Variety (Sep 1934)

mRIETY lnHci»lii7t September II, 1934 Yhi) eyiM hav« b6«A routed out to «tv« A ai^ld white excettt for the l^uiHi »r4 H attindH o^t fiiw^ haIfion# tn^ iUch a faiiWon tfiitt the efff)<»t is att«ivCton riyet«d $0 th0 face as thi sheK Ih exposeit; It*H unoan»y in a wiiy and supr Rests that lai^je fa<'os in newspiUK^r adH may be similarly tmited. JVt- liaps WaiiKh has or will use the trirk for Sunday ad.s. It's ocriainly a winner. Cut .selected should be the uniform grey of the halfttme M:ith the eyeH Hlightly above the center of the space. First time used tt kill ^nythtiMir el«e on U19 Ol. Capitaliiiii|[; Curiosity One mah^ser has ■olved the un- 4ortiii<lf prohlom iwlth a window 0miit:'clMiv^ a-ttrac- tlo^ In W»|er cOlor on a machine ««M 'f4ltid$ 1^13 cateh tfWtod *»?ithH^^ not hold ll^die. If'indtfen in a: nhadow Ik>x nnd n ifiiidftnt t^^ readii: *I( yon wiint. to W* the tsomlnir ^tti^tloh. pun/ < t "A tug ihrth«!ii the cuftain > dowA, hut It Jiie* out oiE rtiifht the motnent it' is roloaiied^ SOemM' to impreiw. the coming *t1tlel more •tlroiMjr than When it i* mort» protn^ Ihentiy:'displayed' When the hreak Com so niianr •persons pUll: the ehatv^ that it id on disi^y practl^ ;ealty «U i^ :ihe exit time. : mnAlv. the idea out friqnt )(rlM!i. ^^iaiton^ you should not seeWith iKO title of the pldture. £(hade told, 'Ther* are at>jiolutely no rtesonii/': (let* the •Jaiiiffh that so Often sells a ticket. For 9:nother cUriOsity raiser a line cut was made of an advertisement, hut the neKative was reversed so that the entire di.«play was shown in reverse. It was printed In copy- Inif ink (not hekto>;raph). At the bottom was the instructirtn, 'Moaten a clean sheet of soft white paper. .)i-y off excessive moisture, press iiuH shoot lightly ^i|(^t. jifwn and niW livrhily.' ■ ollnwinn in.siru' tioiis ^avo the aii\eriisemert in it.< jiropor form. .>ust an adaptation of the 'hold to the mirror' kwk. i>iH l»(>cause people liad to BO to some trouble, the mes- H;i>;e sunk in. Head by many who would liavf toy-ed down jfin ordi- nary throw nr\ ;".Buiy in £arope -r^ '; Joo We|l<f«C Unlverisal writes froih %lM5enle^.U^J|*■v^|^t•>«Bme ways Euro- peail e<ii«nitiri«l.ftlNl>'doinR biKger and 'se tter Him advertising than we are tn thv'states. Toprt was in Vienna, where trolley cars carry noon lisht sIrus o;i the roofs, which is .viatiethinR that has not :|^^ lit iimlit of over hero. ■ ' ' ■ ' lo finds in all countries vi;;ittu a tondoiK y to bill strongly and to -wuild up 4m tl^iw with stunts.^ It** Ui V lont from what it used to be. At the time wlien exhibitors liere nlrnost wont ma(l over exploitation, folliiwini? tlie est!il>lishment of the I'Mramount staff of explolteers, European theatre men, with the ex- cei)tion of a few hustlers in (Jreat Britain , poli tely and firml y declined to • do any extraneous adverlfsinR beyond a smalt hewspaper iid, oc- V casionally, or a poster on the housefront. Today most countries use exploitation stunts ftUnOst as freely as their Amerieiui iQi^iitns, m i d iu; the Vienna, liWlm i c * . ^t leaet. haVe fOne beyond? twi,- 8^ ihg flat, they iMiyt Iww^yed pn^^the /vOjPigtnal^; ::■;■■;>■;;^ ..Y- Which ,i» iuet; another way of say- frig that exploltivtr Idei^ pay In ail laijii|;u(iuiear IncludHit the American, ahd the man who salves his busi- ness conscience with the argument that It is just a waste of money is jtosiiiK opportunities. Ill-considered advertlsinp: does not pay, but It takes sales argu- ments to dispose of more tickets than the minimUih. • ft'*'. vatti.',^ jatter of efff)rt. that his t.sNl.i^iMtf./a;rO; carefully selet'tfd. 'I'ht-y shoiild be dflUed in exactness. Matter liocoines even n»oro Im- port.ant where the mimeographed material Roes to the pul>lic .as ad- vortisinR. CJenerally <»nly the smaller liouses are forced to resort to the duplifator, so that this be- comes practically the sole appi'oaeh to the patron. If the pressuro is uneven, or the letters Splotchy throuRh a poor impression or too much ink, or the matoriai is .HmudRed after the ImpressiOn, the result will not be a It: m&y even unmake, a sale. 'ilimckwraiilt otierators should bc Inatructed to l^rdw but kit InniMr- f«»ctC sheets, and they s hould ha ve feetion is anything that results in an Impreifliion lesit legiNo than got»d Waterloo, la. Patterned after the famed scav- enger hunts of the elite, select and exclusive dubs, the manaRement of the Strand the.itre appealed to the kiddies recently in a Saturday morn- ing spIurRo to plug 'Treasure Island* take off. Limitations were set, cos- tumes and rigs in order, so that all were given free rein in dress, or through luck, in gaining ducats or priise awards. timtta iht stunt li su)^ to click. Itifliebgraphing ^ MimeoRrapliini; is Rnoil when it's good but when it's ba<l it's a total loss. One of tlie circuit organs, done on the mimeograph, came in the other day about half legible. It 9oea to the house managers in a certain sbnO.; It 19 supposed to urge them to the Utmost jth end<NiV^; and yei|i thO head; ofdce sets an^QX- ailip^ iwltte a slovenly Joli! > ahd negates this' |>reachment)8. Mitnagffs feel that if the home ofhce cah Nehd out a half-printed plea it. Is not particularly Interested in exactness. N iturally, the Kone mamu^' r is l-vr ; too busy'to Rive Ills personal r i"nHon to such minor (letaiis, but ':h»^^it!tivfi^\4',^^M.. too bitsy .;4|s(|-;|gjji|[^; .■^■.'■■■;■■■^■^lIWe'• 'ittp; '■■■■^ One of the stniits beinR used on Jean llarJow in 'The tJirl l'"roni Alis- .souri' is a large map of the I'nited States in ,a show window with pic- lures of Miss Harlow a lid others .among the Metro stars on eas«'ls down front .and ribbons runniuR to their birthplaces, witli Miss Har- low's ribbon landing in Kansas City. Using stars outside of the picture bHng shown is ftpt to be a bit con- fusing, but It is a irood gag II only members of the cant ah» shown, trhat ribbon, afunt always seems able to jjreti Jtaelr oVcr. A good variation on thiii is to pre- pare cahia, if th«^ story action moves about much, to tell what part of the action occurred in each city. For ex.ample a ribbon runs from New York to a card lettered 'New York, whore .lim and Marion met and r»elr romance began.' Similarly the card and ribbon spot other points in the story. If the area is limited a Ijscrge acale map of the state can be .cmployedr or even a map of the city, , If it la a largo place, wltli the dllterent ifWi* pointed but #here the action oc*' curred. Itt the Mt^r base be a bit vague in spotting the pins ov some briRht person can bring sviit ob- jecting that the pin indicates his roMidence and the statement that this was wliere the murder was done is a libel. Koad maps can be us( d for .auto- mobile stories and even a detailed plan of a ffihglO hoUae or apartment can be useA;4A'tt^i>tVK|*:;'th«; iMtnts of the '«^; ' Bit l^at the approach is difforOht from the. Usual lylndow card aiid the average nuin ilkea to nival, and as cautious to state that not all wheels were crooked, but he gave the lowdown on most of the popular device.s, told how they could hie tricked, and left his hearers with the ffeheral feeling that It was not a good gamble. He added that orboked whMla Oti»uld be mad^ to :wi|i«;''«i ;ii«tl=,.ii«;:'''iMi«;i|iFiibn. it: wm figuippd tHi a:u!nlll-4if lUck agalnat the wHeel Would frtiAiOh bualnesa. As a result moit persOnik laid off tho concessions when the oarnlyal came along, and it's safe to say that it will lie some time before another Is brought into town . The auspices' were told how they, too, pot stung, so the.v ivre not as sore as th»>y might h.ive been. CaR worked so well the lectuno is to be repeated the week ahead bf tho bouhty iPalr, a» a jrennlnder. '-^ Rides In Capitol, N. Y.. gets .i nice ad from the Cosmopolitan mag. It's a circu- lation appeal With one section of the folder given over to the an- nbuhCNen^eht that more pictures are made ft>on» the Cosmo stories than from litint Othe^ Hot torn of that section shbwa the Cap. front lettered for 'Operatoi' 18'. Not men- tioned tiiat it's the N. Y. liouso. but reRiiIars will spot it and be im- pre.s.sed. in p,-i.sKing it's a swell irgument for/the.OoMniio;'': CaR Rood for any notable title was worked at the Uialto, St. r..iiiis. on 'Hero Cornea the Navy'. l*i>r- ainbul.ator w.is a sleiRh with .small wheels on tlie riiniu-rs. Hody was bannered, with 'Take a street car. take a bus or even take a jtleiglv but don't mis*, etc Sleigh got at|«rttlbn .fWhei^' nn,\ other conveyahfliir have bt^itght'a'whlntpiwi Much can be done with color absorption through tlie proaucitori of odd effects. For example, one theatre displayed a sign with red letters on a white ground. Effect was obtained by pasting letters Cut from old bit of red gelatine medium to a sheet of glass and backing this with a shadow box with a white l>ack. When grefen llghtH 'ftHHhedam the letters turned to black against a green ground. Slow fliisher was used and the effect had a lot of people puzzled. Red and blue will give a purple |eitt«i;..folue and.!ye)H*w a green. Same device was worked in an- other instance with tinsel letters pasted to a white ground. In this instance the lights were in front of the lettered panel and the colors changed when the lights went on. A little experimenting will give a number of combinations which may be used. Another sclieme is to use a board with tlie lettering cutout .and backed with gelatin; take red again. The board is painted to match as nearly as possible the red of the medium. With the back lightinp off the board is apparently blank or can be let- tered in white with sales copy such as 'You will never forgive yourself if you miss , to be shown h*** next Monday and Tuesday.' White flasher on the back will brinR up the letters of the title in bright red, blue light will Rive a purple letter and green the black. All takes a little time, but if it catches And puzzles the crowd, it wiltilpi'qM to be worth'whi|(ii^ v^f'x-^- Old-timer who was confronted with a carnival for a week at a time when every admission counted, figured on waging a war to end all wars on carn^eys. He knew a lot of men who had worked around these affairs but who were out of work with little prospect of, coming into a Job. He got one tb come Ut> and bring a crooked spindle. This was set up in the lobby with the offer .of |& to any pfil'iioif tabbing a winning ftothber, Kb. money had tb be. put ttt» for tMe MlTh above the device: blfarljr stt^icd that:the af- fair wM brbok$(d; Only stiptilation was .that ««* nuinbet" t^main \»h- ebvered, 'tlifia jtUlinN>l', bc>lhg changed for etirh Kpin^ lnvarlftldy the 'hou.-^r ' niirnbor w<»n. On (be stacc nf efi.-h pei-forni inee ibe opeiMlor' KMili' ;i tilicf talk .alioMt tho various swindles, lie w;».>< car»'- Getting Free Hints Wise old bird has just fonoe I a scheme for getting plenty of action out of his exploltattbn On pictures. He hasJi, Weekly cOntbft for the best l(^tter on hlB campaign for the pre- v)iou» week; givlltg tho contest<int |Ui entire wiMk In w^lch to writ*fe out his ldeai». i;4etter'muat covoir tWo angles formed by the " questlon.^i, 'What do you think of our cam- paign?' and 'What would you have done to imi)rove it?" Helioves that it will not only cen- ter attention on his selling effort.s,' witli a conse<|uent iniprovemenl in sales, Ijvit he now and then gets .an idea good enough to work on some other picture, for he knows that few gags are apj)licable to only a single picture. ' , Works out in a variety of Ways, ono recent lietter suggesting -I would haye given my dad a couple of tick- btii to put a nice show In hie^ln- dbw.' ManagOr went lif hi over to the merchnnt wlio hais tvfuned sev- co*bi>eratlVNi inmr*etlbns and BEN HARRIS )3en Harris, 68. died Sept. 8 at the Wlibhtrb Best Himiei An gei'ea,:;.': Mf' i|i4' .Mt^'itltair.(or :.seV" erat months lind' t^iibta ftara lytic stroke Aug. 24. Harris went io the coast about r2 yeiars ago following his long care^wr ,4«. Atlantic C^ty, where he had^ bl tihe Apollo theatrO, and for a time Yoiing's Pier. The Apollo was then the break-in house for most Al Wt»ods apd : Dillingham shoiire. Sunday night s h e r a n v a bd e v I H e obncertl i with great success. He was at that time the only franchi.se holder of the Keith Hooking omce. Harris began to fatl^ about two years ago, when the bf (lUaranty Trust Co. of Ifollywood wiped out .some $t'i,O0O, a major portion of his life savings. Itody is i^.t the Malinow. Simon funeral I^iibt% In llbUy WOOd awaiting! word fr<>m Nipw Ybrk as to the diapoaal of the remains. George M. "Cohaii has lieen a.skod to locate liis brother in the metropolis. Cu|ian had been keeping .iAt! 'eye-' '^^msM^^^B^- ;r>,riif4:^1feoirni»luhi.,;-'^ r'^^'''!^^^'*'--''-'' ' 'Hi^rrbi'^vas- unmarried:' m Btu i il ' f Wi tl > » fulluwing week. Another good gag is to put a press book in the mezzanine with an offer to pay a ticket for each idea used, the suggestion to be submitted at least 10 days In advance of the plc- ^re, with the l>ook available throe weeks ahead. Is u.'^ed for only one I)i('ture a week; that most likely to .sell, and frequently he develops workable matei'lal frOlh tbese Volun- teer aides. Note is made of useful stunts and if they are used on later picturbs a pass goes to the originator, even though It may be done Miviejral weeks lateR-';;.M^.'. v Vi . V ,] l^'/^i': Took it. lljpi^tiiili /m «'^tl^«'^'*'i.r°U**« Rialto theatre, (.lens Fails,, N. T*. uabd a yacht on top of bla. niar<|uo« lH>th for the to their,LlMJ/'yiMJhf.?. The boat ottWtedA dite strip ,lur- insr the ruti.ot/One More River' and sailed without the side curtain when the picture opened, it is ho weii jialnted that from tho photo- grapha It is dlfflcuit to judRo whether profile of built up, but It looks a little as though Blaok had reversed the usual shipbuilding and had built his boat on a 2x4, pladnt' a profile deckhouse on top of the scantling and masking in with cloth painted for the hull and the water the latter rl.sing sufficiently to float the y.acht above the fixed signs on the marquee. Liphted by bunch lights at niRht. I'articiilarly useful for 'Yacht' but can be worked for other maritime h tiif, bnt ITlSiTh^r^^^ Pre.ss book for 'Hello ,»f ttie Nineties' is not around yet, but if the ex|.l')itati(»n section omits the suRRestion of a touRh vaud<-vilie show, put one in anyhow. Tlie west is sprinkled with 'Rowery' unltH. partly at any rate suRRosted by the e.irller West pictures. Baur fo get one up for yourself. I^afM of the show la^ simple to provide.. Rftpda bWy an olio dror» unless yon. iMVe aoinb daiicing acts, but If pb^fffl^tb ybu fihnuld add a rag dance as demo by Chuck Con nors .and bis Rirl. It's men-lv i low waltz with the dancers' liodle.s well ,'Ip.i^'^ ,hut each testing thu chin ■ fCoilf||ln«M;;bir:'pa " TOM BUCKINGHAM Tom Uuckingliam, 39, film writer :»lid directbr, died ^iept. 7 at the Qu»?eh of Aiigels hfispital, Ikw An- g««le.sV following a major bi>eration. HnekinRharn b.id been either writ- ing or directing at Hollywood studios for several. ydvc" and had written around M iicript and di- rected 11 ftimii fi^ major atUdlba. principally at ■^bifnbilUi,- t^^^ J''ox and I'athe. tie was suddenly stricken while wocl^lnit on tli.f iH^ripi^ of 'Cooceal- ment* lit; "^iitibttr aif»d rthwed fb the }TT).spital for an operation and died soon after cominR out of the anesthetic. Ho isi survived, by^ a; widbw,. Jan UidWeway, ■' tttrmbfi'' ■- ■=■ JAMES E. MITCHELL V ■Tames Edward (.lim) Mitchell, 42, Loiii ji^hgetes column - isti (lied Sept. t at the-IloUywood hosidtal after a long illness. He was born in Hensli.aw, K.v., and had worked on new.sp(ipers in Arizona befCHre joihlqg the JB^i^^inef^ 11 years ago; ^ ::He;wiMi.iifo^we^;.:t»-*^ tir e a y ear a gO /\ '"' '■ i ' — niail order hbuse,' which bore hin name and of which he was presi. dent, at Mtmtclalr. He toured tho country with the Columbia Quartet- a unit of the l^rlmrobe. Thatcher, DocHatadbr . aiid * West mInstrA show, AftbV ilM^lie played a Wackf face comedian in V(|Ud«MHi»;^^ 1912 to 1UI!». Surviving are a widow. a.iMlil' ii^' four datighters. . ' EDDIE VOSE ?; Eddie Vo.ss, 41, died at the HM'J^; lodge, .Saranac, Sept. 3, of trouble. t»ftor; an illness of three days. A lioa^ seeker In Saranac for over seven years, hOivlMd''ma«» tered all other ailments. ' For 17 year* ho was Connected with the vftu<|B«irll|o «pt of Fields At I^Wia, he akA #0***^ ilirith lack Melds as a vaudeville agent. .Just before returning ti> j^nranac some, two monlhs .»ro ho was comiected with the democratic I^arty, working; for the fsktovEMdle Ahbarai^: V/;'- .. interment. %i/Btt(riMbi.v/ FRANK QEf^dTEN Prank, Qorateijk* 60, retired theatrni bwn^r, died M heart disease Sept.' 6, in New York. He was .siricken »n the street, expiring in a nearby <tore to which he wai^ removed to iW4it the ambulancoj. He btritt the #t^bp8cbt and lioy.^l theatres Iri the Onrnx as well as sev- > oral in New Jersey. His first contact - with show business was with llarn* Mxn & 13^ile^, jl(»_^ttr$a front actL^^^ nuinaj»i««¥M^'^ii|b«Hirt^ iWpe y^vn .agb:' : Survived hy bis wid)l>v«^^)\vi^ threb • .sons. ' . :■ ,. ■ - ^ JOHN H, KLINE, JR. John H. Kline, Jr.. of Char- otte, .v. c., assistant animal ttaincr ; n charge of the elephants f<»r tho >ownie Bri>tiiers CIrCusi Was run ''"^^Mi f^^imeVi «i»d killed as ths ; sholr w*i» ■'hiii^ v •, ;v Aug. no. ' ' \ Survived by piV4ciitH. a .■vis-- ter. -and ,■ a,;. grandlrtothjMfS:':;''^ ■l^^^'", ■ Survived i».v his widow, Mrs. Ceorgia Martha Mitchell, a daughter Harbara. 17, and a son.. J^mes E. Jr., 15^ apd his parentM, Mr. and Mrs; Rbbert Mitchell, of Paducnh, Ky. P'tin'Mil services at which nuivftft I lu gh e s del i v ered gCJgUolgy vvefb^ilbtwlay: ^V)^,■r'''•''\;■:c■.'^:■. RALPH J. LEVY Italph J. Levy, 4t», died Aug. 7 In «alt Lake City, Utah, following a several months' illhes». Burial was in lios Ahgeles Auffi, ll ■ ;lioyy., waa at'-one'-'tUibe prfifessional manager for th© Joe Stern Music Co., in New York: also manawer of Ceorgo VounR, profe.s.storj.al swim- mer. A few years agO '^^vW exploitation fpr Sid Oraumah at his rihtnose theatre in Ilollywoofl. Later he was associated with the J. C. Hoiick AdvertisinR Co. in Los Angeles, and at time of de.ath wb« connected in an adYerti aIng 0^4 , pacity bl; eialt liake. He Is survived by fc<» ,H4bw^ i^^ a brother, Itarry.-'-''- ■■ ■ HAROLD S. DANIELS Harold 8. (Harry) Daniels, 62, In his earlier years actor, theatre man- ager and dramatic and music critic for thb lljrracuse Herald, died frtim * »t^(itliotrolt, Mich., sept fi. In afwr Wo toftniels bad been active In the general .advertising field In the mid-West. Survivors include Wiiii.im A. Danfbrth. brblRerv^vet- erari light op^ra. comedian. WILLIAM B. WILLIAMS William it. Williams, 76, former vaudeville and mln«irel ACtOr; died of a heart Attack Ih His home In Montclatr, N. J. Septeml)er 3. lie h.ad spent over ten years on the stage before establishing the Leon Blank, fiC, favorably known to .the Jewish st.iRe .is a tragedian, died Sept. 8 at his home in New York, of a heart ailment. Ho waa >■ st r ick en-4fi vtllhMblphia'~iast: sprlnir:' while playing an ertg.agement there, i Survived by his widow, Lena, a -f? Hon and daugliter-in-1 a w. Funoral ^p . the following day under auspices of thO-!l^||^'-;^*tor*'-;Uhlon.,' . Wife of Maurice Kann, Mai ie. 29 died September 4lh at New Haven C.eneral Hospital, of injuries result- ing from an aut o accident at N«.w Haycn, .Conn, tho name day,/ l>o^ Wlw In tho roovinr plctbre sobtioii l Nei3on A« 4M»ett, CO, ciiilionango hotel propr|<^ i^ndc fi»ther of liutii Abbott, <^(|MiniM^ H^lfbbi^ 4ibd gb4- 'attack;- ■ ;.■ ' .^ ■ Salvador* 9e«rdi0nov foi-mer band director in Httd|M« afi^ Iti^dlotowh, N, Y.J died Sept. i in a Middletowii IWOjplfai;'--'"^- Father. %», of Htanley .Smith, legit and picture aCtor, died ii^t 4 in .Sal|.nflk^..I&aie>«:^^ -af|bff^Ari'v.lllnO**;.be ' LETTERS -,.*fl«e» Senrtln* for Mnll to VABIKTY Adilreu Mall Clwk. JS2SSSV^^^> AnVEBTLSINC. or OIBCIOLAR LRTTKKN WILL NOT V .:,P B AI>VKHTISKt> mMKM AnVKRTlNKD IN ONie IS8IIK ONLV Devannjr HollU (Jreon Carl i|«*l«r; ',tvoii,fi* "..Mrif ■ ■ Shell DOROTHEA ANXEL m W. Tt« St.. Now tbitfi iC«lj|i chrimtm.in: cAiuwi-: . -" anti .HtMtionory fHpociaiiy to »u\i the in-rMonallltM of tho rr<>fr-.<<.Hion. Atreivta wantHil to hkII my ctkriln and MtHtibnery, Writ* or e»M Csr <l»t«l»a r.ib«r«l' coAimlwiibnV"' Mm WMMMJLWtWL ■ ^^^■^'^■■■ ■■^'■- r ^•^••h<H*i*,;0ot..'f^. too; bitsy.;^-;|^,»tW'::hot;;^v> h:»onHiw^'t^;*5omitt^^^ oBrt a r»w a