Exhibitors Herald (1927)

EXHIBITORS HERALD The trade just about reached the saturation point on merger talk during the past week. Although dealtalking has long been a prominent feature of conversation among motion picture people, recent developments and the general atmosphere of the trade during the past few weeks has brought the subject into a position of acute activity. Th^ industry right now’ is going through a settling process which appears very much more radical on the surface than it is in reality. The combinations that are now taking place are not sudden or unexpected developments; they have all been in the process of maturing for months or years. They are, primarily, the result of the necessity for the concentration of great resources. In this respect the motion picture industry is following precisely the course of other great industries of the modern world of business. The very obvious trend everywhere is toward the great concentrations of power, resources and money. This does not mean the total elimination of the smaller unit or individual operation, but it does mean the upbuilding of a handful of thoroughly entrenched groups which will accomplish the very desirable end of keeping alive in the largest operations of the industry a spirit and an actuality of competition. It is coimnonly accepted that the financial groups which have been gradually coming into the industry are the driving forces behind many of the various mergers and combinations now in work or in contemplation. This is a natural development. Men of experience in finance and financial operations coming into the motion picture business are bound to he impressed with the possibilities of progress and profit which are to be realized through the concentration of effort and the elimination of duplicating activities. A notable feature of the merger trend, with respect to the common good of the industry, is that an increased number of thoroughly entrenched organizations are in the making. This means a distinct and definite step away from trustification and monopolization. It means a continuance of an industry possessed of all of the necessary and desirable elements of competition and freedom from domination. * * * The theatre-acquiring battle in the industry has taken on a phase of feverish activity. Theatres in large groups are being vigorously sought and the bidding is keen enough to afford much delight to owners of chains. One of the country's most successful theatre operators stands by the dictum that it takes only money to buy a theatre but that a great deal more than money is necessary to operate it successfully. And this certainly applies with double emphasis in the matter of operating a numerically large chain of many and diverse characteristics, located in many and diverse places. A West Coast chain of theatres gave an illustration of a great circuit that was readily acquired, but proved Editorial MattinJ.'^Quiglejr most difficult of operation. There are likely to be a great many further illustrations of this principle as the result of the present mad scramble for circuits. It is becoming more evident every day that a great storm which this industry is destined to encounter is the outcome of attempts which are being made and which will be made to operate far-flung circuits of theatres. It is still an open question whether the Woolworth and United Cigar store principle can be successfully applied to the motion picture theatre business. The Screen Writers Guild of the Authors League of America, comprising the men and women who write motion pictures, have undertaken negotiations intended to lead to the adoption of an uniform contract form to be used in relations between producers and writers. We do not know how far negotiations have progressed or whether there are any differences of opinion to be ironed out, but we believe that the objective of the Screen Writers Guild in seeking to have an uniform contract upon which to work is a sound and proper one and we hope that an agreement between the producers and the writers can be reached at an early date. The writers are an essential element of the production fabric. Their usefulness in the furtherance of production in the past has been tremendous and upon their future efforts the screen depends — more importantly than upon anything else — for advancement. Much confusion and bitterness has been brewed between producers and writers over contractual relations. In many cases there apparently has been but a faint idea on one side, or on both, as to what was to be expected and what was to be done. An uniform contract form would solve much, if not all, of this difficulty. It would enable both producer and writer to know in advance just what obligations were to be faced and what compensations were to be enjoyed. An uniform contract for writers would mean another step of progress in industry affairs and it should be welcomed by all parties concerned. * * *■ The acting branch of the motion picture business has a complaint to lodge against certain exhibitors and it looks — to us — like one that well-merits consideration. Various prominent players in motion pictures point out that variety performers in motion picture theatres are occasionally permitted to use material that is nothing short of insulting to these players. Of course, personalities in the public eye must take the bricks with the bouquets, but it is not at all unreasonable to expect theatre owners whose main attraction is the motion picture to afford personalities who popularize the motion picture — and to some extent their theatres — a degree of protection against careless and indifferent slaps and insinuations included in the material of variety performers.