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| Movie theatres were in the business
of showing movies , but half the battle was getting
people into the theater. Newspaper ads were important,
but downtown theatres also had to come up with unusual
promotions to get you in to see the show. Many times
the promotion could be better than the movie itself. ..................................................  |
| To the left, a 1920's program for the Century Theatre. Listed would be notes on the show, and upcoming attractions. Above, a homemade Mickey Mouse hands out flyers. To the right, a actual Jeep was brought into the theatre's lobby for a promotion. The stunt actually made it into the trade magazines. |
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| Posting cards in the windows of nearby stores often attracted movie goers. A promotion for the 1950 movie " Kim" in front of the Century Theatre Box office. Promotions worked their way all the way to City Hall, as seen to the right with cars in front with banners for " Mr. Blandings Dream House " |
| A promotion for " Steeltown" at
Dundalk Motors, 7up trucks outfitted with
special full front bumper stickers for the Century and
the grandfather of all walking billboards, the Walking
Book .The Century seems to liked using the Walking
Book , as you can see in the pictures below. The photo
on the right was taken in the mid 1950's on the corner
of North Charles Street and Lexington. ......................................................  |
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| The perfect summer job, walk around
downtown Baltimore wearing a Walking Book for the
Century Theatre. Notice there isn't one happy face in
the group ; Promotions included in this group are for
" Gone With the
Wind", "Magnificent
Obsession" and "Ivanhoe". All these promotions are
from the 1950's, with Gone With the Wind being for a
re-release. .............................................  |