Motion Picture News (Jul - Sep 1930)

18 M o t i o n P i c tare X e w s July 5, 1930 Arbitration by "Moral" Mode Is 5-5-5 Solution Atlantic City — Moral arbitration in the industry, agreed to by the 5-5-5 conferences and embodied in the new standard license agreement, will be conducted as an experiment to determine its effectiveness. "We are willing to at least try voluntary arbitration, and it it's no good we'll junk it," Sidney Kent, sponsor and chairman ot the contract conferences, said. The system provides for a board of four members in each key city, two to be chosen by the distributors and two by the exhibitor, and the four to select a fifth arbitrator in case of deadlock. Preference of the Allied States Ass'n group for a 1-1-1 system provided a near deadlock Tuesday, which was broken on Wednesday, with the board of four members agreement. Distributors opposed the 1-1-1 system as presenting danger of professional arbitrators, pointing out that the third member would decide practically all cases, as the other two would be in effect advocates of their respective litigants. Theatre Voting Unit Plan Gets Biechele Praise Atlantic City — Revision of memberships of the Kansas and western Missouri exhibitor unit to make the theatre the unit of voting and the holder of membership rather than the exhibitor will greatly strengthen and otherwise benefit the organization, declares R. R. Biechele, veteran former president, who is an M. P. T. O. A. contract committee member. The change of the organization's operating plan was made at the association's annual convention held recently at Topeka. The new policy assures the organization of the financial support of the chains, as well as makes available the services of chain managers, a number of whom are prominent in community and exhibitor affairs. Managers now are classed the same as independent exhibitors, so far as the organization is concerned. Still a Nickel Atlantic City — Texas still has a number of theatres which charge an admission of five cents for kids, according to Col. H. A. Cole, head of the Texas exhibitor unit. These houses are scaled at five and 15 cents, he says. He put up an argument for retention of the kid scale at the contract conferences, with result that the dime minimum applies only to adults. Seek Dignified Checking Plan, Kent Declares Atlantic City — Distributors are seeking to work out efficient machinery for the checking of percentage engagements, but are meeting with considerable difficulty in mapping a system which will prove satisfactory to them and to exhibitors, according to Sidney R. Kent. The present system, he says, is "objectionable both ways," distributors having a hard time obtaining checkers who are honest, personable and who will keep secret the information received. Plan to employ expert accountants for the purpose struck a snag when the accountant firms declined to guarantee service the first three months of the year, when they are busy on annual audits of commercial firms. Distributors, Kent says, can not work on a nine-month schedule, but will employ accountants whenever possible and practical. A dignified plan of checking, which will meet the approval of distributors and exhibitors is sought, according to Kent, who declares a common sense handling of the problem is essential. He declares exhibitors justified in their protests against evils of the present system, particularly the divulging of information and conduct and appearance of some checkers. The new contract is to carry a warranty by distributors that the information received by checkers is not to be divulged except to the distributors. Violations will be handled by arbitration. Universal, it is said, has abandoned. plans to employ the Burns Detective Agency to check its percentage runs. Exhibitors were reported resentful of such a set-up. Miller Wants Overloading Code Atlantic City— "We have a production code and an advertising code and other codes are being framed. Why not a code of buying and selling to eliminate the practice of overloading the little fellow through the all or none policy, while allowing the chains to pick their product?" That was the declaration of Jack Miller. Chicago, during the contract meetings. "Forcing clucks on the little fellow is unethical." Miller insisted that in cities where an affiliated chain operates, the subsequent runs be relieved of company pictures which its own theatres do not play. "If they are so lousy your own houses won't play them, why force them on us?" he demanded of distributors. No action was taken on his demand. Warners, 1st Nat,, Block Ousting Of Score Charges Atlantic City — Score charges, right or wrong, are a matter of company policy and cannot be eliminated by an industry contract. If exhibitors want to "get somewhere" in their campaign to eliminate score charges, they should make representations to each company direct. Score charges are gradually dwindling and dying out, so that the matter may be expected to right itself. These were the conclusions made by the contract committee in passing over the controversial question. Exhibitors, affiliated and unaffiliated, denounced the segregation of score charges as unfair, but admitted that the refusal of Warners and First National to abandon the score charge, collected By Vitaphone, blocked other distributors in seeking universal abolition of the charge. "Leave Warners and First National out of the contract if they won't co-operate on this," was the suggestion made by W. A. Steffes of Minneapolis. No action was taken in the matter, the exhibitors indicating they may ask each company for a declaration of company policy on the subject of music scores. Contract "Trade" Skeleton Rattles In Confab Closet Atlantic City — That "trade" on arbitration made by the contract committee at Chicago proved something of a skeleton in the closet which rattled ominously at the 5-5-5 conferences, precipitating heated discussion on the subject. Members of the Allied group denied they had endorsed the old arbitration system at the Trade Practice Conference, stating that they endorsed "an," not "the," arbitration system as a fair trade practice. At the Chicago meeting, the exhibitors pointed out. they agreed to a retention of the arbitration system in the contract in return for proposed financing of exhibitor organizations by distributors. This plan never was carried out. The subject led to heated discussion between H. M. Richey, Michigan. and Gabriel L. Hess, the latter at one point calling Richey a liar. Abram F. Myers. Allied head, who at the time was chairman of the Trade Practice Conference, denied he had advised the exhibitor group in its deliberations on the contract. Exhibitors to Know When Films Ready Under Plan Atlantic City — Exhibitors will know just when they may play a picture under the new contract, which specifies that a picture must be dated, played or paid for within 90 days after availability. After that, time elapsed cats into the theatre's protection time, but in no case, in the absence of a playing arrangement, is the time limit to exceed 1 JO days.