Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1949)

18 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, December 31, 1949 THE NEW PRESS BOOKS GIRL FIGURES HAIL COMING ATTRACTIONS. Five cut-out girl figures, four of which are shown here, have been on display in the lobby of Loew's Theatre, Rochester, N. Y., to herald such coming attractions as MGM's "That Forsyte Woman," "The Red Danube," "The " Doctor and the Girl," "Battleground" and "Intruder in the Dust." We don't know for sure, but we'd guess that as each attraction plays, it is replaced by the announcement of a new one. You, too, probably have some big shows coming up. Why not try this? Snow Doesn^t Stop ^McCoy^ Sq. Dance Square dances, like the show, must go on, in the opinion of Manager Jim Burgess of the Chief Theatre in Pueblo, Colo., who let neither rain nor a light snow postpone the square dance he had arranged as part of his exploitation for "Roseanna McCoy." The only difference the inclement weather made in the arrangements was to change the locale from in front of the plant housing the Chieftain and Star-Journal, which were cooperating, to the spacious studio of radio station KCSJ which occupies an upper floor of the same building. The change of place did not lessen the promotional effectiveness of the dance, for the editors of the two newspapers and the KCSJ personnel went all-out to help publicize the event. Many stories and art appeared in the newspapers for more than a week in advance and during the day of bad weather which forced the open-air dance to take cover in the studio. The station gave it special plugs and broadcasts in advance and on dance date. Spectators, as well as the dancerS' were invited up to the studio and, as a large number of residents had never seen the inside of a radio studio, there was a large attendance to spread word-of-mouth about the dance and the picture which it was designed to exploit. The picture did excellent business despite the weather, says a report from Pueblo. RKO Field Man T. Bidwell McCormick helped Manager Burgess put the promotion across despite the weather handicap. Notables Are invited To 'O'Riordans' Premiere Governor Thomas E. Dewey, Mayor and Mrs. William O'Dwyer and scores of other notables have been invited by the Australian Consul General in New York, Lieutenant General Edward Kenneth Smart, D.S.C., M.C., to attend a special invitational performance of Universal-International's "The Rugged O'Riordans" at the Park Avenue Theatre Jan. 4. The showing, which will mark the American premiere of the film, promises to bring out a large number of dignitaries. 'Third Man' Bow Now Set for Jan. 18 Originally scheduled to be held Jan. 4, the .A^merican premiere of Carol Reed's "The Third Man" will take place Jan. 18 at the Victoria Theatre for the benefit of the Lighthouse of the New York Association for the Blind. Society, political, business and theatrical notables will attend the affair, proceeds of which will go to the Lighthouse, which serves over 4,000 blind people of all ages, creeds and races. Smiley Holds Search For Talented Youth Smiley Burriette, who co-stars with Charles Starrett in Columbia's series of "Durango Kid" westerns, conducted a talent search in the lobby of the New York Theatre on Wednesday afternoon, with an eye to finding a city youngster whom he could take to Hollywood. For the first 1,000 children who attended, Smiley provided free Cokes and free comics. All children had their pictures taken with him and were eligible to win a pony or its cash equivalent. Baby Carriage Ballyhoo An usher in football uniform, pushing a baby carriage with two kids in it about town, was the ballyhoo arranged for "Father Was A Fullback" by Manager Art Castner of the Seneca, Salamanca, N. Y. Santa Stays On Santa Glaus stayed around Asbury Park and Morristowr, N. J., for an extra week to ballyhoo "Holiday Affair," the New Year's Eve attraction at Reade's Asbury Mayfair and Morristowm Community theatres. St. Nick walked around the streets bearing this sign: "I'm staying around until New Year's Eve to see 'Holiday Affair'." Active in persuading the jolly old gentleman to hang around were Asbury City Manager Guy Hevia and Morristown City Manager Ralph Lanterman. That there is plenty to see "on the town" is amply evidenced in MGM's four-column newspaper ad on its Technicolor musical, "On the Town," which you'll find on the coyer of the press book. Of course, the things to be seen are among the highlights of the picture, and they are illustrated and described in the outer edges of the ad which surround a tilted panel with advertising copy and silhouette illustration of the principal characters. This "outer-edge" material should prove just as potent a seat-seller as the material in the panel. Take a look at the other ads — they're gay and spirited and do an excellent job of creating a desire to see the musical. How about having that 24-sheet cut out for a marquee topper? Some enterprising exhibitor will utilize the cover of United Artists' press book on "Mrs. Mike" in an advance or current lobby board, for it has definite attention-getting elements. It is better seen than described, so look for it. In some ad layouts the outdoor appeal of the Canadian wilderness is uppermost (for your outdoor and action fans) with the love interest underplayed, while in others the love interest predominates (remember the women, for probably more women read the book than men) with the outdoor appeal underplayed. Naturally, there is a book reproduction in every layout, for the novel was immensely popular. In connection with this, you'll find the line, "A Great Book Becomes a Greater Picture" in most of the displays, and you'd do well to use it wherever possible. It's no blurb — it's the truth! ❖ ^ % Another novel-to-screen case is Columbia's "All the King's Men," and that factor is pointed up in this line, which appears in many of the ads: "The Pulitzer Prize Winning Novel Becomes a Vital. Very Great Motion Picture." The character of Willie Stark — "he might have been a pretty good guy ... if too much power . . . and women . . . hadn't gone to his head . . ." — is outstanding in the layouts surrounded '"n some instances by the other characters who play important parts in the picture. One of the compelling catchlines is "The Story of a Big Shot . . His Morals, His Manners, and His Women." Along the exploitation I ne, book stunts are in abundance, and the reason is obvious. But there are also numerous o*her selling angles that should not be overlooked. New Promotion Policy Set Up at Eagle Lion A new policy under which special promotion men will be engaged and charged with the responsibility of creating national tie^'ps and national exploitation angles on individual major films from the time they go before the cam'^ras until their regional premieres, has been instituted at Eagle Lion by'Leon Brandt, director of advertising, publicity and exploitation. First film to receive the new treatment will be "The Sundowners." National exploitation and tieups for this film will be handle(^ by Joe Clair, former United Artists exploitation representative, who has joined EL to onerate under the supervision of Exploitation Manager Lige 200 Color Contest Entries Two hundred entries in a two-day coloring contest, on "The Story of Seabiscuit." featured Walt Brubaker's advance campaign at the Wooster Theatre, Wooster, O.