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12
The Ktnematograph Year Book.
As in so many other ways, it is the independent who feels himself hardest hit by this system of running two big pictures in the same show, and his has been the loudest voice in condemnation of the policy. Actually, however, the circuit houses which are in opposition to the very lavish caterers to the public, suffer as severely and resent the practice as strongly, but the independents feel that as they are not in such a good position to make booking-terms they get by far the worst of it.
At a time when shortage of product is the real hardship of the Trade, the practice of showing two supers in one programme is naturally a greater strain on the market, and but for the fact that the public has been spoilt in the matter, a far better policy would have been to do away with the double feature principle altogether. Of course, this is far too simple a solution to be practical, for people would certainly feel they were not getting value for money now they are accustomed to seeing a big and a supporting feature. And, of course, the supporting feature itself would, in these circumstances, be so much waste product, for it could not stand up as the main attraction.
At the same time, it must be recognised that in view of the very low prices of admission that rule throughout the great mass of our kinemas, the entertainment is far more generous than in any other form of public enterprise. We have always given the patron too much for his money, and there is, apparently, no hope of reducing programmes or increasing admission to enable fairer proportion to be maintained.
WHICH brings us to the development of coloured films. There is yet another tendency in the direction of giving even more and more without expectation of commensurate return. Colour, obviously, will become an essential component to the bigger pictures, but while it must add materially to the cost, there is no guarantee of a correspondingly increased revenue.
The coloured pictures of the year have certainly been unqualified successes ; they are more in number and higher in quality than ever. They have undoubtedly brought the day nearer when black and white, for Grade A pictures, will be out of date, although it would be unwise to imagine the final triumph of colour is at hand. But it is at least correct to say it is still advancing, and justifying its advance.
BUT, of course, colour is not responsible for the general complaint of exhibitors that film rentals are too high. The normal programme is not a cheap proposition for the