned or visited the Club, and all were told about the attraction. So pleased was the Auto Club with its initial tieup with a theatre that it asked Soriero to continue the exhibit, which he has done. But he changes the transparencies to tie in with the current attraction as nearly as possible. Likewise, the head of Wheeler Illuminated Transparencies was also highly pleased with the success of the campaign. Soriero has had many calls from downtown business men seeking permission to display certain transparencies in their establishments. He permitted some of the pictures to be shown at certain spots in conjunction with the tieup. In turn, these stores boosted the theatre to their customers. All of this activity was of mutual benefit to everyone participating. Stories were planted in leading newspapers and also in several neighborhood publications. Radio stations KRKD, KMTR, KMPC and KFOX tied in with announcements concerning the exhibit. It cannot be impressed on the reader too strongly that Soriero's unusual tieup was made at no cost whatever to the theatre. He believes it can be effected in other theatres of the deluxe type throughout the country.. The lobby of the United Artists Theatre, Los Angeles, became a beautiful art gallery with the display of Wheeler Illuminated Transparencies, valued at thousands of dollars. The Auto Club of Southern California urged tourists to view the pictures.