Photograph of advertising stunt for 'He Who Gets Slapped'

Silver gelatin photograph of a man dressed as a clown wearing a giant fake hand, advertising a screening of the film 'He Who Gets Slapped' at a cinema in South Africa.

Gerald Spencer Darrell was an officer in the British Army in the first world war. He was subsequently asked to open the first Moving Pictures Theatre at the Savoy in a yet unidentified South African town (most likely Cape Town), this collection of images shows the marketing tactics used by Mr Darrell to bring customers to his cinema.

'He Who Gets Slapped' was the first film produced entirely by the newly formed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was not, however, MGM's first released movie, as the film was held until the Christmas season when higher attendance was expected. The movie was highly profitable and critically hailed. It was also the first film to feature a lion as the mascot for MGM.