Variety (Oct 1934)

October 2, 1934 PICTaBE $ lETY 41 |*igliti?ig; and Ducking — I^^rs wIllTbr^ath* * Aigh ot HIM. Circus vistti coat th«tn plentr« Imo?- ticiilarlv when they are tryliiHr to set biistiK'.sij for thjut ntffht instead 4ft loiili/.iiiK that circuses are Infre- quent and that evon the mud show haa alw.iy.s tuiA a bij; ilniw. It's dif- ferent. It haa a garish appeal, and the mob is soing to go if it lias anything that's legal tender at the box otll'f. Only recently it was re- ported that In fightini; the KinglinK Show^, Long Beach (Calif.) theatres luteal up two big previews and a bi^ air Act. All OOitt money and all '|lMUl« the theatre losa greater than luirmally it would have been. A clever UghtMr does liot reach bin clilii lot tt. Hd doclui Whore eHQ. ir» fi>ijili tor th«^ theatre «0>..;:folVtiif>'^-fli»'^ ^^ItMBticS'^ and ttodfe; tf'v|i Mi poapiito to keep them aiirajF fIroiH thO Miurs. The same aniouiik ol Investiiioitfe jnay bring a bi« nt«im lftter oa. iliMr tbe circua crowd QMi 1>o adVerttfloa to. The trick la not to fight but tio iTWlc on the crowd the clrcu* hM Mmbled on the theory that next (week the circua will not be thuru and the theatre will. And they'll be willing to come back to the theatre when the ring banka form the only visible evidence a circus has been In town. Don't waste cash and ef- fort in trying to achieve the impos- aibility. Make a drive on the circus crowd for future business. The man Who drovd the family 20 miles to see the downs may get the car out again the next week for an attrac- :|lvely fMivertiaed picture. JRut he Hallowe'en Partiet H ill'iwct'n parties are winiiors for }.' Intimate liousea and can be made close nmrn-rs-up to tlie N'ow Years Kvo pirty for real fun if a proper XiiastiT of ceremonies is appointed. Stoit-s can supply a wealth of m.it<M i.iI lor decoration froni orange • and hlaik crepe paiH>r to paper piinipkiii.s, witches and skeletons, ilou.^e I lights should be dipped in ■ ; greon t t increase the effect, and if ■ po.ssiblc only one circuit of white lii^hts kept on. Of course this does >. not include the exit lights. ..yiv^m n^i'PuM be ducmug lor *p - ^^pm'■- fqjr the jrotpimAtieMrs. Various {:^iMmt'>r ittunts for the adolescent 'taiUi^pei^liaps ft fortune teller if a ^• ''MWirer girl o«n be Inapreased into «erVt(^., 8h0 ahouU he given strict ;; oiHlers i^iij||410h^^^^^ pre- . i|lctiun>7 adirertlseinent to send ' any patron home in fear and trem- ; bling. IVirlor tricks transferred to - Jhe st.iij". ; A i?itl line of witches can be . tau^lii some simple dances and local talent can be enlisted to vary the stunts. At midnight all but the exit lamps .sliould be downed, with wind howl, meowing of cats and other sound effects adding to the chill. - Lights should be held down a couple ; of niiniito.s and then dimmed slowly . up. In most spots it will be pos- sible to serve light refreshments and add the eo.st to the additional charge ■■■■ made for the after-show if desired. If desired a special coupon may : M sold to be Ukna «» mfter the . <;;:|i«ttlar''audteneO^Kif^i.::' Xikei Sentry Box ifSdWard Harrison, of the Capitol, Pittsileld, Mass., reports he ob- tained very good results on 'Scarlet Bmprt MS' with the sentiglr biMKiliM Irom tlie press book. Gag was originally worked at the New York Rivoll on Gloria Swan- aon In "Mme. Sans-Gene.' Patterned after the shelter boxes to protect ■ehtric>.<t from the weatheh Has one aide pi'^ct ically all doorway with nn dpof. the other, three aldea being '■.bti(|iH;.j»r- .■■*tr«»M#«.""#lUi. ■■•mall' ■win- aoi«vi<, ;\ru«t a^jttt iMrvl ehottffh to :oontutii a jnaii atahdlnft up. Box is Irtilte with red stripes and stands jWit ai')out as well .as anythin^r that can ii»> used around the lobby. Ifiiiison Rot hold of a real Rus- sian, lorinerly In the army, and trie!.. I him out in a Itii.'-sian uni- form Man spoke only KUsa while on uiiry,;-;vvrhtch:'heip<^^inw^;iipli- lilt! • ■ -'^ ■■ ''w.'./'-'- If V'.u M«y the,^^tunt buiUi tilie b<>X: 80 ii <^ln be taken oinart .and rer a.qsen»bled, for it will work #0 well Will t»(> used o^^^ liicturea, Beatt tht tartlet N'>i s j lon^ ago a'favorite g.iK was t > letter the baclts of a suf- iifJcnt numixir of turtles to spell out ()..> name Of a abort title and Offer t "^kets to anyone who could catch the turtlea in ft pdaItIoft~td gpeii out the nMio< ' Turtiea ^iwrwe •:ffitV.>«lu»*lab.; '^o; thO;" .*af; g»2^«^*'* lettoi^ porchoa with wit<«iH, 1^ thiOinii waa * bird on Hi. ;it idapfallon was tr> put a eouiil ■ ,f frisky puppiAs Into the yvlu i , V ,,f >i pot shop near the the- air- ivi. k of the window was a ser«e» a konnein with \n offer eC tickets to—allr-should a pup go tl^rough a kennel with a certain letter. Dors investigated and worked the watdiinj,' crowds up to fever heat, but tliey never went into the ri^lit door, ttiough the let- ter on the .siyn was changed each day and repeaters had mtHti'tk/'tM': pass througli tliat door. Answer was that ivhiie the let- tering remained the same, one of the openings was guarded by in- visible black .tllMl.wM^ ven t ed entrgiW h Ithla y»g/ i^ t W ted Kiun ^i^s*^t^uaS«dia^the^^N^ever did get through. Tl>o top of the window was plas- tered with advertising for the bcne- lit of people who could not get close enough to see, for generally the space before the window was con- gested^ . ttrte CO'Op fftgM Los Angeles. Dick Pritchard, batting as Colum- bia exchange exploiteer for Mike Kewman While latter was con- valeacMf: froqi ft aerlowa mness, put 0T«r three oo-oiik; pafttfa. In, tbieea riva l lo c fti d ft ttwii f^ Wn: ^ 0i Ht Night of liove.' Following ftn initial break in the Hearat £<x- amlner, the conservative Times fell for the idea and followed suit. When pic moved to the Criterion for a continued first run after two weeks at the Paramount, the Her- ald^ndMg;^r!M« kicked in for the Vnnsual Figuring from the 'Lady Oodiva' gag that a horae inuri>t be a nov- eity, manager went but into the country to borrow ft trotter which raced at the eottatr,;f>^ and then. Got the Q!i|ier« |ockey blouse, too, and along the ahafta he ran cloth streatners, 'I ant racing to the Bienton theatre to a ce Trotter was Jog$ed around town, and, as the manager figured. It got plenty of attention. Kot only that, but the newspaper gave an editorial to the decline of the: hisrness horse and added mention Of, Jlhievtlii^^e and the show. Cost a dozen passes for the horse and $,t a day for the <lriver, ;ind tigured to be worth it. Next tinie tlie manager Is going to use tlie sulky but the worst horse ho can lind with 'I can just totter along, but I'll make the Benton theatrO In time to see '. In another spot a large furniture van was bannered for the picturo and drawn around town by ft pOny. Van was an electric, so there was no giveaway exhaust. Another good fa« ip^ to Piit air- plane wings on any hla^ anioi flftc- ing th# winfa on t<op; Where they will not Interfere With other traffic ahd keei«n« *Wfty from ahaded streets with tree* with low«hangiing branchea. AAytbinir dllKennt will get attention.;.'. ■ A boat built on an: ftirto^^ gets attention, but the siame boat will do twice as well if drawn around toWn / by a team of four hpraefti'. Baltimore Oagt Baltimore. Kor 'Barretts of Wimpole Street' (MO), current at the Century, Herb Morgan tied in iifith an afternoon sheet in promotint a poetry contest. Figured aa ati^priate in view of charactera treated in the pic Three cash >riaea to the best lyricists un- earthed, plus usual Oakley rewards. Poets were to rhyme reactions to the romance of the Browning-Bar- ret t twain, conpreaaing.^ii|iei«. into 20 lines. " ' - Painted signs stencilled onto the sidewalks In downtown area fea- tured the publicity efforts of the local lads last week. Larry Schan- herger, with 'ISelle of the Nineties' (Par) at his Keith's, admonished the boys via the paint route to "Co West, Young Man'; did it with white lead litjuid, after Herb Mor- gan, Loew's, led him by couple of days in datibing the pavements with a canary yellow, arrow-shaped out- line, worded 'Straight Is the Way— to tj»e yaUsnitia,.'^ wb^re tjti€ flick of ■that' ,^tafvi|rna>, ^hdin^ f ■; Made ft Red Ink Manager who tnU^d to get out * ^^^'M"' ^e4W0it' on: ♦..ntetttre- it fltted:^iiM 11^^ up A The newspa^ Im4 no red init attach- ment on Ita itreaa and no job press largo enough to turn the trick. There waa no job office close enough to g^t the papers back the same day. Finally the manager adapted the printing wheel which originally was designed for sidewalk printing. A large sheet of glass was ob- tained (though any smooth surface will do) and covered with putty to the depth of half an inch. Letters were cut into this surface straight down to the glass, and the putty removed. The lettering is done as it is intended to show and not in reverse. Printer's roller composition was melted in a water bath and poured into the mould, which was built up with one-inch fides. When it was set, the caat Wft ittifted aa^ tacked with a wooden; roller. When the jj^pMna were d^ivered the roller Waa run dVer ft plate inked with the red ink and then run over the uniper half of the lia- per. Not Quito aa aharp an Impres- aio n aa pre a a w o rk but g ood enough ahd could be donO Quite rapidly. The composition can be remelted and used repeatedly* but it is bet- ter to keep the idea for large Jobs, since it is ditDcult to cut email let- ters neatly. Date strips and similar printing Can bo ruh ou by tiMi ffaae means. ■ v ' Composition is a mixture of gela- tine, glue and glycerine, the latter being used to i)ermit the addition of more glue without making the comiw)aitldh :too ■ haiM? • ■;' , ; CojTing 'Witertod^'la,' Strand cash<»d ■ ''''biVmt'---*i^9^ Priest,' atarring W^l^ SS**^*- through a campaif n W the Water- loo Courier to build im wo BogMra column Carried dally by tlt« afcie t. Large ada and rea^teg matter w«««» devoted to exirtoitatio»^ t he p ie ; ture and the Rogeiri eohUmi. ttt in priaea and SO gneat ticketelfobM to InAtvMtthla iurhlng out jtho %m newa eomna<mfatory. at - Ik the 'Rogera-atyles,' ■. A cinch in titat Ijimit . Waa IM words, editora of thO jAeet having the final say as to prise awards. Ducats all that the theatre had to put out and is a natural for any of the-papers carrying the ayndicated feature. '''''V'<la]iton..o. Max Toung, head (tf the Toung & Reinhart Co.. operating tho Hosart. State and lieKliiley thi>atrsia here. Who has been confined to hie bed for the past several weeks. 1* re- ported slightly improved. ■ ■ Manoa at Ellwood City, Pa., for- merly the Liberty, has i)een re- opened by Mike Manoa, .wH^ a straight picture policy. II. C. Spidell. who operate.^ the State, Dover, O., has opened the Ohio, long dark. PeHOJP» lrt(| *a con- tinuous fllm.s. J, O. Gutheric, formerly of the Lucier theatre. Cleveland, and as- sociates have acquired the dra;fton theatre at Grafton, O. Columbus, at Alliance, O., owned by the Tri Theatres, Inc., and man- aged by . Ray Wallace, haa dropped n^uaioal revuea for the time being iirW^ir^^^pl'^tmi JTlrlng the *ft«t Watteer uijiittg the talh^st stilts of any in New Orleans, Lrww's State put him out for -Mphte Cri.-<to' with the card copy toliln»? that the picture Ti>p.s thoni .ill." (,;.it a smile th.it diiln't hurt any. K. I>. T >ui).s and .Moiso lMi->ch also worked a coloring contest, with 3,000 cards given out, largely from a sound tru c k which was p e ram btilated generally, but which paid particuliitr attention to the schools about dismlai^l time. Figured the children would go for this in a big Way. AlaO hig> 10.9^ fake ballots aroond the MWM^^ headed -Vote m-i^iii^CpmiWmr tainmont Ticket* ; .»r*rRV 'O^fctr. .special stunts u.sed, bW| thoaOi . the • dutftander* ;-'-:.<"-"-,.li6e^lkngeie8. iVank R. Johnson hoW managing the MaieatiC. Santa Monica. W«a formerly at the Tower, Pa!im4ena. Abe and Mike Oore havn a ' deal on for a new 1,200-seat de luxer at Beverly and LaBrea, plans for which are now being drawn. A. P. Minor has taken over opera- tion of the Liberty, in Azuza, nearby town. House has been operated for aoigig;4Ml|t'by James cunnlnghainit Oklahoma City. Oklahoma theatre changes: Open- ings:—Rltz at Ponca City. Clos- ings:—Strand (part time) at Tex- homa. Changes in management:— Fox, at Davis, from S. J. Coley to W. T. Kerr; Royal, at Minco, from % ^tt^ipina to II. B. Phillips. ■ ' '/Portland, Ore. A ai^rate Portland publicity de- partmmit for the aix Hamrick thea- tree In* the eity, tomierly handled in the home office in flfftttln, wiU be under the direction of Bdwm B. Rivers, who, in addition. Will num- age the Music Box, rellevin« An- drew Saso, recently appointed man- ager of Hamrick's new Orpheum. Maury Folodare, manager of the Liberty, Evergreen, has a new pol- icy of double billing for that house. Bill Maylon, until recently stage manager at the old Pantages thea- tre, has opened a booking ofTlce here and is sending several acts on ,tho road. ^(hrCjughout the nPribwest each weeliii^ ; ■^.".■ '■'/ . ^■;-;t' i v;:>,.r.rvV''l!iat9«i^ Rita tWatre, cbaldaie^; reop^ed last wiwk after having been elos>ed during the summer. ■ David Miirphy. of New Tork City, has been named manager of the Kialtu the.'itrc. Allentown, by Wil* mer and Vincent, bwner-t of the hoiu.'8>». He was in tha south with the l\iramount Pubiix theiitr«*«^ for several years. / C lilt .n. O. .V L'O',' Inert-isi' fir union ipt-ia- tor.s in six .*<or.m(I-I'ln tiii.nif's if-r-'' granted in new c oiit im' ? s. .N --.v con- tract also gives operijt.jr.s . on'^es- sions bettering working c^)!! li»ion.< li|Cl«*.ding payment of overtime by tne t^Catro above the nuniber of houira iapecifled in tbe N'RA code. AU nifii ' . loOd l iuusiBa n iatntriin ?fo' i r men to' A booth «iSa, the; ; tioWni;, i» hit^-'Xim old 'fhrianNf'' ''o!p<M'a':;h<Mi«9^^ 9fce.;.Al(ybamg;'''^tei^>|;jw^^^ Denver. Chas. Yaeger, Bank Night origi- nator, haa organlsiBd the Atlaa The- atre corporation and bought the Rex theatra at Rapid City, 8. D. Ray pavia; recently with Fox at North Platte, Neb., will manage. Mark Berkheimer has been moved to the North Platte Job from Las Vegas, N. M., and Elwood Vorheea, Cheyenne, is moved to Las 'Vegas. North Platte and Las Vegas ftre Fox situations. George and Harry . Kerer have bought Abel.Davla* interest in the Capital f'Jte.nMCiNlM^ The boya will conSi^ fo e|l«rate. ona in Salt Lake City and the other in. Denver. Walter Smtth_^ has reaigned as of the Idgyt^tWtn theatre in Philadelphia. Jerome Harrison, former Publlx "theatre operator, has been appointed manager of the Europe theatre. His new job combines operation and publiCityr : : ■ Charlotte, N, C. Ed C. Curdta Is erecting a $20,000 theatre on North Main street, Greenville, S. C. The house Js brick and tile. Frank P. Bryan, Jr., a.<«slstant manager of the Carolina theatre. High Point, N. c, has been made manager to succeed KanV Hoyle. who resigned. Suits continue to go on record In Mecklenburg Superior Court against the operators of the Lincoln theatre. Charlotte, a negro house, following an alleged fire and stampede on the night of August IS. Two new auita for 12,500 each, filed thtg wwrit, broufht the totnl to aix. ■ MilWauliiee. George Qambrin transferred from Fox Alhambra to IV»x Palace. James Caaey new at Alhambra. Formerly With Leo Salkln. Howard Nlealer awltche* from Miller to Garden as assistant man- ager and Harlan Croy from Para- dise to Miller, same capacity. Russell Leddy from Fox Oriental to Silliman's Avalon. Jack LeVoy from Br in, Marinette, to Tower, here. Mickey Kippel named manager of l9rat!ner*S'. Strand. , ■ Pfotnm Tt. Fhot0i Relative v:ilue of photograph* against colored art is being un- ofHcially trieil out by the PalacO and Embassy theatre^. N. Y. Th* two houses are separated only by a sinall aahdwioh ahop. palace la uainig * highly cotorfd painiing of the burning MorrOt <iant|e Witli * lifeboat i^ulling a*Ayr^^^^^l^^^ yellow and refd. it atMida oul lcii^ .big flash.' However It Is not getting orie^ tenth of the attention given two frames of enlargements against the entrance to the newsreel house. This again brings up the question as to whether or not the average person will not yaaa along; hia curiosity satisfied. Much to be aald, pro and con, without much chance of a decision beiac ai^ved at It does seem,:^ however, 10 eetabilak definitely tho,. pott of the Mwirftph o^er tha poat^. ilbM^litftil to hf itiulle^ more an gg eet l on, to be oftwed. II geta ftttentle* «A Mat lO-tO'l Wlieri^ the photon ftro attfflciently large to get quick attention. If they prom*;, ise Information they'll pull in the passer by. Few posters can givo more than » single fact for dermito appeal. Which advances the argument, apparently a sound one, that welt - taken SxiO photos can do more sell- : ing than highly eOtOlfe^i'lM^ tbree-shee.ta. . A poater can sell the feature on Its title or with that and tl\e star names. It is no more thaii aji« nouncement. The photoib Jtm ttieb other hai«i if miade, wilV 9elA on th* deiiUa w^lf ;jpl offering the title and; atara; imneh la not aan^g that posters do not have thiAt place in the general aclieme of things.; V,;-:.' ■ ■'i^.-f: .^ogfi2ir'StgHM■ '' Dog storiea with which space ta gained for purely fabricated new* are not as general as they used to be. partly because the papers ar» getting wise and partly on account of the extra tVork imposed on re- duced house ataOib hnt" thv ntitl can be swung. For example an exltibitor took advantage of the setup of an airfield to paint the title of his feature and the name of the theatre on the flat roof of the building. Then lie got the news photographer up to see hla new airi)lane adveitising. It not only got him art, but editorial men- tion. Cost him a dime and a little trouble because he already had the, brush. t- Another man 'foundVa baby in hla rest room. Took It over to the po»' lice station and they were phoning the orphan asylum when the excited mother ruahed^ in. Sha explained that pictuire hai no thrUled h^ that wheh iMie put th4i'baby ^Wn din it aofft to poWder h*f! Hoge aha forgot to pick it UP agakli SoutoutOd Sm* probabloi but there waa the ptAlea records, the. mother and tha wttiaaa who: f(Mind the child peneefnlUs asleep ittd notified tha maaageiw All it requires is a plant a gooll story and some corroborathre vh*, dence. Although it's an old gag; one man recently got nearly a column tossing a handful of vest buttons on the floor of the theatre and then telling a reporter how people were actually laughing their buttons off over a Joe Brown comedy, It'a worth;>»n^^biit;-|>0;OaMlt|iv. Charles City, la. Mid-Wetit Theatres. Inc.. haa.ao^ the Hlldreth to J; V. ('ollirtsi Wjid iia.«i been ma^mgti^ for 15 mo^ntfii^^ -y' y.^i.-'--:l»liM^ri|fii:':v ,1Pttaltf>. a "VVestlartd theatre, ah<it« tereii Satiirday night i32>. ftnd'.wilt stair so tiniti ab<>ut,0ct* 21.; 'Rebiae- Ing wioriiinnr sci^ednief .t§^-1^^^^^^ »ityi ■ ■' ' ■ •■ '■ ■ ■' ■' Harry Weinberg, wIim just com- pleted a deal with l!ill Yuiini^'iaus f',»r two hou.si-».s in <'ohiinljus. X< b., li'.-i.s than ri wc'k later giablied uj) ihf York ;ind Sun. in Vork, Neb. Thi^ nKlkes itini .Mbout an even •lo!5(»h- ;Nebr»l?<ka- Mpot^ij;, Okl ili'niia ("itV. T<T{ i.s fh-iU.re (• It a ii u' e s: — Kitz, Ifnton. Tex . siiid by i:. L. I'.lac k to 1*. ^;oletyian, , Koy I'ringle will ^ .on. '^^r^^ii/ r''':': ■ ■■ :' K tns.t,-< tnenfi^ chiri'ht$4^s:->-o<^^^^ i jlifa »'i>^'ctj n« bV-w tdwn<?fLicr;MAn' ,s(Vs t'^fy, Kah , ifor «!(>lwvd i^^^ ijn|y. Mlilwfi y. at l^liiteeMott, Kan., X 'aiii'C'..:taerffed: ■. with-,;hi!»-.-:-N)ftw:. ■'n;^*'-'"H»*<afiv;" ,ni' .f»itMi|t,',:tiv»' fllontli«>rt|. v^ist«>'>-*yi»':ynic. |>"vi,tr( / 1 ;:i-ir>' .NMi«i-ij .itaii*^ """""" ' ;; 'ti#y;-.3'?!'ih, ii'.Mu-f'it.!k.' , ^(«fhj«vlii(^lfiw(t;nn- Bode and Showed 7eti New Haven. Billy Elder, at Poli'.s, got some news space and a three-column photo for 'Judge Priest' by working on the Civil War vet angle. In re- turn for a newspaper mention, ft cab company rounded up local vets and carted them down for a look at the film. Some of them had never wlt- ne.ssed a talker beCoro and this wa.«i liiayed up in newa' aiory.. Photo, of vets landed in s^d^-aheli, # >nice>iilMg»t' y^'- ■■ I v': Sevei-al weeks ago ■ a managw with tt ne;nsC of bumor wanted a window in ft; hat atore,;eit9rek^(^)«r w-as wiliinit ■ •i^ti'wjiaf' .to- dcr?':;iia**':- ager had ||> t)left picture »l a n^O •tart:' ■:fmm.: eiuning ■^ft^c?t■ure;:^•■■■.<?hap■ waK -Wei^mg; ft jitraw hat/ Ite put a Mill Mhfrby Into/ the window card©<l *HM Wiorn by Joe ti. lirown In 'The clown Circiis' at the Ci etn T Hft{in . 6 next MoH.. ' i ' ucs? \ ~ Fully CO pboplo dropped In to t -ll the hattor that t!i? pi'turo !;ho\v.| a .straw, while the 1::U v. as n >t ifoh. SJeveral bought hats wlien they wura; TURN TO