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(October 25, 1999 - December 23, 1999)
The exhibit catalogue
If Hollywood is to be considered 'The Dream
Factory,' then the studio publicity department must be termed 'The Seller
of Dreams.' Without their best efforts, a film would go practically unnoticed.
Since the earliest days of the motion picture, the greatest challenge
facing the moviemaker was getting paying audiences into the theatre. The
posters, ads, photographs and other publicity-getting devices in this
display help to better understand the organized effort that goes into
getting people into those theatre seats.
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Still photos of the stars
(Ronald Colman, left) or actual scenes from the movies (Peter Cushing in
Star Wars, right) could be placed in newspapers, magazines or even hung
in theatre lobbies to make the movie-goer aware of upcoming attractions.
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One of the best and most enduring ways to stir up interest is
to either turn the movie into a book or to place the film-ad artwork on the
cover of a book made into a movie.
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The 'herald' (left) was a
give-away leaflet publicizing not only the films coming to a particular
theatre, but also the contests and special live shows which made up a night
at the movies years ago. Souvenir programs, such as this one for Moby
Dick (WB 1956) (right), were sold at the theatre so that audiences could
take something with them.
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Gimmicks, like this 1981 'Odorama' scratch-and-sniff card were
ways that film-makers lured people away from their TV sets. 3-D, wide-screen and
overwhelming sound systems were (and still are) other methods employed. |
