Here's something that arrived a while back, and it's been on my desk until I figured out a way to add it to the blog, because it is much too big to scan. Luckily, I received a "real" digital camera, so no more I-Phone photos. While they aren't dead-on photos, which kept causing shadows and glare, they are sharp enough for the articles to actually be read, and they are very entertaining, so let's get started:
The publicity ideas (and "Seat Selling Slants" here) are always entertaining, and it's mind-boggling to think of any theater today going to that much trouble. My favorites are:
1) "Wherever possible stencil enormous footsteps -- 5 to 6 feet or more in length and proportioned--on busy streets..." There are so many problems there, it's hard to take them all in. Notice they don't offer to SUPPLY anyone with whatever that gargantuan stencil would look like, much less what it would have to be made from--an entire sheet of plywood? And then you are supposed to paint them onto busy streets? Isn't that vandalism? Not to mention the liability...oh, thanks American International! Not only am I in prison, but in a full body cast...!
2) "Spot all places where buildings have been wrecked or razed in your area....post signs....reading "Godzilla fought The Thing here!" Once again, there are so many things wrong with this...who writes this stuff? I am sure tornado victims or families who have had house fires wouldn't mind, since it's all in the name of publicity!
3) "Contact local police and fire departments and Defense Department..." Ok, we have talked about this before, I know, but that was ridiculous even in 1964. This one adds a new level of ridiculousness though, asking theater owners to annoy the DEFENSE DEPARTMENT in the middle of the Cold War to talk to them about the new Godzilla movie. I'd love to hear how THAT would have turned out!
Also, note at the bottom of that page, there is an offer for Radio Spots. (See previous post to hear one.) Here, we learn that there were THREE created for the film, which would have arrived on a vinyl record, and that they were FREE!! Is it too late to write in???!??!?!
I sure would love to have high res scans of all of this art!
ReplyDeleteMe too, maybe I can figure out a way and make that a future project, to get all of these scanned.
ReplyDeletePressbooks are HUGE, and they aren't even all the same (all over the map). You'd really need a "drum scanner" to do it right, or else there would be lots of stitching to do that would never look right!