Variety (Apr 1939)

VARIETY PICTURES Wednesdajt ApiU S, 1939 FILM SHOWMANSHIP Hollywood Players Captnre Dodge City At Record Premiere By ARTHDB VNOAR Dodige City, Kan., April 4. Most thorough and intensive ex- ploitation campaign was put on by Warners lor opening its film, ,'Dodge City,' here Sat (1). It marks new trend in exploiting and preraiering pictures in the locale indigenous to subject-matter, and makes hinterland feel itself as important and big with its $3 premiere as Hollywood in the past with its five and ten-dollar openings. More aian 350 people were brought here , by Warners via' special trains and planes. There were 175 in the Hollywood contingent; 75 from Bos-, ton, New York, Chicago and way stations, aU o£ latter being press. Also scores of exhibs from.south and southwest and from .neighboring states. Besides 30 film names in Hoi' lywood entourage, governors of Kan^ sas, New Mexico and Colorado were on hand as honor guests. Around 75,000 people taxed facili- ties of this 10,000 population town to evei7 extent, with hotels and all ac- commodations being exhausted, with folks sleeping in parks, around rail- road depot, and many even going Into qi»iet confines of historic Boot Hill cemetery for slumberous relief. Dodge City outdid itself in' han- dling premiere, which was held in three houses—the Dodge, Cosy and Crown, which have combined seat- ing capacity of' 2,900. The Dodge charged $3 for-the opening, and the others $2. Following deluxe show, three houses went on steady grind all night until midnite Sunday, and played during that time to around 30,000 admissions, or triple town popuation. Hollywood contingent was, of course, center of focus. Their train of 14 cars had two eastern sleepers attached at Syracuse, Kans., and then came into Dodge City with an aerial escort of 25 planes and a fleet of motor vehicles. Sirens screeched all way into Dodge City, with planes never being more than 15 feet above ground. It was a colorful and thrill- ing sight for the mobs as well as the pic crowd. With the train anchored in Santa Fe depot, visitors were assembled for parade, which had about 20,000 par- ticipants and took about two hours to given point. - .Natives and pic By John C. Flinn crowd were dressed in .period cos- tumes and used the period mode of transportation. Follow.ing the pa- rade, visitors were lunched at local hotel,' then taken t« stadium for. rodeo, after which they did two broadcasts, one over NBC stations and other over Mutual, with George Fischer coming on from Hollywood to handle latter. WB players, includ- ing Enrol Flynn, Ann Sheridan, Alan Hale, Big Boy Williams, Lane Sisters, John Payne, Hoot Gibson, Buck Jones, Gilbert Roland, Claire Wind- sor, Lya Lys, Harry Rosenthal, Allan Jones, Maxie Rosenbloom, Humphrey Bogart, Mayo Methot, Frank Mc- Hugh, Jane WyiMn, Frances Robin- son and Wayne Morris, participated in events. They then covered three premieres for personal appearances, with Maxie Rosenbloom handling, the m.c. chore. Fntire arrangements were han- dled by Warner publicity department cre'ws from New 'Vork and Holly- wood, with men having been as- signed here for three weeks to do' local buildup, and with Hollywood and New York forces handling ex- ploitation and publicity en route and while here. . Jaunt cost Warners around $75,000, and they admit its cost already retrieved in advance publicity. Train from Coast stopped at all towns during trip east, and likewise going home, =for players to make platform appearances. In eight stops 6ast more than 50,000 people were at railroad tracks to greet con- tin^.ent and get autographs. Train left here Sunday morning (2) at seven to return to Hollywood. The story behind the story of 'Vernon and Irene Castle is a tale of expert showmanship which lifted two gifted ballroom dancers to heights of popularity in America and Europe to which no dance team before or since has ascended. Surely there must be some measure of time more accurate than the years, Glimpsing backward to the period which immediately preceded the great war, one views a world much further removed from New York of today than the scant 25 years which separate the. then of 1814 and the now of 1939. The Castles were of that time. Their brilliant and spectacular careers, the dancing craze which they started and nourished, the mark they have left on American life and manners, and the impress of their remarkable personalities on millions of persons ■who never saw them but whose lives were affected by their doings, constitute a.chapter that is imique in theatrical history. Younger generation of today would have a difficult time visualizing exactly what the Castles did as pro- fessionals and the significance of their unique contri- bution to society and the theatre. No mixed team act ever influenced so wide a sphere both in and outside of the theatre. Only Will Rogers, who came later, may be said to have acquired com- ' parable popularity and fame. The new RKO fllm, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, in the. Castle saga now showing at the Radio City Music Hall, has caught something of the spirit of New York in pre-war days. The visualization, how- ever, has been treated from the comedy angle with the intent of plucking some fun from the fashions and customs of the period. Actually, New York in i913, was a very complacent sort of a place. Times were good. The city was thor- oughly recovered from the financial stress of 1907. Woodrow Wilson occupied the White House, succeeding William Howard Taft Newspapers were full of the controversy over the Federal Reserve System legisla- tion. Europe, except as a place which prosperous famUies visited, just didn't figure in . the' American scheme of things. Hotel life revolved around the old Waldorf, at Fifth avenue and 34th street; the Plaza, St Regis, Astor, Holland House, Knickerbocker, McAlpin, Rector's and the Metropole. The popular restaurants were the several Shanley establishments, including one in the Putnam building, now the Paramount; Delmonico's, at 44th street and Fifth avenue; Sherry's, diagonally across the street in what is now the Guaranty Trust Co.'s up- town branch; Mouquin's, in Sixth avenue, and innu- merable smaller prices. Nearly all the legitimate theatres now standing were operating ini 1913, although Broadway's skyline was unmarked by any large motion picture theatre, except the Strand at 47th street. Films played in store shows, although Marcus Loew had finished the Greeley Square and had taken the lease on the Herald Square theatre- at 35th stireet George M. Cohan was appearing in 'Broadway Jones' at the Cohan; George Bernard Shaw's •Fanny's First Play,' was at the Comedy; 'Little Wo- men' was a hit at William A. Brady's Playhouse; Ed- ward Knoblock's fiiie play, 'Milestones,' with Haidee Wright, was at the Liberty, and Laurette Taylor was in the midst of a two-year run of 'Peg O* My Heart,' by J. Hartley Manners, at the Cort. Word had come to Broadway of the success in Paris, of a dancing team composed of 'Vernon Castle, erst- while eccentric English comic in several of Lew Fields' Broadway musical productions, and his young Amer-. lean wife, Irene. They were dancing at the Cafe de Paris. What attracted professional attention chiefiy was that Elisabeth Marbury, known as an astute and far-seeing entrepreneuse, was sponsoring their Eu- ropean engagement First appearance of the Castles in a New York the- atre was in February, 1913, with Julia Sanderson and Joseph Cawthorne in 'The Sunshine Girl,' produced by Charles Frohman at the Knickerbocker. Castle played the second comedy lead. Other principals were Flossie Hope, Alan Mudie, Eva Davenport, Tom Lewis and Eileen Kearney. Following appeared in the 'Variety review: 'Castle was prominent aU the time through his dancing. A dance in which he Was seconded by Miss Castle was quite the hit of the evening^ while the tango near the finish with Miss Sanderson ran a close second.' Old Coach Bally Boston, April 4. Ancient stagecoach and four not- vety-spaqking greys rolU around Boston to excite attention for open- ing of 'Stagecoach' (UA) at Loew's State and Orpheum. Coach was used for many years on the old Worcester Road and was loaned^ by the Wayside Inn first plugged by Nathaniel Hawthorhe,- located in Sudbury and now owned by Henry Ford. BIDINQ THE CREST OF SUCCESS Before the winter of 1913 was over Miss Marbury established Castle House- in East 46th street, opposite the Ritz. Dancing instructors were installed. The Castle System of. polite ballroom dancing was taught to hundreds. Jim Europe's crack colored orchestra was the official Castle band and was the most sought after musical organization in New York for special social events, comingrout paiities'.and balls. Out-of-town dancing teachers came to New York for post-graduate, courses imder 'Vernon Castle's personal direction. The dance craze was spreading. What was happening was a breaking down of social manners and customs that had maintained since the turn of the century. The automobile was coming along and a transition of living was under way. The CasUes exemplified the change. Men and women were seek- ing entertainment and diversion outside of tiie home and neighborhood. Public dancing was something un- heard of in many fine hotels and restaurants, and was not indulged by people of moderate means. Dancing meant formality. Big city dance halls were joints— and worse. The Castles released pent-up desires for wholesome fun. They typified the gay, handsome, young American couple. They proved it was possible for a man to dance with his wife and enjoy himself. The one-step, the Castle Walk, maxixe and various trots were simple routines, quickly learned. Their names became synony- mous with the dance vogue which,, already having started in a crude form on the Pacific Coast, swept the country. Under such, an avalanche, which brought along other ' top pr6fesslonal teams, the Castles' position at the crest of the movement was maintained by Miss Marbury with shrewed skill. A transcontinental tour booked by Pat Casey was undertaken; the Castles were enter- tained by society leaders everywhere; the fashion mag- azines played up Mrs. Castle's costumes and millinery. Every possible avenue of exploitation was covered. WOMEN'S BOBS BQBN BT ACdDENT Elsie Janis relates, that the origin of the famous Castle hair-bob was the result of a petulant piece of impatience on the part of Mrs. Castle when she was resting in a Paris hospital. Uncomfortable because of the summer heat, she reached to a nearby table, picked up a pair of scissors and cut off her hair. When she returned to Deauville, where she and 'Vernon were dancing; the shortened hair was trimmed to a Dutch bob, atop which, she wore a. dainty white lace cap. Within 48 hours half the women in DeauvUle had cut their hair in similar fashion. The most revolutionary change in women styles in half a century bad taken place. 'When the Castleis returned to New York in the fall of 1913 they were engciged by Louis Martin to dance at the Cafe de I'Opera, Broadway at 41st street. At the height of their success as ballroom - dancers they made their debut in a vaudeville house at Hammer- stein's 'Victoria, in February, 1914. Later they opened their own Sans Souci in the Heidelberg building. The Castles were in Deauville when the World 'War broke out They returned to New York and opened at the New Amsterdam theatre under Charles Dilling- ham's management in 'Watch Your Step,' Irving Ber- lin's musical revue. Now they were at the peak of their fame. 'Vernon played one of the leads in a com- pany, that included Harry Kelley, Eliabeth Murray, Frank Tinney and Justine Johnstone. Mrs. Castle had a small speaking part and attempted a song but the Castle terping was the standout At the close of their engagement Castle enlisted in the British aviation ser- vice. His tragic ending at Ft Worth, Texas, caused widespread mourning. Not only in New York but throughout the country the dance urge found expression universally. Other dance teams became popular and featured new and modified'steps. Maurice and Florence Walton, attracted a large following. They were billed heavily for a num- ber of years in the class hotels. Another popular team was Joan Sawyer and Wallace McCutcheon. Her other dancing partners, after McCutcheon went overseas in service with the British army, were Carlos Sebastian and Jack Jarrott Bonnie Glass, a fine dancer with heavy society backing, was another who figured promi- nently in the early years of the dance era. She danced with various parbiers. In the Astaire-Rogers film the character played by Edna May Oliver as Maggie Sutton is the counterpart of the real life role taken by Miss Marbury in the rise of the Castles. Showmen place high value on her share in the success of the Castles. It was she who saw the signs of the time, who guided the dancers care- fully through their first two years, setting the ground for their great success. Miss. Marbury kept their pub- licity moving constantly. She was a tireless worker in their behalf. The names of 'Vernon and Irene Castle blaze again In lights after 25 years. In effect, the brilliance of their short but meteorlike career never has dimmed through a quarter of a century. The advertising billing of the film at the Music Hall Is evidence enough of the last- ing power of showmanship. It is: -The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle SiarrlDff Fred Astaire and Ginfcr Borers. The Castles had that thing that makes them first They were the champions. LimdigaB Day Sets Off '3 Smart Girls' Baflyhoo in Sy'cnse Honey Back Goarantee If You DonH Like Fdm Oklahoma City, April 4. Genuine and sincere money-back guarantee will soon be posted by houses- of the Griffith Amusement Company circuit showing better types of pictures, it has been an- nounced here. The offer will be made only on 'good' pictures and will be backed up by a cash refund. Stunt will be extensively ballyhooed on screens when trailers are shown for these better attractions; also in newspaper advertising and posters. 'Dark Victory* (WB) is first fllm on which the offer will be made to the public New Acts (From, 'Variety, Feb. 16, '14.) MB. AND MBS. 'VERNON CASTLE DANCING 1» MINS.; IHBEE HAMMEBSTEIN'S, N. T. Accompanied -lay a special or- chestra of 12 colored instru- mentalists, Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Castle gave an exhibition of modern 'society dancing* at Ham- merstein's Monday evening that was distinguished for charm, style, rhythm, fluidity and origi- nality of stepping. They opened with a maxixe, followed by a sort of Argentine tango, finish- ing with the almost famous Castle -Walk., For an encore, a whirlwind waltz brought down the house, Jolo. Wilby-Kincey TlM^tre Draws Biz with Stents Spartanburg, S. C. Cvolina, top Wilby-Kincey layout, is tops with sho'wman^ip, House awarded. 25 ducats to winners in a Loretta Young ('Wife, Husband and Friend*) jigsaw puzzle conducted .through local morning - evening sheets, also conducted an 'oldest sweethearts' contest for the Stewart- Lombard film, 'Made For Each Other.' Prizes went to couples mar- ried greatest number of years. Meanwhile, State clicked heavily with a newsboys tie-up for Jackie Coogan film," 'Newsboys* Home." Stunts included circulatiqn depart- ment tie-ins with newsboys' parade, special show-for them, etc. Syracuse, April 4. Finest example of producer co-op. eration seen here in years made possible-, .bright exploitation for Syracuse showing of Three Smart Girls Grow Up* at RKO-Schine Keith*s here last week. At the request of Gus Lampe, Syracuse district manager for Schine houses, Universal Studios made a special recording of a message from 'William Lundlgan, former Syracuse radio announcer, who played oppo- site Deanna Durbln in tiie fllm. in the recording, Lundigan expressed greetings to Syracuse friends and gave the picture quite a plug. The disc was aired over 'WFBL, where Lundigan formerly was em- ployed, and was played up as the feature of 'William Lundigan Day.' At the request. of Lampe, Mayor Rolland B. Marvin issued a procla- mation officially setting aside the day the picture had its local premiere as 'William Lundigan Day.* Lampe also secured the endorsement' of the Chamber of Commerce for the spe- cial 'day.' Studio's prompt respon.se to. Lampe's request and special care in shipping fllm by air to make sure it' would be here for the premiere made possible a banner get-away for the picture. STAR, FILM TAGS KEPT SECRET, SO BIZ BIG Oklahoma City, April 4, Houses of .the Griffith Amuse- ment Company put on the circuit's annual April Fools' Night. The name of the. feature and the sUrs were kept secret in each instance but public was guaranteed a good shovr. Theatre steff at each house did the unusual, limited only by each man- ager's imagination. At some houses ushers dressed in girls clothes, while cashiers wore boys suits. In oth- ers, ' ushers asked the patrons to show them a seat and occasionally the cashier insisted on giving the patron a quarter instead of taking one for the admission ticket. Cashiers tried to sell washing ma- chines and lingerie; ma-nagers stood around and looked dumb and were unable to answer any questions: Breaks were set in the film for flash • ing old-time slides such as 'Ladie? Please Remove Your Hats' and all such similar stunts. Winners of Paris Trip To Be Picked This Week Winners In the "Marie Antoinette* trip to Paris essay contest are being picked this week by Metro and out- side judges. Contest was held as part of M-G-M international good- will service, with the French gov- ernment cooperating to make the jaunts i>ossible. Actually only four essay scribes will get the all-expense trips, two other awards going to the exhibitors using the best exploitetion campaign on this Metro picture. Contests were carried on by 31 different branches of M-G-M. Expenses will include all costs from any point in this country to Paris. Judges were Edward Knight, of the French Lines; A. D'OrnanQ, of the French Tourist Bureau; William Lewin, National Education Assoc.; W. R. Ferguson, exploitation chief for Metro, and David Blum, secre- tary of Metro's foreign department Mr. and Mrs. Gable's Oldie Gets Timely Pitt Revival Pittsburgh, April 4. Harris booking office here was quick to capitalize op marriage last week of Qark Gable' and Carole Lombard. Couple of days after couple's elopement hit the front pages, Harrises shot in old Far flicker, 'No Man of Her Own,' which co-sterred Gable and Miss Lombard, at Senator, on-double bill with an- other reissue, 'Cimarron.* House pulled "Navy Secrets,' a flrst-runner, to make room for 'Man.'* Advertise- ments made it read 'Mr. and Mrs. Clark Gable.' Only few months ago, 'Man* played a-date at flrst-run Fulton for third time.