Variety (Oct 1934)

mm r DoM with Mirrors Mirrors w6rk i»lc«ly into rtMwy Vfxpioitation achemCMl, but the ax tr(*>»<^ aeema to be a man out west who has a number of neatly framed - mirrors which are placed against many mounted half Hhoots in atore windows. He flnda that men ItH well as women use the mirrors #lther for self-admiration or to ad- just their neckwear and th.it some ' men pass windows before which they regularly stop in traveling their Kiven route. Mirrors are p4aq.<)d po that they do not Interfer*' tl^e lettering on th« bill. S'' it-rorc for tte «wbi« reMon. know- K that on tiM way out patroiis ' will edge up to the rIoss for < Quick once-over. Pretended Interest ' in tlie poster covers the real reason In one theatre every mirror in both retit rooms is painted with an ' announcement for the coming pic ; ture, while in the lobby of another . house there Is a fins French plat* glass as the invariilMt centerjiij^ "'«c; a still frame. ::-.0ii«2t>t»tl«^ mlMd'lii'i^itfc'-ft'li^^. b«t dliiplay. He ; J ^i TOW tf d :'lMrg» irlMNMi from » fut; rMititre stqBm femiit ehadbw boxea r^rtTt iM>»M tor itlif fiiee, wmA vm tiarh bpenUig, <WI thie lini #e t - " BilHiner built half a hat. iil<M was that the girls could see how tiie different styles fitted with- out having to try on. Out of the usual was a slot at one side through which her escort could peep to the effect. Intended more as a gen- #rai advertiMment than a sale* Seems to l>e the reversal of an Other hat show idea in which the girls looked through «t.the That's good, too. V Coming Cloter MaiiaKcr who tried the broken toy stunt for Christmas Rot oft too late to make it go orer ;properly last year, so he's atartlnt laTllMNii^ fa: ■K i:iai»:^:1i»M''''9»tMtf oorttaeted the :|i#wi^per and received aMniranoe / •c ita 'support He haa alsct made a deal with hardware stores for paint and tanks.' and is now contacting the manual training teaeher to, (Ml- pei vlse the repairs. .About the' middle of November the newspaper will start to talk about the poor children who will get little joy out of the festival thia 4fear. That wUL HUi. for ab Ottt rt jlays*;, when the manager wilt come ; wMh the announcement that he'll give a matinee tho Saturday after ThankaglflnaL irtimi the admtialon irtii Him old^oriwiwirtwirrT-- •>:;>■"• F«wdii«lhjg; th«' kM' Vittatineef'''In ^ _ „ iteiifj;il > pi » t w bM v the mehitiNMa wlll^fdiaii<» ar»"pli^re^ ahd !|a Mbn .fee a Workshop, and irirUi #UI <ld iMwing while the lM»ysmend Iniured arms and legs, hrokeri wheela and almilar defects. Then the toya will be made gay With bright paints and wrapped an<l t!i»;ged In preparation for the presentation on Christmas morning;, When the children will be presented With a toy and perhaps candy and fruit donated by merchanta under pri.ssure from the paper. There will be much of the stuff beyond the repair abilities of the children, ao the manager pLans to pay a man for three or four days' Work to do the hard parts. Scheme aeema to be pretty well laid outi but with ao much time in which to work it might be poMible to obtain froia liurgo oimcerna dena tions of aidiMl 0raekiH'# or fancy cakes iiad aiuttu* gobda. Many of 1|lM»ai iiHMt:««ntri '^V'litlilit'd^oteftte:' ' '.> ..f Omaha. ' As an utiraction honoriiif; its lirst year of existence as a slraiKht pic- ture housji^ under the Mort H. singer • banner. Hrandels theatre has booked a world premiere on 'Oay Divorcee' for week of October 12. Only other possible- spot for picture name date yls Iladio «Mty, and that not set. Octi>b*>r 12 will mark first time slm e building of theatre more than twonty ycjirs ago that it has been op' n 3Gj days a year. Manager Jiill Singer, who opened the house, is yet at tbo hohn with Iiouls Totter In chill ;;<> of iiiil>licity and advertising and loiiti guinlan as house man- iKith Qf yhora w«rp ih at open- : ■ Cincy Kid Club • I'in -liKi itl. _ Joe fJoetz. manager i>f ilKO Panunount. hilltop doliiN-er. has formed the 'Our *iaiit{' (JJub. •iuv, H Ket iheniberiihip; v)vM and fw .''1" enroHa^ lh lo^t/y. - Cre- dentials, jphia lie. ttekei, ilto members to Satur.lav afternoon l^JKiijpiftUnglb bccuj»ying 45 min- -ii!2f ..•W- organ caper- taSf jW^Hy. G. Oels. of hoMso staff 7«ub prec. Junior nim feattirMi I In with regular show. •; ^^^^^^ Lanca.ster, I'a. City la having an epidemic of "Most Desirable" sales with every department store taking part and its all because "Desirable" is set into the Capitol theatre. Gag, which is attracting a >ot of comment is one of a aerlea devised \au Hay o'cona^ lo; ospioit the pietiire./''' '■■ I-- - Another trick wbich was good for much free conversation was contests in all department stores for the moHt desirafclle sale with the sales girl winning it getting a free ticket to see the picture. With the con- test the stores allowed the theatre to place a notice saying much about the picture on the store bulletin boards and also in th® rMs' locker room. ■■■'■'•^■!^>:''■•■■■■■■■■-■/;•: Mo-jud':':!hoaiii1r'<4i)i|tlet good for a iMMMC wlhdoir diaplay plugging the l^eturt and the win- dow* of S$ other atorea : were uaed aa the medluiii of putting acroaa an enlarged poster of a hewspaper columnists' opinions of Desirable. The write-up waa one aheet long a»4:ar'|i|iif; (iriieet :*r^di^^ Tukiiis Joe Adapting- the idea of the ventrilo- quist's dummy handed one manager a stock lobby gag on Joe K. Brown that has been worth a lot more than the cost of tricking a three-sheet showing a larg^ head of the come- dlaa.^:;'.' .''■■'.;':>:.':/;,■,.'■' , The poater waa fl^ibt^ mounted oh waltbecrd imd. when thla had dried; a oif«iMi«nt*8hai»ed Q90id|ig wM <p|it Jiiat :1^1ow the Iq^par lip, with, the tfie eriMKfOiit down. In thl« om^hliur a wire roughly the ahape of the crea- cent waa adjuated ao that It woUId more freely. Bnda were turned out io they projected slightly at the hack of the board. I4ght aprlngs were uaed to hold the Wire loop closed. The upper lip was built with a piece of pine cut to give a bulge to the lip, and run into the poster below the nose. Loop and the open space below it were covered loosely with silk and then tinted to matcli the rest of the poster. A flne wire ran from the center of the loop in- side the opening, and was fa-^stened to a wheel, geared to a fairly rapid revolution. Kntire oral cavity wa.5 lined with red flannel. Effect when the wheel was running was that of a mouth opening and clo.sing. Backed by a repeater phonograph with a laughing record, the poster seemed to roar with laughter. Rec- ord was played with a liber needle to hold dow^ Uie. v^mM itnd^^^^^^ the laugh fMNi- k«|lMM4w^^ trona,.- , -.. It la Uaed each tiitte the come- ^ V ... Is al. ready a sort of trademark, since the record is kept solely for Brown plc- turea. Simpler than it sounds, and fPeM ' ; il' , (l i j lh -,.|he trouble. 'Count' 'Count of Monte Cristu' is goin;; to be easy pickings for any size theatre, i'ractically everyone has thrilled to the adventures of Kd- mond Dantes and most of the old timers have seen James O'Neill who made that his 'Kip Van Winkle." Consequently they are wide open for any suggestions for exploitation gags from the editor down tO the smallest store keeper. And there are plenty of angles. The most obvious, of course, is to capitalize on the The World is Mine'/,' still a catchword after half a century of use. A hookup page can be engineered on the phrase with a repeat of 'But thia or that's yours for 30c, the name Of the ar- ticle being put al%er the iMil,* Or try printing it in large Mi one aide of a card'with a aalea talk for the 'l^etura.Oii .the'other.'.', v..'.^ - ''-'' 8ch6<M''"eiiA;;vhe..Mbtd'' aeiMllhg' the puptli to wee 'm$ iPotttr* aa part: of the claaarooitt' Thia ia a aafO bet, atooe the alotT has not been apj^reclably tampered with, It Will do a lot toward giving the public a slant on clean piotiirea. It will work beat it you do not make any men-^ tion of thia angle. Just trust to the idea %o sink in. Cutouts of Dantes, with ui) i hand can t>e made to dominate ^ i'« windows, and if you want to sell the editor an idea, hang up a jifis^e fo" the best story on 'Monte CriV* ' seen,' for O'Neill by no means had a patent on the story, though he <iiu make it particularly his own. And there's no comeback. U s a good story well done, and it will not Offend any.clique. It's safe to shoot Fox Brooklyn threw a kid party to launch a serial. Made contact with a local paper to admit its kid club free for the first chapter, with a puppy to the child turning in the best short e.ssay on the pic. Spoci.-il' morning performance drew a full house. Theatre took a repeat on the puppy prize idea for the second chapter, but this time the kids had to buy In. Figured it was worth the pup to get them back for the second section and e.stablish the habit. House has l>een working in with the newspaper for a number of parties. Strand had formerly the inside track, but dropped out lately with the I^ox picking it up. PoUlf Hw?e»t o£ HiU New Haven. Poll's worked on the romance angle of 'Monte Crlstb* to land some publicity in a tieup with a depart- ment store. Signs placed around the store advised customers to look in their packages for love letters written by Cristo. About three dozen letters were scattered among bundles, each letter bietng goo<l for Oakleys. ^ House is also getting some gen- eral publicity with a campaign plugging October as the 'harvest month of hits.' A float, decorated in autumn style and with costumed farmerettes aboard, made a round of central and suburban streets. l..obby of theatre was made over into a farmyard, with a mechanical cow and everything. Ushers were in farmers'Jfoveralis and appropriate docorations'were all over the place. Slogan of 'Harve.st Festival of Hits from our Horn of I'lenty' wfta heav- ily ballyhooed and the lAfle atUh^ drew nice comment. ; ' 'A ■ : Sani Diego. Cal. ■ ^Hewv kind of ecreeh 'iSitmbsphere' ;n «^6iin6cfIon with picture exhibi- tion ia : being satisfactorily worked out at the Sprecklea ih conjunction witli Cbl'a 'One Night of Love.' Jlrlike Newman, Col exploiter, con- cocted a mixture of perfume and ;oilet water, the odor of which would nuickly disappear. Preparation is shot Into the hou.se ventilators just before the closing orange blos- som scene is revealed during Orace Moore's final song, and effect has been very realistic for patrons who generally believe their imagination is running away with them, and that the scent of the blossoms is pilli^'nierftal,,;. : Souill Town Big time Mason Cil>'. Ia. Not a dull moment in a recent presentation of a series of one-act plays by the Women's club here, and made iiossible throuRli co-op- eration of stores and variou.« style sources. In scene shifting time a style show was put on a la vodvil, there being an m.c. and a style commen- tator, show orchestra furnishing the niuaic. It was an innovatioil. 4nd iiglvt enough not to detrac^'llhWl »he H*aia;':i#i^w' ^ettterttiiiMn^nt/''. •;■ ■ Quartered Fawi BEHIND ihe KEYS lialtimoreu Joe h'ields, who operates the RI- voli, maiiunoth loop split-week .sec- ond-runner, smuggled a load of publicity into the Columbus Day street parade held by the It.alian population of the city. He had a truck dolled up with plenteous plugs for his house placarded on Its sides, and equipped it with amplified phonograi.h music; tj^; Whieh was all military. He contacted the parAde commit- tee and asked it If it wasn't a bit tiibrt oh muaie-xnaJtihg appurte* nances. When learned it was, prof- fered his apparatua. With a ahort- afre of bands, Fields spotted his truck among a group of marchers who possessed no music to strut to. but before sliding truck into parade, he saw that it was bedecked with plenty of flags, both American and Italian, ; plus bunting bearing na- tional colors of both countries. I-at-: ter prec:iution.<» were taken to pre- vent possitile squawks. His out lit was the only coinnier- cial-phigging vehicle, sign or ban- ner in thte (i>>ntire processioh. . : Colo| Absorption ; .Walter■' Wmmi^- of '" thi^' ,■ Stapley, Baltlniore. gets ft nice flash without spendthg too niwch money for 'The Case of the Howling l><>g.' It's a slitT card witli a .sli«litl.v smaller siiuaro of rod cellophaiio stai)led at the top. Copy r- ad.H '.Meet I'erry M.i>on. tbe new iilol of de- tective fii tiiii\.' Tlieie'.s blank .spare below Willi printed instriieiions to lift the cello[ihane q,nd see him come to life.•,■.;:..■:'/:■.■■ I'-i^f'-.h:-.- '';.■ \; ■ ■ I>oln(i ii^ t^^ (tut pit .^Varreh William. Ih £ jjoie feo: afid also in- aert# hi.^ h^CR» iahoVe thai: ^f Mar>' AstoP in , the» ftilJowtolg ' C0py; Stronger red of the cel|0|>halii<» Iftdes the ci»t and type. Just ai> .-idaptatiun.of the re<l aHd^ green ptinting with the color slip, htit more simple hiiil>la'abme Ways more etrectivo.'v/^'.'"^ LtOB Angeles. Managerial shifts in Fox West Coast houses locally, has been pre- cipitated by circuit's acquisition of six houses from the Hollywood West from «;harl«i lilehei«^itt«v irom the LaBrea to the Cairmel; with W. Il lC0rlih rsplpelhi; Ed F. Dickey from the Stadium to the Boulevard, replacing Illll Butts, tranaferred to the Alcazar Bell, vice Harry Denny, moved to the Cabrlllo, San Pedro, where he replaces C. S. (Doc) Crews, going to the Bl Portel in North Hollywood. W. C. Rlcord from the Kmbaasy to the Stadium, with William R. Roberts going to the former house. Charles K. Wayne from the Kl Portel to the Rivoli. replacing Al I^ake who goes to the Beverly, in Beverly Hills. Perc Swope, from Beverly to the Apollo. Hank Petera to the Paramount, In HoUyfrotI*. ■'': ' 'V''':'-^^'.'-:''■'- "-Oihaha.^.: Ted Eineraoh eomM here from the West Colait aa mslhager of the newly opened Paramiottnt. He for- merly did PMbliiiity work for (dame house three oir four years ago. Ap- pointment announced hy Evert Cumthings. diviaiohhl manager for A. H. Biank-Trl-St|i,te Co,, only day before opiening. likMi Fuller la houiKe Canton, O. Palace here, operated by A. (! i.'onstant, Steubenville, has ujipeU. admis.sion for fall and winter to 33 cents top. Two other local major houses, Loew's and Alhambra, have been cNw^ng lf aum- iner. ■ ' ■. ■ ^ ,, ' r>liio, r>>\ er. f»perated by Chest' r Htipritli and John Spldell, has been renamed the Nugent, after the .Nugent ; family of film and stage f uiie wlib fiormerly Tesidcd therfr.; * A ihambra,: N'ewar^^^^^ re> open shortly Under hafhe. J'lans have bipeii' ebmpl^$ot| l.y wliJch Wiirnvr*.,t*tllt'.glvf dp tlic capit'o|. •. ikts:..-0pe^y' 04 .., ::tol;' jf^'hh Q. Booth has takfm.^yel!' ih<r^ Middletown. Grand, Sulem, 0..dark will reopen shortly. Tony Perretta, who has a house in New Caatle, Pa., has taken over the Itei^ht theatre in Youngstown and haa re6pen<^d it with flhna. Charlotte, N. C. Fire >>roke out at the Ilitz the.itre, Ijike City, S. C, while 400 persons were In the building. All escaped unhurt with the exception of Walter Moody, an operator, who sustained painful but aOi illliimMi hurts. V ■•'Bronx, N. T. 6am Tellen^ foihfnerly ihanager of the Feiiway theatre, how managing the De Luxe. Replaces Bernard Shapiro, who resigned to become Idifiker of short subjects for the Joe Weinstock hou.ses. Managerial reins .It the Fenway taken over by Mike .Shane, one of the hoTise's owners. St. John, N. B. r, new picture theatre to opett sbOh; In. l^n%|ijMi. of C^Humbus btiild||M(i' ■.•^m: '-mm^'-'M. '."minager. :i'ekr4«^i'ci\\'f<.ef^i(>id^ , of- thc- 'trev.;', ••■;".>■■'> '■'., ■■•■■<:■ ■'.' , CI.u!: Uiiider i.■^ opf iMtiii:; the it . cently ref»pened Arcadia at .N'ewarl; ^jftlTh a cohtiniiMtjH p<jliey. I>. A. Car>''ll. operating the Strand^ at C;irev. (I., is now-imtilll^lkg-m'-i' £ul| .wvvk.,«(;UeUul%: •. i'. ■•■ ■ ■■' ''. •' v,/>;"'.,;;^..v;.- '>:/:v::; >; '{^ivS'i^n. > ■ r-' .S.Mitle. Announced by liny .Johnson. L-eneral mgr. of .T'-n.-i'-n votillerberg th(>atres, that A. .1. Kennedy has been appointed pnblieity head, .^ioc- cceding Bob Artnstrong, resigned. , LihcOlh. >nf ues Moines, be- comips city mahtiger i at Tork, Kebi. where Harry Welnlww 're^htly ad^ed the York and Suh tO hls^<^n- entl Theatres group. .Toe ftchnitxen and P.obert Jess will: StitS' oh :|k>t li'.u.-<e jnanager.**. '": • I'nderstood the ."^ti and. HasfinK.-*. .Nel),. has b<'' n ad-bd-to the A. II. IJi'ink Interests. Ti I - State. ■ W; N. Vou?i<,'chnis. just closing a 'l-il with Weinberg for the sale i>f his Columbus, N«-b., pair , d£ hoiises, pops UP in firftnd Island. N;< ^>. t /With the »;»tiirire ws. I.tt npnosh Tj^| f : :^^,^.%l l |Ank^^ /' : V. ''^ .<'|v v-'-''^-'''''-'-:-'^''''' '■'■ ■CJieveiaii-i. einbmh new tn.in.iKer •U-Loew'W, Sttite, Htiefeeding Art c,. Cattitn transferred from ]»e\v llfiUflc. New York. Comes here from Fikpt theatre. Washington, and 1s;j|t| '■%',i^y^^^!^0 jpage >»>';';■■;''''^'^^ , Kvhib who wavs able to obtain some, cutouts of cats fi .mi a commercial v ,. printer, had the f..ur paws cut off ; at various an,L;!« s. usin^; tiliout 200 ; compute cats, l ive of the.ve Were . ; specially trinuiud and these bodies . saved. Others were enveloped w illi an outside statement that: "Here is , ,i a cats paw. It may be the means of scratching your way into the ' . CarUix theatre to see Harold l.lo\d . in 'The Cat's I^aw.' Bring it to the theatre. Try to put or fit it to the . . body of one of the five c ats on dis- play. If you succeed, you'll be. pur ■ ',' guest to witness the : ■ funwii(>«t ;v comedy of the season.' The loo paws were distributed to.- - departing patrons the week in ad?* ' vance, and gained their inltereiert in • / the fiU'ce; Opening day the flv<»-■ : bodies were tftcked to a board in th* lOtrtMif 'atnd all ^were ^free.''to-:4ry-,thett:>i lui^k: As uapual a; loi of therti- fells - into JuVehile hatid^. and oni^ slhair - boy who had six exgiralned he had \ :triM|ed; ;'l>0yii^' ttpeiftsurea' lor tlie^ 'f'■,-■-' cess fiv<»; b.Ut'«: irufflenient niimbev <» ; adults WeriS interested tb make thd stunt a success. As the p^tws Were lochte'd they were tacked to the , ^ board with a card giving the win- ■'' ner's rtame, the loeky ones Veing given iiasses good for any showing , of the pietiin\ At the end of the run there were still seven legs niiss- ing.• but; n wm'-mt::i^:. «ntiit: ■■■pi ■*ry*.--^'• ing. ' ■ ■"''■■■■'::";■ Special cutouts such .as this are ' more apt to be procurable througij the large commercial litho'^rapbers than through Show printers. Make j-oiir chn'ta'^ts': tturaiuth'r:yji4r'~''lo^ printer."•• - "■■'I:'!"-\V'V..-- Kid Sideshow V One small town exploitation for 'Circus Clown' is good enough to be ; r?membered against the next- circus .' title to come along. Good for ahy - house with a large iifslde lobby or mezzanine and can be W!(»>ked in an adjacent^yaijaBt store, if there is one. The original Was laid effvto^ a store show 1ft: a Mubp In the tMa* tre building. Ah additional admis;^ ' sion of *c. waa chiiirgeid. and the proceeds. Stboye th* slight expenses, dorialed to a popular eharity. The expense was limited to $5 for a prlxe ithd about 12 for sign material. Twoi Weeks before the Joe Brown picture was due in, the manager. \r announced a $5 prize to the most ; ■ convincing freak for his side show 7 the opening day, with tickets for \ all who.se excellence entitled them '^^^^ to places on the show platf(jrm. . . Stre.ssed that the prize was for tliO best freak and not for down cos--^ tunies.-w hlch/hi Bd li 'g ii^-lllhi ai B^'- a 'sid»' ■ show. ;,'■' Borrowed lumber and trestles formed platforms on either .«ide of: the store, accommodating ab«uit 80":' kids. Windows were biOckeil V'lth extravagant 'paintings' Am6\i^-:-pfL'. ':'' per from tl^ :locai datlyfvth« e^ of paper "rOIIji;- ' .'.' : Firatiprtee; went.:to'.ii^wlldyma<i whoae costume conslsteilVhirgefy .o^f burtit cork. In addition the 10-yeatr;*t^^ old wore a pair of yellow trunks. .* spotted blitibk to suggest a leopard'c' skin, ahd a wig made of curtain fi'inge sewed to a skull cap. Other entries were fat woinen, /; snake charmers, a tattooed girl, a ' three-legged boy and similar gags. l-;ach vlsit')r was given a vole, to be placed in a box at the feet of ' each entrant. Show took in $11. of V which half was proht. And they i: want a repea't.';iioo^^ b«ii;aaSe.'.a|l eh-^'■.■'.'' joyed it. ^' .■"::'' ■■,:.. r-,'v."v"-'';'.i- ■ v-;';;>:'J^|*ii^'/l^ ' ' ■ Vi ' ' ■' St. Paul. V JjOU (iolilen. local Orpbeum iiigi., is conducting an unu.-^u.il canipaign . in bringing tlieatie back alive ; (vaii'le'.s Iciek here ;»fter a tuo-.\car . dearth > in his Latest ni.anetner. Lou calls on local newspaper editors and • " astcs theni for rec()mmendiatloh# on,. .J; which acts to book. ' ' fJolden makes suggestions and iisk.s for cominent. He feels that , the rag boys, having lived here yars • ah' yars, know the local tempera- ment iniuch better than he^ a |)ew import. Also, Irillowlng trehds as evidenced by ^irtUlatioi) seraphs. editors MhQW liretty well wh^t ty#f t»f entrjitftMhiPbt should cllek, ac- cordihg to eircUm«i*iat>?i?:» M the ; 'timelS.;'-v., 'J,, '^ i a ,.■ ■■ '■. '■■ '■ -..■ '■■■k'■• : :idea niay |«f^%;e a baromtoter to shwrmen efsewherei Any >\ fty, Lqu > Hgiifes, there's notU - :. ing h!^ can lose: lie cup iiiways pijs«t ttp^ fh'^'r aii^igefivions anil^'.r^^ his own 5J!i:»l*tfi(Mii: ' Whph; editoik' Inmches tllcli,;' it PSenMs be.atleoup > coliimnf« «(f white fspacp; ' i ^■■(•^vj';':;,^Leading, 'Em -to, It. /y''/:.:::-y': /"! .if5«h|bvha(» ■rdUn<t-'!ti >>iie|t it' ffjiiir be ' wo'rK^ d. -bl'ihi^s I 'rj'.'"^;' • some mon».',v; AloWg T»ne 'u\o nf'^u^ • ' loUl.y, b'.iiliiig dirf'Cfly to th.' en- ^ tram (' (looi-, he runs ;i strip of cornp*! f.ofird, e>('-high and looi; erio;i;'!i to re if b to the street coi ner ' i of ii:.' iobi.y. On tliii stilLs alv . jiiKted t'» illu.strate a niitnlhg story : : W(r.-t]^»>:/;: If l<' t u re ,■; bi«l f