Showmen's Trade Review (Jan-Mar 1947)

16 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, March 1, 1947 SELLING THE PICTURE And the Margies Stood Up Allan Grant, manager of Century's Patio in Brooklyn, recently came up with a novel way to distribute passes. Just before the feature presentation was to go on, Allan had the house lights go up and appeared on stage to make the folowing announcement: "Will the ladies in the audience with the name 'Margie' please stand up? The ushers will please give the ladies standing a pass to be our guests on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to see 20th-Fox's Technicolor musical hit 'Margie' with Jeanne Crain." Twenty-three passes were given out, and the audience was delighted with the gag. 'Black Beauty' Double Search Haitford Stunt A search for a "Black Beauty" double in the ranches and riding clubs of Hartford, Conn., was handled by Manager Fred R. Greenway of Loew's Poli-Palace and Manager Lou Cohen of Loew's Poli, Hartford, in connection with the showing of "Black Beauty." Horse got 100 pounds of oats. The theatres ran a "Black Beauty" drawing contest in a Hartford daily. Winners got guest tickets. A "Black Beauty" cocktail was sponsored by a downtown Hartford restaurant in connection with the run. Plugs for the picture were arranged over "Man in the Street" type broadcasts Because the picture was booked in during the Christmas shopping period, a man dressed up in Santa Claus attire paraded through the downtown section, with a card : "Hanging around for opening day of 'Black Beauty.' " The Palace gave away free copies of the book: "Black Beauty," to the first 10 patrons on the opening day. Endorsement of the picture was obtained from the SPCA, which cooperated in promotion of the film. Window and counter displays were set up in downtown department and book stores. Staffs of the Palace and Poli aided Greenway and Cohen with the campaign. — HFD. YOU CAN DO IT. In advance of the showing of Columbia's "The Jolson Story" in Baltimore, Izzy Rappaport (seated), owner of the Hippodrome, "signed a longterm contract" for the film with Sam Galanty (left), Columbia division manager, and Sid Zins, Columbia exploiteer made up a la Jolson, looking on. Of course it was a publicity stunt, and because of that black-face gag, it hit the newspapers. No reason why other exhibitors can't duplicate it, unless blackface makeup, toupees and white gloves are not available in their communities. George Exploits 'Verdict' Through Guessing Game Guessing the number of faces in a huge lobby display in the form of a montage of crowds and groups of faces was a promotion stunt that S. F. George, manager of the Paramount Theatre in Atlanta, used with excellent results for the engagement of Warners' "The Verdict." Prizes were offered to persons making the closest guesses. A panel above the display of heads asked : "What is your 'Verdict' ?" Beside the display was a box into which all making guesses deposited a slip with their names, addresses and estimates of the total number of faces. Over a period of five days more than 5,000 slips were deposited in the box — a total that proved the effectiveness of George's idea and the way in which he carried it out. Dozens of stills of Warner pictures were used in making up the display, with the figures of "Verdict" stars, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Joan Lorring, standing out prominently. ©'Rear Finds 7 Sisters In 'Sister's Secret' Stunt Seven daughters of Mrs. P. M. Kirkpatrick answered the call of Jack O'Rear, Colonial manager, Harrisburg, who advertised he would hold a theatre party for the family having the largest number of sisters. This was in connection with the showing of PRC's "Her Sisters's Secret." Kaye Witmer, who emcees "This Woman's World" over WKBO, assisted in the search. Radio folk also were enlisted to aid in searching for sisters named Du Bois in another contest idea of O'Rear. Green's Jamboree aided in this stunt and plugged the film also. The Montgomery travel bureau and Bowman's department store arranged windows showing Mardi Gras scenes, while fifteen 11 x 14 signs and 32 announcements were arranged for the film. — HAR. Ull of Italy Covered By 'Saratoga Trunk' Tieup In a tieup arranged by the Warner Bros, office in Rome with the publishers of the Italian version of Edna Ferber's novel, "Saratoga Trunk," extensive promotion was obtained for the picture just before its general release in Italy. The publishers posted the country with ads, distributed several hundred thousand leaflets, arranged bookstore window displays and sponsored various other exploitation activities, giving mention to the film in each case. For the window displays in key cities throughout Italy, the Warner branch offices supplied stills from the picture. Twin-Baby Contest 'Abie' Landslide in San Francisco A twin baby contest in which a $50 savings bond was offered to each of the twins born soonest after the start of "Abie's Irish Rose," Bing Crosby's production for United Artists release, at the United Artists Theatre in San Francisco, turned into a promotional landslide, garnering publicity far beyond the hopes of Kenneth Means, maager of the theatre, who fathered the idea. Telephone calls were made to each of the city's hospitals in order that the birth of the prize-winning twins could be recorded accurately. Harry Smith, columnist of the San Francisco Chronicle, was first to announce the novel contest almost a week before opening day, with interest mounting daily as successive stories described the stunt. Another piece of fine exploitation was carried out with the appearance of Santa Claus on Market Street. A portly individual, attired in complete Christmas wardrobe, paraded through the downtown section with a sign reading : "I stayed over to see 'Abie's Irish Rose'." All credits were listed. On opening night, each lady patron entering the theatre was given an American Beauty Rose, suggested from the story line of the picture. The giveaway was highly publicized in advance. The flowers were donated by Podesta and Baldocchi, prominent florists. Floral displays with credits to "Abie" were also used by the two Podesta and Baldocchi shops, one in the downtown business section, the other in the Fairmont Hotel. Jack Malloy of Station KYA made considerable mention of both the giveaways and the "Twin Baby" contest on his broadcasts. In other exploitation, all the Murphys and the Levys listed in the telephone directory were contacted and told their names would be mentioned on the screen in "Abie's Irish Rose." Irish radio programs dedicated time to a description of the picture. Maximum newspaper space was allocated for the campaign, with 45 spot anouncements being read three consecutive days through opening. HOTEL LOBBY DISPLAYS like this were placed with more than 20 beach hotels for the world premiere of the new Harold Lloyd film, "The Sin of Harold Diddlebock," at the Lincoln, Miami. All were colored 40x60 photographic enlargements tastefully framed.