Universal Weekly (1920, 1923-27)

24 Universal Weekly March 1, 1924 Puppy Stunt Attracted Crowds to “White Tiger” “White Tiger” Puppy Tie-up for Loew’s Ottawa AN improved variation of the old “turtle stunt” was worked to great effect by Captain Goodale, manager, and 0. J. Harris, assistant manager, of Loew’s Ottawa Theatre, for “White Tiger,” when that Universal-Jewel played the Canadian house. Besides their ingenious stunt, these enterprising showmen were responsible for a particularly attractive lobby display on the Dean production. Liggett’s drug store, situated on one of the principal business thoroughfares, donated a window to the stunt a local dog store in exchange for the while the livestock was obtained from advertising copy carried on the display signs. Ten puppies, each wearing a blanket whereon was a letter from the words, “White Tiger,” frolicked and romped in the window, attracting huge crowds. The people massed ten deep in front of the window all day; in fact, it was necessary to wait until after midnight before a photograph could be obtained. Prizes totalling twenty-five dollars were offered to those first solving the “It Can Be Done” question : What Do The Puppies Say ? As the animals were continually jumping about and running in and out, it was most difficult to make sense of the letters on their blankets. The most difficult part of the whole undertaking, however, was tying the blankets on the squirming pups, according to Mr. Harris, who ought to know. The following week, a fine display in the window announced the name of the attraction and the theatre, as well as the list of winning contestants. The stunt was actually the talk of the town, and was instrumental in bring considerable business to the theatre during its run of the UniversalJewel. The Loew’s Ottawa lobby display was equally attractive and novel, and is indicative of the dramatic and artistic possibilities to be obtained from Universal posters. It demonstrates, also, the imagination and . showmanship of these two men, by the methods they used in deriving the greatest possible benefit from the poster on the UniversalJewel. A shadow box, about four feet wide, four feet deep, and eight feet high, was placed at the foot of the main staircase. A cut-out of the “White Tiger” six-sheet was made and placed on a compo board floor, with one “board” torn up. A considerable amount of flashy (paste) jewelry was scattered about, a black cat in cut-out form, a broken mirror, and a calendar displaying the date, Friday, the 13th, helped stress many of the most vivid dramatic sequences of the production. The entire interior of the shadow box was painted a dead black, with the only illumination coming from a baby spot placed in the lower left-hand corner. This gave the effect of a burglar’s lantern resting on the floor and threw heavy shadows against the background, heightening the effect immeasurably. It is of interest to note that the entire house weekly, issued by the Ottawa Theatre, was composed of material taken from the Universal press book on “White Tiger.” play date, not only locally, but also in two adjacent towns. Heralds were placed in all parked automobiles, and distributed among all the Hart business houses. An advertisement of considerable size was run in the local newspaper a week in advance. “In a small town you have to make your patrons feel they are getting their money’s worth,” writes Mr. Harris, “which they certainly do in Universal pictures. Mr. Laemmle is a world-beater in producing pictures, and I’m for him, 100%.” Loew’s Ottawa Display And How HOW a super-picture can be made to draw to capacity in a small town, was demonstrated by Manager F. N. Harris of the Amuse Theatre, Hart, Michigan. Mr. Harris recently presented “Merry Go Round” and “A Lady of Quality,” and instead of being handicapped by the fact that both pictures had been shown a few weeks before in Detroit, this enterprising showman took advantage of the situation and obtained a banner box-office in consequence. Simultaneously with the Detroit run on these UniversalJewels’ Mr. Harris displayed in his lobby advertisements on the two productions as they appeared in the Detroit dailies. Slides describing the character of the productions and their previous successful runs in other communities were projected three week before the pictures came to Hart. One-sheets, photos, press-matter, window cards and heralds were distributed and posted four days before Amuse Theatre, Hart, Mich.