Here are 16 wild PR moves from the silent era and old Hollywood:
1.
Harry Reichenbach was one of the most famous press agents in the early days of Hollywood. To promote the 1918 film Tarzan of the ApesHe had an orangutan dressed as a movie star in a glamorous evening dress and silk hat. The primate was taken to the lobby of the Knickerbocker Hotel.
2.
For the 1920s Tarzan's RevengeReichenbach's ideas just got crazier! Introducing himself as a musician named T. R. Zann, he verified himself at the Belleclaire Hotel in New York. Declaring that he wanted a Steinway piano in his room, he hired a team of messengers to help carry the massive wooden box. Some time later, he called room service with a strange request – they brought 15 pounds of raw steak to his room.
Puzzled, the hotel manager called back to double check that they had heard everything correctly. Having received confirmation, the manager accompanied the waiter with a steak. In the room they found not a piano, but a 450-kilogram lion!
Naturally, the employees called the detective. Then the police were called. Media representatives soon appeared. The pieces fell into place – T. R. Zann impersonated Tarzan, and his new film was about to hit theaters!
3.
In 1920, Reichenbach said New York Times that he once planned to kidnap actress Clara Kimball Young and hold her for ransom by Mexican bandits until she was “rescued by eight blond cavalrymen.”
He said: “I went overseas on behalf of the Creel Bureau doing exactly the same job. I spent $8,300 of my own money and was shot with shrapnel. I was unable to get the money back so I tried to get it back through an exchange. I received assurances that President Wilson would support me in this little bandit raid. Clara Kimball Young didn't even know this was coming.”
4.
Sixty eight years ago Bugonia posted free early screening for people wanting to shave their heads, Universal Pictures paid Aspiring actress Patricia Smith will pay $300 to have her head shaved in the middle of a San Francisco movie theater lobby for promotion. Girl in the Kremlin. The film has famous scene where Natalie's character Daryl has her head forcibly shaved.
5.
When silent film star Florence Lawrence, also known as the “first movie star”, left the Biograph Company for IMP, she had a famous face, but the audience did not know her name. Suddenly there was a rumor that she was hit by a car or tram while filming in New York. In response, IMP ran a famous ad called “We Debunk the Lies.”
The advertising text said: “The blackest and at the same time the stupidest lie spread by the enemies of the Betenok was the story forced on the public of St. Louis last week that Miss Lawrence (the Betenok girl, formerly known as the Biograph girl) was killed by a streetcar. It was a black lie because she was so cowardly. It was a stupid lie because it was so easy to disprove. Miss Lawrence wasn't even outside. car accident, is in full health, will continue to star in the films “Betenok”, and very soon some of the best work in her career will be released. We are now announcing our next films…”
Over the past years, many suggested that IMP founder Carl Laemmle started rumors about Florence's death, but nothing was ever proven. However, he definitely benefited from the attention. A few weeks after his announcement, he actually took the actress to St. Louis so the public could see for themselves that she was still healthy.
6.
For propaganda purposes in 1947 romantic comedy, Egg and mepress agent Jim Moran walked To Los Angeles Ostrich Farm and – with the memoir on which the film was based – sat on an abandoned ostrich egg until it hatched 19 days, four hours and 32 minutes later. He reportedly squatted in a specially designed wheelchair during the day and slept in an ostrich pen at night.
7.
Ten Commandments Director Cecil B. DeMille's publicity stunt still carries political significance. In 1956 he found out that the Fraternal Order distributed copies of the Ten Commandments as a measure against juvenile delinquency. So he convinced them to donate large stone tablets of the Ten Commandments to be displayed outside government buildings and in public parks throughout the country.
Narrated by film fan and historian Parker Riggs Chron“DeMille knew how to promote his films in a really bombastic way. But there was more to it than that. His huge ego – he even told Ten Commandments behind the scenes—matched his religious zeal. He was very, very religious. His Bible films were sincere in what he believed. They were not intended solely to make money.”
8.
After review 1943 CriminalJoe Breen, who enforced the Hays Code in Hollywood, ordered Producer Howard Hughes removed dozens of “inappropriate” shots of actress Jane Russell's breasts, which he said were “shockingly emphasized and in almost every case substantially exposed.” However, Howard ignored him and, in a play on controversy, hired a skywriter to write the movie's title and then draw two circles with dots in the center to represent boobs.
He also released promotional posters depicting Jane resting in a haystack, along with slogans such as “How would you like to fight Russell?” and “Sneaky! Moody! Fabulous!”
9.
In 1958, the Union Artists advanced That horror film Macabre with this scary ad: “The producers of the film MACABRE agree to pay the sum of ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in the event of death from fright of any spectator during the performance.”
And they really meant every word! Before taking their seats in the theater, moviegoers were required to sign a $1,000 life insurance policy. To really sell it, theaters also had nurses and hearses on hand.
The idea was the brainchild of director William Castle, who would appear at the film's premiere in a coffin or hearse. Film historian Katherine Klepper said Smithsonian Institution magazine: “He was reportedly angry that no one bothered to die because that would have been great press. He was something of a genius when it came to promotion, anticipating what would please audiences or differentiate his product, which in many ways was an average, low-budget family horror film of the period.”
10.
Castle became famous for his eccentric PR campaigns. For the 1959s TinglerHe convinced Theater owners installed electric bells on their seats, which shook the audience at certain points in the film. He called the technology Percepto. Before the start of the film, viewers were greeted with a video message from Castle himself.
He said: “I feel obliged to warn you that some of the sensations, some of the physical reactions that the actors on the screen experience will also be experienced, for the first time in the history of cinema, by some members of that audience. I say “certain members” because some people are more sensitive to these mysterious electronic pulses than others. These poor sensitive people will feel a strange tingling sensation from time to time. Others will feel it less strongly. But don't worry; you can protect yourself. tingling sensation, you may get immediate relief…”
He also planted a woman in the audience feigned hysterics and fainted at the moment when the narrator informed the audience that the main monster had escaped into the very theater from which they were watching.
11.
Castle's 1961 thriller. Murderous included “Fear Break” right before the climax. If moviegoers were afraid to finish a film, they could leave and stand in the “Coward's Corner” in the lobby demanding a full refund.
12.
PreliminaryPsychothis was the norm for cinemas: visitors could come at any time and take a seat in the middle of the movie, and if they miss a part, they will just stay and watch it again. However, the director Alfred Hitchcock went to great lengths to defend its many twists, most notably the first act twist where Janet Leigh, who was positioned as the star, is killed off. Therefore, he prohibited moviegoers from coming after the film had started.
At first, the theaters did not want to comply with his demands. However, having a scheduled start time meant that lines of waiting patrons were buzzing with anticipation. The campaign was so successful that it transformed the moviegoing experience into what we know today.
13.
Promote Dracula's Daughter1936 horror film about a female vampire who attacks other women, Joe Vail, who worked on Universal's advertising team, hired the actor lies on a sofa in a store window in Pittsburgh, pretending to be one of the victims of Countess Marya Zalesskaya. The curtain around her periodically opened and closed until the premiere, where she “came to life” on the theater stage.
In addition, Universal released a “birth announcement” for Dracula.
14.
To create excitement around the 1939s Gone with the Wind even before the film was made, producer David O. Selznick went on board searching for actors in the American South in search of the perfect actor to play Scarlett O'Hara. As part of the Southern Talent Search, he and talent scout Catherine Brown met debutantes, visited women's colleges and spoke to junior league groups.
Amateur actors responded to newspaper advertisements. Some even came to the audition in period costumes. However, in the end, Vivien Leigh, a professional but little-known actress from Great Britain, was invited to play the role.
15.
Film from 1915. Trilby is about an evil hypnotist who hypnotizes and kidnaps a young model with whom he is obsessed. After watching the girl was discovered still sat motionless in her place. In the hospital, she lay in a coma for 12 hours before screaming: “Those eyes! Take them away.” It turns out that the girl was planted by our old friend, press agent Harry Reichenbach.
The incident caused a lot of controversy in the press, and several prominent psychologists spoke about what happened to her. The risk paid off because Trilby and Reichenbach profited handsomely.
16.
And finally, not every planned publicity stunt was made public. For the 1933 black comedy directed by Mae West. It's not a sinParamount advertising group came up with an idea that, to be honest, sounds a little stupid! They taught 50 parrots to pronounce the title of the film. There were plans to place the birds in theaters to promote the film a week before its release, but the idea was abandoned when the title was changed to I'm not an angel at the last minute.
What's the wildest modern movie promotion you can remember? Share it in the comments!
Do you love everything related to television and cinema? Subscribe to Screen time newsletter to get your weekly dose of what to watch next and what everyone is talking about from the man who watches everything!
