NORMA TALMADGE - ADVERTISEMENT SIGNED - HFSID 279665

NORMA TALMADGE
These two items give a look at how movies - specifically Norma Talmadge's Smilin' Through - were marketed, not to audiences, but to the theaters that showed them. They include an unsigned advertising pamphlet for Smilin' Through and a contract signed between Fox Film Corporation and the Palace Theatre in Antigo, Wisconsin.
Pamphlet unsigned. B/w, 4 pages, 5¾x8½, 1 sheet folded, front and verso. Pamphlet from Associated First National Pictures for Talmadge's movie Smilin' Through. Lightly soiled and creased. Folded once and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition. Accompanied by: 1-page contract signed by representatives of Fox Film Corporation of New York City and the Palace Theatre in Antigo, Wisconsin, dated June 15, 1922. Lightly toned, stained and creased. Lightly torn at right edge. Staple holes in top left corner. Neatly torn from notebook or pad along top edge. Palace representative's signature is lightly smeared in places but legible Folded twice vertically and thrice horizontally. Otherwise in fine condition. This unique collection of items give a look at how movies were marketed, not to audiences, but to the theaters that showed them. The advertisement attempts a fairly hard sell for Smilin' Through, claiming that the movie is "Without a Doubt the Biggest Box Office Attraction of the Year" and that cinemas should "Book It Now, Exploit It and Then Join the Crowd in Breaking Box Office Records". (Smilin' Through was indeed a hit) The contract that comes with this doesn't mention Smilin' Through and was dated four months after the movie's Feb. 13, 1922 release, but it does reference a previous contract dated Jan. 23, 1922, several weeks before the movie was released. This contract applies to "special" pictures and reduces the admission for Queen of Sheba and A Connecticut Yankee from 50¢ to 35¢. Actress Talmadge (1893-1957, born in Jersey City, New Jersey) began her film career in the 1910 Vitagraph film, The Household Pest, and she would go on to appear in a number of features for the New York City-based studio before briefly signing with D.W. Griffith, for whom her sister, Constance, was working. In 1916, Talmadge met and married Joseph Schenck, and the two became partners in their own film company. Their studio's first film, Panthea, was a tremendous hit, and the couple moved the production company to Hollywood. Over the next few years, Talmadge would star in several other hits, including The Wonderful Thing (1921), The Eternal Flame (1922) and The Song of Love (1923). By 1928, however, her popularity had begun to wane, and Talmadge was unable to make a successful transition from the silents to "talkies". She divorced Schenck on April 4, 1934 and married George Jessel just nineteen days later. Jessel had a radio show at the time, and Talmadge was added to the cast. When the program did not help her career, she divorced Jessel in 1939. In 1927, Talmadge had accidently begun a tradition when she stepped into wet cement in front of Graumann's Chinese Theater, becoming the first star of many to leave a lasting impression in front of the landmark.