Beyond Ballyhoo: Motion Picture Promotion and Gimmicks

by Mark Thomas McGee

William Castle, for instance, was a master promoter. In one scheme involving The Tingler , Vincent Price warns in the movie that "the only way to stop the monster is to scream. That's the signal to the projectionist to throw the switch. Under ten or twelve seats were some electric motors, war surplus things that Castle got a bargain on. The motors vibrated the seat, in the hope of scaring a scream out of someone. Just in case it didn't Castle planted someone in the audience to get the screams rolling." This book is about flamboyant promotion, the con artist side of the movie world--everything the ballyhoo boys did to separate the customer from the price of a movie ticket--Emergo, HypnoVista, 3-D, Wide Screen, Cinemagic, Duo-Vision, Dynamation, Smell-O-Vision, plenty more. Supporting the text are 107 photos and illustrations, some never-before-published, and a filmography.

Genres: Film

253 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1989

Reviews

[John Michael Cozzoli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dry humor, concise but inclusive coverage, and a fascinating subject comprises McGee's book on the ways the studios promoted movies (mostly horror) with gimmicks, screen resizing, theater giveaways, and rigging theaters (like with Castle's Percepto or Emergo, using 3-D, etc. McGee even covers the radio blurbs that boosted the hyperbole to the stratosphere. Very enjoyable read. These are the creative, often wacky, promo campaigns that studios pushed on theaters and the public before the Internet took all the fun out of it.

[Tom Fuchs]

Quick and breezy, but still a delightful ode to the age of hucksterism in cinema promotion. Although with the advent of 3-D, who isn't to say SENSURROUND or DYNAVISION or BONERTRONICS won't make a strong comeback. Reccommended.

[BC Sterrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! I will probably be referring to it for years to come.