Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1942)

16 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW November 28, 1942 "I Married a Witch" is a fantastically funny film that combines two important and proven top elements of box-office success: pulsing romance and hilarious humor — and presents them in style and surroundings vastly and delightfully different from any picture your patrons have seen in a long, long time. The title is intriguing and the stars rank tops, which assures you of good business — BUT, if you give the picture the kind of a campaign it deserves, your doorman will clock a lot of new faces, your cashier will pass tickets to a lot of strange fingers and your bank account will enjoy a sizable increase. This is the kind of a picture that will, in the language of Charlie McCarthy, "Mow 'em down." It locates hidden funny bones and explores unsuspected humor veins with reckless abandon and you can be certain of making lasting friends of each and every person you induce to see it. United Artists have compiled a swell press book replete with good selling ideas and accessories. Look it over carefully, select what suits you and cash in. Perhaps you'll find these added slants, conforming to the action of the picture, helpful: Exploit-ation In the film Miss Lake attempts to feed March a love potion which makes the use of the often tried and always successful distribution of envelopes containing sand or leaves as love lures appropriate. The fact that a wedding figures so importantly in the footage makes the use of handbills made up like marriage licenses appropriate. Make the license read for Hi Larity and Ro Mance at your theatre. . The Witch angle and scenes at the start of the film make it fitting for you to get the youngsters to stage a torch-light parade on opening night and burn a "Hitler Witch" in effigy at some vacant lot or other selected spot. Heralds printed in two difTerent colors, one for men and one for women, with copy reading : "You'll bewitch him if you get him to take you to see etc." For the men change the word from "him" to "her." Have the ushers pass them to customers a full week in advance of playdate. Tieups with insurance companies and coal and wood dealers on the basis of conflagration scenes and shots of the Witch experiencing no difficulty in starting a fire in the grate should be easy to obtain as the film action fits right into their business. Get them to pay for the printing and distribution of handbills. Newspaper Co-op Advertising Sell the classified advertising manager on the idea of using heads of March and Lake in a promotional campaign headed: "If this couple were married tomorrow " and offer theatre tickets to the readers who select the best list of newly-wed needs from the goods advertised in the classified columns. This is good promotion for the paper and should get you several days of sizable display ads. To be "bewitching" is the goal of every woman and it should not be at all difficult to get the display department working on a page of merchant '^sfej.^teffCre art of Veronica Lake would be us^Ji^^^^ljpton^d to dresses, hats, shoes,^£h[ram^mMrl6«Ties, cosmetics, etc., that woUl^^l^ra^lle wearer bewitching. The fact that the Witch and heK^ispook" father start a fire without effort in°*an oldfashioned grate could be used to get advertising from coal and wood dealers whose wares promise to be in great demand due to fuel oil rationing. The Witch's father arrives in one scene clad in a bed sheet and asking where he can get clothes. Here's a chance for men's clothing store tieups. The wedding scene offers possibilities for cooperation with jewelers, florists, ladies ready-to-wear shops, men's evening clothes, etc. Newspaper and Radio Publicity The title and continuity of the picture lends admirably to capitalizing on the superstitions and mental vagaries that are so much a part of everybody's existence. A search among newspaper readers or radio listeners with theatre tickets offered as reward for the longest or the most unusual, list of superstitions would bring plenty of interesting and amusing replies and command a lot of attention to your show. Tied with it, or as a separate contest, could be a request for the submission of abbreviated details on strange or unaccountable experiences of readers or listeners. In the film Miss Lake makes no secret of her desire to be the object of Fredric March's afifections. This is an excellent point on which to get discussion started among the ladies on the moot question : should a woman propose and under what circumstances is such departure from the allegedly "usual" practice permissible? This is the kind of debatable matter that holds surefire reader and listener interest of the kind editors and station managers desire most. They'll grab at the chance to cooperate. On the more serious side you can capitalize on the fact that Miss Lake is rescued from a burning hotel by interesting the editor in a series of stories paying tribute to the men in the local fire department. Every citizen has a soft spot in his heart for the men who constantly risk their lives fighting fires and the opportunities to manifest their appreciation of the service rendered are few and far between. Staging a local Firemen's Fund benefit with' tickets sold in advance ; getting a series of stories, relating the experiences of local fire fighters, run on a day-to-day basis ; having the local department demonstrate apparatus and maneuvers in front of the theatre ; entertaining the volunteers who are learning the work as a war and defense emergency with demonstrations on stage, etc., are just a few of the possibilities of getting reader space or radio time in connection with this angle. Also on the serious side is the possibility of capitalizing on Miss Lake's need of clothes at the time of her rescue. Holding a matinee where old garments were accepted in lieu of admission tickets with the discards turned over to charitable organizations or taking advantage of the Government drive for old rags needed in war work would result in good newspaper space and word-of-mouth publicity. The general humor of the film could be impressed by a contest where readers submitted a 100 word account of the picture that caused them to laugh longest and loudest. A safety campaign could be pinned on the scene where a taxi, driven by the Witch's "spook" papa, actually flies through space. Excellent women's page cooperation is possible on a contest framed to conform to the prevalent nutrition program and at the same time capitalize on Miss Lake's pursuit of her chosen man. Base the contest on the premise that the best love formula is to know how to cook. Have the contestants answer the question, "what I'd feed my man'' with complete 7 day menus. Radio programs are stressing the importance of teaching cooking and nutrition in schools instead of subjects of less general benefit and the contest should be welcomed by press or radio officials. Ballyhoo Witch attire is easy and inexpensive to make, so have a couple of kids outfitted and riding broomsticks with signs on their backs reading: "We're having lots of fun and so will you if you go to see etc., etc." Trailer Give it punch by having flares set to go oflf immediately before showing; or witch cutouts spotted at either side of the stage ; or run a green overlay slide ; or have one of the house employes attired as a Witch ride a broom back and forth across stage wbile trailer is being shown. Stage The fact that a wedding figures so importantly makes the holding of a stage wedding with all of the consequent publicity very appropriate. Get a soldier and his girl to take part and have service men in uniform as attendants. The merchants will give the presents. The Witch's "spook" papa is always retiring into a smoke-filled bottle or disappearing in smoke. Get some of the gang from the poolroom or off the corners to take part in a contest to find the best smoke-ring blower. A magician performing tricks of legerdemain is also appropriate. Lobby Give the lobby an eerie effect by using green and purple cellophane to cover the bulbs. Don't make it too dark but if you arrange to decorate with straw-bundled broomsticks, black cats, witch hats, etc., and then tone the lighting you will entice a lot of customers. Most of the material and efl^ects can be moved to the front and onto the marquee for current exhibition. Using a tea-leaf reader or fortune teller in some corner of the lobby will also do a good job of advance selling. Have her give out cards carrying copy on the ])icture. Front .A couple of the animated displays shown in the press book would be efifective, particularly if you spot them with a green light. Make the front as "spooky" as possible in the lighting effects and depend on the [loster copy to sell tlic comedy angle.