Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1944)

28 SHOWMEN'STRADEREVIEW December 2, 1944 "It started With Eve" was a romantic comedy — with Charles Laughton motivating the laughs. Robert Cummings was chosen for the third time to play opposite Miss Durbin and won the gal. Comedy ran rampant but the romance was there all the time. Just before "The Amazing Mrs. Holiday" was produced Miss Durbin reached her 21st birthday. Crown up now, the studio's direction allowed Deanna to show sufficient sophistication to make her part convincing. Edmund O'Brien was her leading man. In "Hers To Hold" a full-fledged romantic star burst forth in all her glory. Joseph Gotten was co-starred and was part two of the crushing embrace you see here. The audience was almost as amazed as the butler in the background — but they loved it! Deanna had arrived! r Two male stars appeared with Deanna in "His Butler's Sister," but there was no mistake about Miss Durbin's importance in the picture. Her name led Franchot Tone and Pat O'Brien in the advertising and her part enhanced her future. Double Scope and Budget for Campaign on New Production {Continued from Page 27) presentation of some of the "Can't Help Singing" music on the Texaco Star Theatre radio program, the song, "More and More," was Hsted among the first twelve most played songs on the networks during the week. This advance publicity laid the groundwork for the break of the advertising phase which capitalizes the music score. Radio advertising that will be timed to coincide with key-run openings contemplates a schedule of from two to four weeks in advance of each important premiere and will be tied chiefly to the popular reception and acceptance set up by the publicity on the music Durbin will sing in the picture. The schedule calls for five-minute programs and one-minute announcements reinforced by a continuing parade of station break announcements to lead up to openings. Newspaper advertising, also, will be timed to actual openings rather than in accordance with a simultaneous national break. The one possible exception to this might be the publication dates of "Can't Help Singing" advertisements in This Week, newspaper magazine section ; Pictorial Review, section of the Hearst papers, and other similar commitments. In the handling of the newspaper advertising, Universal's advertising department is set to use just about as much space as is available, and extra eflfort is being exerted to use two-color newspaper displays wherever such printing is used by or acceptable to newspapers. The advertisements will run from 1000 lines to full-page tabloid and regular-size displays, with all, or at least the heaviest proportion of the particular budget for a specific city, to run on opening day of "Can't Help Singing." This selling job and the production elements and handling that have gone into the new screen vehicle for Universal's star claim more special notice in the industry because many observers see in the efifort recognition of an economic factor that applies importantly to all branches of the business. This is the noticeable potential, losses that have occurred when a young "name" or personality, having a definite dollars-and-cents value at the box-offices, was lost, in some cases at the very peak of their popularity, because they had outgrown certain roles or types of pictures. In effect Universal has launched Deanna Durbin on a new career that appears to have been planned for and which probably was in the making before the company starred her in her last picture, "Christmas Holiday." Theatremen are entirely familiar with the background of the star and can appreciate that there evidently has been a high (Continued on Page 30) Universal took an all-out gamble in fhe production of "Christmas Holiday"! The star's singing was played down! She sang, but as a minor part of a girl who was driven to anti-social activity — to state politely. The studio and Miss Durbin won the gamble, as audiences acclaimed star and production.