Showmen's Trade Review (Jul-Sep 1942)

Augiisf 1, 1942 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW 15 Your Chance to Sell a New Laugh Team AT A time when laughs are badly needed to ease the public mind and detract from the terrors of war news, "Joan of Ozark" comes pretty close to being just what the doctor ordered to step up morale. Canova and Comedy and Brown and Bombast are as inseparably associated with howls of laughter in the minds of amusement seekers as ham and eggs and [Kirk and beans to the appeasement of hunger. And — "Joan of Ozark" will meet all expectations. The teaming of this pair in one picture offers an excellent opportunity to promise your patrons double portions of glee and giggles, and the fact that in this picture they are engaged in circumventing the sabotage and espionage activities of a band of Axis spies adds the prospect of capitalizing on the current headlines of the steps being taken by the F.B.L to apprehend these groups. The exploitation possibilities are unlimited. The press book is replete with execellent material for newspaper and novelty advance. Outstanding is the five episode serialization which is short enough to get the attention of editors anxious to meet the demands of readers for shorter serial stories. Each episode is illustrated and the set available in mat form from the Exploitation Department of Republic Pictures Corporation, 1790 Broadway, New York City, without cost. Should the serial not be acceptable there is a five-column mat of illustrations, with a brief outline of the story as footnotes, available free from the same source. Many Novelties Are Available Door hangers, joke books, animated cards and other novelties for pass-outs, are of¥ered in sufficient variety and price range to fit any theatre budget. These are well conceived and should incite ticket buying interest. A good advance stunt would be to take advantage of the farmer hats and sunbonnets shown in the press book for use on ushers and cashiers a week or two before opening. The effect might be further enhanced by putting employes in overalls. A good portion of the action takes place on a farm with the music of hillbilly bands providing background for the merrymaking of the country folk. It may be possible for you to stage a contest among the local groups of hillbilly bands one week in advance of playdate, with the prize consisting of a paid engagement for the winners during the showing of the film. Another contest that would certainly attract a lot of attention would be the staging of a yelling contest in front of the theatre just before opening each night. Make contestants yell some sentence to stimulate the sale of War Bonds and Stamps and award prizes to those coming closest to the volume demonstrated by Joe E. Brown in the picture when he beats Judy in sending his voice over the hills. A 'Natural' for the Ruralites This is a natural for tie-ups with the rural customers and, with the fall season coming up, it would be possible to get excellent newspaper and radio cooperation to a contest to locate the best home-canned jars of fruit or preserves. This would tie in with the Government program to encourage home canning, and if the samples submitted were displayed in the lobby prior to the picture opening with cards showing the names of entrants and announcements naming participants carried in the paper and over the radio, you should get wide coverage. Select competent judges to make awards on the last night of the engagement. In the picture Judy shoots a pigeon that happens to be carrying a message to the spy ring. On this angle you might interest the editor in a human-interest contest based on the best carrier pigeon stories sent in by readers. A good street bally could be put out with a Gives You Plenty of Ideas For Profitably Exploiting JOE E. BROWN JUDY CANOVA in 'Joan of Ozark man and woman, attired in gaudy clothes, going about the business district peeking into doorways, etc., with signs reading : "We're looking for the dull moments that are entirely missing in the picture, 'Joan of Ozark,' at the Blank Theatre." Possibility of another newspaper tie-up that would give impetus to the widely publicized women-in-war-work movement can be planted in connection with the song. Lady at Lockheed, which Judy sings as accompaniment for a dancing chorus in a night club scene. Get letters from local girls telling what they are doing or what they are capable of doing to enhance the war effort. Another song. Backwoods Barbecue, — a long scene in the film — could be used to plant a backwoods' cooking recipe contest with prizes for the best barbecue sauce, etc. If square dances are being held any place in your community you could get attentioncompelling cooperation by tie-ups with the managers offering tickets for the best callers, dancers, etc. An old fiddler's contest is also appropriate for Let This Still Work for You The photo above, one of the scenes from "Joan of Ozark," typifies the title character essayed by Judy Canova in the picture. Therefore, it should be one of the scene cuts used in your newspaper publicity campaign. At the same time, it would serve a valuable purpose as a lobby or marquee cutout when blown up. On the basis of the rifle, you might be able to effect a tieup with a hardware store. The still number: nine. this attraction. This could be augmented by staging one of the old-time "tacky parties," giving free admission to the 20 couples adjudged the "tackiest" and having the fiddlers entertain with dance music for everybody coming in costume. The dance would be held for an hour after the last show. The cost would be trivial and the interest generated would make it profitable. In one scene of the picture Joe does an imitation of Hitler. You could easily get the youngsters to participate in a comic "Hitler impersonation" contest for a special kid matinee. Tie-ups with shooting galleries and merchants operating the new electric-eye target games tliat everybody is patronizing are possible by offering tickets to the high weekly scorer. Where space permits you could use a cutout of Judy with the shotgun that appears on the one-sheet. The end of the film shows Joe and Judy married and blessed with a very large family. On this angle you could stage a "large family" night allowing all of the children to be admitted free with paid tickets by fathers and mothers. Or you might get good radio or newspaper cooperation by offering free admission to all sweethearts or married couples whose names are Joe and Judy. Yesteryear Comedy Teams Contest This being the first teaming of Joe E. Brown and Judy Canova you may be able to plant a contest with the newspaper offering prizes to the readers who provide the longest lists of famous past screen comedy teams. Marie Dressier and Polly Moran, Wallace Beery and Raymond Hatton, Laurel and Hardy, etc. Joe E. Brown has made more than fifty pictures in his movie career, and if the "old laugh team" contest don't happen to hit with the editor, you might be able to interest him in soliciting the longest list of Joe E. Brown pictures from the readers. If you happen to have a house artist, you can make an excellent set-piece for advance, and use on the marquee current, from the line drawing of Judy astride a charger, armed with a lance, pursuing a Hitler in horned helmet. The heads of Joe and Judy on the six-sheet can be mounted for use at either side of the cashier's cage. Play up the comedy on the "hillbilly blitz, nosey-Nazi" angle as much as possible, since the spy angle is a little too ticklish right now to be treated in comic vein by papers or radio who are undoubtedly anxious to keep readers impressed with the seriousness of the espionage situation. Angle for War Industry Towns This last paragraph gives rise to a possible tie-up for theatres in towns where war industries are located whereby the workers in plants would write letters to the management outlining "How foreign spies could hamper production" or some other appropriate theme. The contest would simply ask workers to use their imagination and point out weaknesses in the guarding of tools, plans, machinery, etc., that could possibly open the way to successful sabotage by the unprincipled, unethical and tricky acts of enemy agents. It would probably be necessary for the contents of the letters to be kept secret and remain in the possession of plant authorities, but they might result in calling attention to some serious neglect in the established precautionary methods. The same idea could be carried out in towns not having war industry by getting the opinioi>s of city employes, air raid wardens, etc., about faults in the precautionary measures now taken to protect city reservoirs, electric generating plants, bridges, dams, etc. This is as far as we go — it's up to you to carry on from here to insure big returns.