Exhibitors Herald World (Jan-Mar 1929)

January 5, 1929 EXHIBITORS HERALD-WORLD 25 Film Field Is Now Open for All Sound Devices Having Quality Understanding for Interchange Reached by Licensees of W. E. Franklin Raps Foes In Legal Fight Over Northwest Theatre^ (Special to the Herald-World) PORTLAND, ORE., Jan. 2.— Harold B. Franklin, president of Pacific Northwest Theatres and West Coast Theatres, answering the recent statements of J. C. Allen, attorney for Jensen & von Herberg interests in Seattle, regarding pending and threatened litigation claimed to affect Pacific Northwest Theatres, West Coast Theatres and other corporations, said: "This is a picayunish attempt upon the part of Jensen & von Herberg interests to force a settlement of an action now pending against the Liberty Theatre Company for rent, based upon a lease of the Liberty Theatre in Seattle. "It is interesting to note that the Liberty Theatre Company was organized by the Jensen & von Herberg interests. They find themselves in the position of being limited to redress under a lease of the theatre to a corporation which they themselves organized and controlled. It is this company that they are suing and because the company never was furnished with sufficient assets, they are endeavoring to bring into litigation Pacific Northwest Theatres and other companies under the claim that that company or some other company under some alleged arrangement assumes the obligation of the lease. "The fact is that no company ever assumed any obligation of the Liberty Theatre Company. They themselves organized the Liberty Theatre Company. The Pacific Northwest Theatres does not own any of the stock of the Liberty Theatre Company." Is the "Flu" Affecting Attendance? Suggests Joe Weil a Solution (Special to the Herald-World) NEW YORK, Jan. 2— Joe Weil, director of advertising and exploitation of the Universal Theatrical Enterprises, Inc., gives the following methods to keep away the "flu." \ "Pay more attention to airing the theaure thoroughly daily. Instead of using dr\r mops or rags, dampen them a little so thalv\ only a minimum of dust is raised in the^ cleaning operation. Do not run 'Flu' slides on your screen. Get wise to the fact that certain fruit dealers and drug syndicates are taking advantage of a slight spread to scare the people into buying their wares. Get rid of all musty smells in the theatre by using a disinfectant." Theatre Operates Sunday Under "Contribution" Plan (Special to the Herald-World) HORTON, KAN., Jan. 2.— The Liberty theatre is so far operating successfully under the "contribution" plan. Although the contributions do not equal the week-day receipts the house has been filled each Sunday. The patron as he leaves the theatre leaves his contribution in a box. No violation of the law was found to be connected with this method. Future of Audiens Depends Upon Maintenance Improvement of Standard, Says Otterson (Special to the Herald-World) ^NEW YORK, Jan. 2. — An understanding has been reached between Electrical Research Products, Inc., and its licensed producers whereby they will play their pictures on any equipment "which in their judgment gives results of satisfactory quality," John E. Otterson, president of Electrical Research, declares in a statement just issued which clears the atmosphere on the question of interchangeability. At the same time Otterson declared that quality in production is the answer to the audien, or sound film. Continued success of talking pictures, he said, depends upon high quality. The Otterson statement, of interest to all in the industry, follows: "The continued success of talking pictures depends upon the maintenance of quality. Indeed, I might say it depends upon an improvement in quality. As the public taste develops it will become more exacting and critical and it is essential that there be continued improvement in the quality of productions and of apparatus to meet these more exacting requirements. "If the producers, the exhibitors or ourselves compromise on this question of quality and accept quality lower than our present standard, the cause of talking pictures is lost. "If the exhibitor installs equipment that gives inferior quality of reproduction he has not only wasted the cost of that equipment but he has injured the good name of his house and ruined his market for talking pictures. He cannot afford to pay less than the cost of the best. The purchase of inferior equipment, because it is cheap, is not an economy but a destructive, wasteful thing. "We will not in the interest of sales put on the market apparatus of lower quality than the best we can build. Our first efforts will always be directed toward higher quality and this quality will never be sacrificed to lower prices. The road to higher profits in the motion picture industry lies, we believe, in this direction. Must Protect Investment "We owe this to ourselves, to the producers who are licensed by us, and to the exhibitors who have already installed our equipment. We all have a substantial in vestment in talking pictures and a mutual interest in seeing that that investment is protected against the injury that will result from the installation in theatres of unsatisfactory equipment that will offend the public taste. "If other manufacturers can build and sell equipment as good as ours for less money and it is equipment that does not infringe our patents, they deserve the business and will get it. When better equipments are built, Western Electric will build them, and if the standard of the industry is to be the best, then when cheaper equipments are built Western Electric will build them. Understanding Reached "We have just reached an understanding with the producers licensed by us that they will play their productions on any equipment which in their judgment gives results of satisfactory quality. If they find or we demonstrate that the quality is not up to standard then they will cease to serve such equipment. "To the exhibitor we say: If you can get an equipment as good as ours for less money, buy it, but if it is of lower quality, don't buy it at any price. Wait until you can offer your public the best. Our interest is to see you prosper through talking pictures. The success of talking pictures means more to us than sales or loss of sales.' Cigaret Starts Fire (Special to the Herald-World) MADISON, IND., Jan. 2— A fire, believed to have started from a discarded cigaret, damaged the Little Grand theatre, the loss estimated at $15,000. MP TO Stops Fight on Non-Theatrical Shows Following Federal Antitrust Suit (Washington Bureau of the Herald-World) WASHINGTON, D. C, Jan. 2. — Settlement by agreement of the proceedings instituted by the government against the Oklahoma M P T O, as a result of the latter's fight against non-theatricals, was announced last week by the Department of Justice following the Sling by the United States attorney at Oklahoma City of a petition in equity under the Sherman antitrust act, and a consent decree granting the relief asked in the petition. The government's petition charged that the defendant association was engaged in a conspiracy to prevent non-theatrical exhibitors in Oklahoma and Northern Texas from securing film service from the Oklahoma City exchanges, while the decree enjoins the association, its members, directors, officers, agents, and employes from coercing distributors to refuse to deal with or to cease to deal with no'-.theatrical exhibitois and from distributing or threatening to distribute to '..embers of the association lists naming distributors serving non-theatrical accounts. /