STICKS NIX HICK PIX

July 17, 1935 — One of the most famous headlines in journalism history ran across the front page of Variety: “STICKS NIX HICK PIX.”

The story beneath explained how rural moviegoers were turning up their noses at Hollywood’s attempts to win them over with films about country life. Instead, audiences in small-town America were flocking to polished dramas and comedies like The Barretts of Wimpole Street, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and The Count of Monte Cristo.

The phrase was Variety’s trademark “slanguage,” with “sticks” meaning rural audiences, “nix” meaning reject, and “hick pix” referring to rustic pictures. Debate continues over who coined the immortal line — some credit staff writer Lyn Bonner, while others point to longtime editor Abel Green.

The headline has lived on as a classic of the craft, alongside such tabloid gems as Variety’s own “WALL ST. LAYS AN EGG” (1929) and the New York Post’s unforgettable 1983 banner: “Headless Body in Topless Bar.”