Crooner (Warner Bros.) (1932)

“Crooner” is a “natural” for exploitation. Stunts and tie-up possibilities are unlimited. Don’t be afraid to go hard on this one for any effort you put behind it will be reflected in the boxoffice— Megaphone Novelty Tying directly in with the title, this megaphone will prove a great help to you in spreading the news around that you are playing ‘‘Crooner.’’ Printed on a very good stock with reinforced edges it will last for a good while. The title, cast, illustration, copy, and your theatre imprint and playdate have been worked into a very neat layout which will get more than a normal amount of attention. Printed in a very effective blue on white paper you are assured of an outstanding novelty. Price complete: e000 oe ee $10.00 2000 > Se 9.75 per M fou = 9.50 per M 18 | 6] | SESeniee Sears erat 9.00 per M Order direct from EDWARD I. PLOTTLE CoO. 951 Drake St., New York City. raogner Contest _.vvst tO discover the people in town best able to imitate the most famous radio erooners. Have a section for men and one for women. Let them choose their own imitations and hold the elimination contest on the stage a week in advance of your play date, the finals to be held opening night. Whoop it up with plenty of newspaper publicity on the contest, the picture, crooners and radio. Make it an entirely amateur contest, with radio auditions for winners. If possible, get the radio station to run a program with the winners, using the selections that won for them. Promote prizes for the winners from local merchants. Radio Tie-up Tie-up with your local radio station for a series of daily an nouncements whereby the playdate of ‘‘Crooner’’ at your theatre is mentioned and the first 25 listeners writing in each day on ‘‘Why I Like Radio Crooners’’ will receive a David Manners’ ‘‘Crooner’’ megaphone (see megaphone novelty, this section). Run the announcements in the morning and evening, if possible, in order to reach both men and women at the best possible times. A courtesy ticket arrangement with the station and a small announcement in your ads telling readers to listen in at the times set for the announcements will probably get you the cooperation of the station, in addition to the fact that the picture is based on the creation of an idol via radio. Page Ten turning it to their own or Changed Lives Run a newspaper contest asking the question ‘‘What slight thing has vitally affected your life?’’ awarding passes as prizes for the best answers. Explain in the introductory and day-by-day copy that it was an accident that catapulted the radio star in ‘‘Crooner,’’ a story based on the life of a real life radio star, to the immense popularity which he won and lost. Key the announcement in such a way that you will get answers showing how lives and careers were affected by seemingly slight or unimportant happenings. Glee Clubs Get the cooperation of local school or college glee clubs or singing groups. Have them on the stage of your theatre for the showing of ‘‘Crooner’’ and stress the idea of ‘‘mass crooning,’’ furnishing the singers with megaphones. Have a different singing group each night and make some arrangement with the organizations to which they belong whereby the organizations will sell special tickets, keeping the amount charitable uses. Slide Novelty Have your organist secure choruses of popular songs which have become identified with the crooning singers on the air. Among the songs and their singers are: ‘‘Deep Night’? — Rudy Vallee; ‘‘Where The Blue Of The Night’’ — Bing Crosby; ‘‘Carolina Moon’? — Mort Downey; ‘‘You Call It Madness’? — Russ Columbo; ‘“When The Moon Comes Over The Mountain’’ — Kate Smith. Have the audience sing the numbers and the organist tell them about them and the singers, writing his own gag slides for each crooner. Song-Fest Here’s a sure-fire and inexpensive method of getting advance notice for ‘‘Crooner,’’ that will also liven up your show. Distribute to all patrons, through your ticket-taker or an usher stationed at the entrance, the card-board megaphone illustrated in this section. Get slides on the most popular of the current songs and have your organist arrange a presentation for audience singing. Among the songs, be sure to . use ‘‘Three’s A Crowd’’ and “‘Sweethearts Forever,’’ the hits from ‘‘Crooner.’? An nounce, either on the slide or through the organist, that they are from ‘‘Crooner’’ which is coming to your theatre, mentioning the cast and playdate. Tie-up with your music dealer if possible, having him pay the expense of this stunt in exchange for a slide or lobby card mentioning that the songs used are available at his store on records and in sheet music. This paper mache figure effectively done in relief has been prepared on this picture. Its actual size is 14 larger than life. It comes in three styles: Head $10.00. Head with arm raised permanently with megaphone $15.00. Head with arm and megaphone—with mechanics for animation exclusive of phonograph and records $25.00. In this model the arm raises to the lips and sets the phonograph record off at point of contact. ¢ Order direct from NOELL-BERMAN 18 WEST 8th STREET NEW YORK CITY Orders must be in at least one week before shipping date. Se SSS SEN SSSSEssSneSnnnsnnsssiasoess soesouanmaan, Winona Se ene pees seeeisetenensiaagecs oe asaceseauannnnamsanemanantinianemasaseames eee emma ee te ee Displays Work a lot of girl stuff into your display. Main enlargements and cut-outs should show love scenes between David Manners and Ann Dvorak. Still No. C213 is particularly suitable. It shows them kissing in front of a miercphone. There, are many night club ~~shots included in your branch stills which are unusually suitable for displays. Hang megaphones around your lobby for decorative atmosphere. . Megaphones _ suspended under your marquee with one letter of the title of the picture on each will get street attention. Or— have the title formed by small megaphones tied together to form the letters and suspended from the marquee. Use brightly colored mega ery 0 6a phones. The megaphone letters can be used above the marquee also. Have your artist paint the title in megaphone letters in the frames. Large megaphones attached to the public address system and _ placed above the box-office create a strong effect. Make certain your door. man-es-—=— phone-with the title in bold the showing and during the run. A smash display above the marquee would be an enormous megaphone constructed of card-board with the title of the picture and cast credits painted on it in bright colors. At night throw colored lights on it. In addition, for the front of your theatre, string the small megaphones from the top of the building to each corner of the marquee. fa RE a EERE ESE SE a RE SS TS SSSR Se a Crooner Contest Hold a contest similar to the suggestion for imitations of erooners, with the exception that it be one to find the best crooner in town, rather than to find the best imitation. Follow through in the same way otherwise — as to newspaper, screen, radio announcements and publicity and prizes promoted from merchants for the winners. Also, try to secure a radio audition for the winners and put them on the air in a. special sustaining program. Reporter ' Stunt Send out an inquiring reporter to ask men and women what they think of crooners, running the answers of the men one day and the women the next. Among the questions the newspaper: could use are: ‘“Why do women like crooners?’’ ‘*‘Do men like crooners?’’ ‘‘Are erooners singers?’’ “Do you like ecrooners and why?’’. Use similarly controversial questions, explaining that your showing of ‘‘Crooner’’ is the inspiration for the questions and that each person answering the daily question will receive a pair of passes for your theatre. Run. photos of the people answering the questions. Voice Test Here’s a peach of a stunt that people will go for in droves owing to the great curiosity people have about how their voices would. record in either the movies or over the radio. It is a novel idea used by the Isis Theatre in Lynchburg, and ean be worked by you without any cost. Co-operate with your radio store in putting on a VOICE TEST. Place a microphone on one side of your lobby, connected by wires running inconspicuously to a radio on the other side of the lobby. Invite patrons to either speak or sing through the microphone and hear for themselves (and the spectators) how they sound on the radio, offering a promoted radio as a prize for the person with the best ‘‘mike voice.’’ A variation of the above would be to secure the cooperation of a radio station in holding auditions on the stage of the theatre. Judges in either ~ case should be prominent voice teachers and radio men. If a popular favorite is in town, have him act as one of the judges. With a radio station co-operating, you will be able to get daily announcements over the air on playdate, stars and picture.