Beyond Ballyhoo: Motion Picture Promotion and Gimmicks - Softcover

McGee, Mark Thomas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0786411147 ISBN 13: 9780786411146

Publisher: McFarland, 2001

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author:

Mark Thomas McGee is retired and lives in Palm Desert, California. He has also written several books about the unstable world of low-budget filmmaking.

Review:

"excellent"--Big Reel; "entertaining...worthy"--Film Review; "interesting...extensive filmography"--Communication Booknotes; "entertaining"--American Cinematographer; "highly entertaining"--The TV Collector; "lively...in-depth...enjoyable"--Hitch; "a book to be brought out whenever we begin to think of the 20th century as one of good taste"--The Book Report; "highly entertaining and informative"--Cult Movies; "a nostalgic and warm reflection of an era of the movies now gone"--Midnight Marquee; "greatly informative"--Fatal Visions.

About this edition

• Publisher: McFarland
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0786411147
• ISBN 13: 9780786411146
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 253