The Moving picture world (November 1926-December 1926)

266 MOVING PICTURE WORLD November 29, 1926 44 Jimmie'' Grainger — The Dynamic General Sales Manager of Fox Films Knows No Hours — Hard Work, First Hand Infomation and Personal Acquaintance, His Secret of Sales Success By Merritt Crawford I ACK of the constantly rising curve, which has marked the progress of Fox |Fihn Corporation during the past two years, alongside of William Fox and Winfield R. Sheehad, who have guided the company to its great success, stands another dynamic personality And "dynamic" is exactly the word that describes James R. Grainger, "Jimmie," as he is afYectionately known the length and breadth of this broad land, who, next to the two above mentioned, in his position as general sales manager, occupies the chief executive post in the gift of that important motion picture organization. Hard work, first hand information and personal acquaintance, are the three things which are essential for success on the selling end of this business, in the Grainger scheme of things, and he ought to know, for he has put Fox pictures to the fore in a fashion, which has made many of his competitors fairly gasp. By hard work, is meant just that. When in New York, Mr. Grainger is at his desk every morning at 9 o'clock sharp. His hours are from that time on until 9 o'clock the next morning, if necessary, when he will be all ready to start another day, as full of pep and vitality as he was the day before, to the marvel of his associates and subordinates. Every minute of the Grainger day is full. His secretary's appointment pad is always packed w'ith names for at least ten days ahead and about the only individual, who may be able to break into this serried phalanx of appointments, will be some showman who wants to buy Fox pictures. An exhibitor can always get to "Jimniie." One of the tenets of the Grainger belief, I had almost said religion, is that you can't sell pictures from behind a roll top desk, no matter how fancy or decorative it may be. He believes in knowing at first hand the conditions in every territory. This means that he has to keep on the road most of the time. The result of this is, that he generally knows as much about theatre conditions in a g^ven district as his local manager and this is saying a lot. Ami he doesn't depend upon correspondence for his information either. He gets it himself — on the ground — from the exhibitor. Has Broad Acquaintance Probably "Jininiic" Grainger enjoys a wider first name friendship and acquaintance with more exhibitors, as they certainly do with him, than any other man in the industry. Which is another way of saying that he has got more bookings for Fox pictures than any other man could have done by several miles. At least he has smashed all Fox records made to date, in a fashion which leaves all previous ones [and some of 'em were no slouches either] way back in the shade. Last year he was on the road thirty-three of fifty-two weeks. This year he will undoubtedly surpass this record. Since April 16, when the Fox convention closed in Los Angeles, Mr. Grainger has made no less than three transcontinental trips and has been home in New York, exactly four weeks out of thirty. Now he is off on another trip on which he will be gone four or five weeks. "Jimmie" Grainger has the fire of a "gogetter" in his eye and the determination jaw. The corollary to all this is that right now Fox pictures have their place in the sun in every key city in the United States and Canada. There are in all 266 key cities, according to the Fox list, and in each of them Fox is now sold 100 per cent. Which is by waj' of being a record for any company, when it is recognized that the largest competitors of Fo.x Film Corporation at present sell only features, while Fox also produces and distributes short length comedies, Fox News and a number of novelty single reelers (Fox Varieties) besides the company's numerous important feature offerings. Another fact worth noting, which doubtless may be attributed largely to "Jimmie" Grainger's popularity, dynamic personality and his thorough sales methods, is that eighty per cent, of the theatres booking Fox pictures, take the entire Fox line-up. An Some Sales Producing Maxims of ' 'Jimm ie" G ra inge r <(T_YARD work is what gets results * * — not conversation." "You can't sell pictures nowadays from behind a roll -top desk." "Meet the theatre man on the ground if you want to help him solve his problems— and sell your pictures." « Don't depend on some other man to tell you about it." « "Never tell a man you've got a good picture — when you' haven't. If you lose his confidence, you lose his respect and friendship, and that means his patronage and you deserve it." other record that comes close to being phenomenal. Mr. Grainger resents hearing anyone call the motion picture business, a "game" any longer. The term, as he views it. belongs to those days now happily past, when producer, distributor and exhibitor, each tried to "outsmart" the other. Today the motion picture business, making, selling or exhibiting, is a highly organized industry, which must be built upon good faith and good will among its interlocking elements, or it will not progress. The era of the "cheater," who used to sell everything, except picture quality, has gone never to return. Soon he w'ill be regarded in much the same classification as we now place the dodo and other extinct species. Competition has crowded him out. The average exhibitor today has far more understanding of the producer's problems, than he used to have and meets him in a much better frame of mind. With his brick and mortar investment, the exhibitor knows he must have real attraction pictures to keep his theatres open and the bigger he grows the more he appreciates the fact that the producer is honestily trying to make them for him. "Out for Good Will" Such at least is the Grainger estimate of conditions now existent in the industry and the evidence would seem to bear him out. At least as far as the Fox Film Corporation is concerned, he has demonstrated the correctness of his knowledge. "We are out to build up 'good will,' " said Mr. Grainger in a chat with the writer, just before he left on his present sales trip. "Fox Film Corporation has never had a finer line-up of pictures, than it has for the coming season and they are going to build up a prestige for it among exhibitors, which will be the company's biggest asset in increasing ratio from now on. "Personally. I have alwaj's enjoyed the confidence of the theatre owners, whom I know, because they have found that I always tell them straight out what I think of the product I have to sell in its box office relationship. I never yet sold a poor picture and said it was a good one. "This year I am telling them that Fox pictures are the 'goofis' and I wish I could tell (Continued on page 293)