Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1944)

December Z, 1944 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW 31 Results Prove Industry Knows How to Protect Star Property to selling departments of the company as well as theatres that will present "Can't Help Singing" may be found in certain details connected with the production. Spectacle was sought to give added scope to the Technicolor as well as the surroundings in which the star would sing the leading songs of a score written directly for the screen by one of the foremost modern composers of musical shows. Thus, eighty-five per cent of "Can't Help Singing" was filmed outdoors. Much of the action was photographed on location in Southern Utah, where the company spent three weeks making these sequences. Production on Elaborate Scale for Latest Whether it was a matter of reaching back for a bit of added luck as crowned Durbin's second picture, "One Hundred Men and a Girl," or merely a number chosen for the precise requirements of the scene, this reporter does not know, but anyway they chose a chorus of 100 men to sing with Deanna in the number, "Any Moment Now." Either way about, the fact remains that it is in such elements as these that the studio has exercised showmanship to point up both the picture and the content of the article as a popular attraction for the audience and for that potential audience that will be courted by the selling methods in behalf of "Can't Help Singing." Another "talking point" is the use of the largest outdoor set built in Hollywood since the beginning of the war. The set represents a portion of Sonora, California, in 1849 and includes three two-story buildings, half a dozen one-story structures, a chapel. a large patio built around a practical fountain, and a sizable market place. These are merely a few of the minor details that are to be used in the advertising campaign with which Universal will sell the public the idea of a rounded, colorful entertainment in which Deanna Durbin will star, and in which she will be supported by a cast that includes Robert Paige, Akim TamirofF, David Bruce, Leonid Kinskey, Ray Collins, June Vincent, Andrew Tombes, Thomas Gomez and others. These elements of the production (including the period in which the story takes place, the outdoor atmosphere, the love story, the cast names) have been stressed in advertising for the picture as is evident in the illustrations of typical examples of magazine, newspaper and poster displays shown with this article. They figure as added factors to the three chief selling angles of the star singing music by Jerome Kern and shown for the first time in Technicolor. Thus, from the obvious things about her new production and the selling of them through the advertising matter being used in the current big campaign for Deanna Durbin, as well as from an examination of the step-by-step progress that has been carried on by design since she was discovered as star material, it is apparent that the motion picture industry has the know-how of developing artistic talent of its own, and, furthermore, has within its own ranks the men and the methods for relating its production to merchandising of the pictures in a way that makes for efficient business enterprise. Sophistication was insinuated in Universal's campaign for "The Amazing Mrs. Holliday," as shown in this example. Nothing extreme, but plenty grown up by now was Deanna. The advertising strongly stressed that Deanna 'Durbin was a fullfledged romantic star in "Hers To Hold." Note catchiines: "Giving Her Lips In Surrender — Closing Her Eyes On Tomorrow." Small type brought out the fact that the star still sang, listing songs in the picture. Romance was the theme of "His Butler's Sister" advertising. By this time Deanna had developed into a full fledged star who could play almost any type of role. The star's photo dominated advertising, with just enough copy to indicate the mood of the picture. Universal went all out in "Christmas Holiday," in production, and in advertising, to bill the star as a gal who was no better than she should be. The intensely moving portrayal of her part was reflected in the mood of the advertising.