Variety (Jan 1939)

48 PICTURES Third of a Century VARIETY Anniversary TssM Wednesday, January 4, 1939 The Year In Pictures (Continued from ppge'^S) defeat the North Dakota divorcement statute, which has bepn appealed to the U. S. Supreme court. Earlier in the year, the Neely bill was passed to end blockbooking and blind selling, causing great consternation. The U. S. Supreme court, which serves as the last hope in all agitation against distributors or theatre orgariizations, duting the year rendered an opinion which caused a setback in the Dallas Interstate case and dealt another blow by re- fusing to review an order of the lower court against distribs in connection with the Philadelphia double-feature ban. More trouble concerns two actions directed against Balaban & Katz, one of which was brought by the Government on charges of violation of a 1932 consent decree. This suit names all distributors excepting Columbia. The other B&K action, of a civil character, waS brought by Chicago ex- hibitors against B&K, Loew's and all distribs under the anti- trust laws. Numerous other scattered moves that produce shaking in the boots, over and above the actions that are carryovers from 1937, include a new A. B. Momand suit against all companies; a zoning-clearance suit in Indiana against distribs; a $1,000,000 anti-truster in LaCrosse, Wis. against Paramount, 20th and United Artists; Ramish-Gore's $300,000 conspiracy charge versus Fox-West Coast; an anti- trust suit against Lucas & Jenkins for $645,000; two suits in Philadelphia leveled at the Warner Bros, and an action of Newark independents against local chain operators and most distributors. If nothing else, the trend of the times is providing a field day for the attorneys. In the U. S. suit alone it is estimated the legal bill will run over $1,500,000. In addition to the Federal suits, State legislation, civil antirtrust and other actions, during 1938 there has been a ^ large number of cases charging plagiarism, breach of con- 'tract and violation of stockholder rights. Among the more important of these was the case in which an award of $532,153 was-made to plaintiffs in the 'Letty Lynton' (Metro) story- lifting matter, largest award of its kind ever made in the picture business, and the more recent stockholders' action, also against Loew's, on which much interesting indie testi- mony resulted. Decision in, the latter is expected shortly. The legal bill that's being run up might be lessened by steps that are being taken in an effort to avoid lengthy pro- cedure in the courtrooms, notably in the Government anti- trust suit and others with similar grounding, but there is no certainty that these efforts will be successful. When it becanie evident serious trouble lay imminently ahead early last summer, the New Deal was promised the industry would be good and steps were initiated by distribu- tors to set up self-regulating machinery to govern distrib- exhibitor relations. The Government filed its anti-trust suit anyway, interrupting those plans son^ewhat. Couldn't Dodge Mr. Whiskers However, the distributors carried forth on the implied assumption that if they could settle grievances with exhibi- tors that were widespread, and set up a code of trade prac- tices that would be agreed to by both sides, a trial of the Government suit might, be avoided. To this end, after nu- merous negotiations between distributors and the committees of 10 leading exhibitor organizations, a draft of trade prac- tice reforms has been drawn up and forwarded to the exhib bodies for their approval. It remains to be seen whether this or a satisfactorily revised trade practices program'will be placed into effect. It also remains for the future to decide what will be the reaction of the Department of Justice to the adoption, if and when it occurs, of such a program and to what extent, if any, it may affect the ponderous anti-trust suit on file. Distribu- tors recently appealed for a bill of particulars in connection with the action, seeking minute clarification of charges al- leged. Meantime, the routine business of the distributor makes in- roads on his time and his sense of calm. As in the'tradition of the theatre, however, his show must go on, regardless of abnormal difficulties, unforeseen problems and unwelcome troubles. During 1938, even if he hadn't had to worry about self- regulation', suits dnd'the'like, his sleep had been greatly dis- turbed. Early in the spring the exhibitors were complaining bitterly about the. ptoduct being released, one plaint beirtg there were too many D's and hot enough B's, .with result that a flock of reissues wer6 scheduled. While a record number were added to the release sheets, so few of them got anywhere that many, which were to have been made available ulti-» mately, were forgotten about. Brutal Spring and Summer Passing through the dull spring and early summer months, with growing fear over what the future offered, judged by the way business was going, the producer-distributors started discussing a back to the boxoffice ballyhoo. Born of the panic was what later became known as the 'Motion Pictures Greatest Year' campaign. During the spring and summer, selling had proceeded at a dangerously slow pac6'. This also created panic among dis- tributors. Planning of the 1938-39 programs had been no cinch and some companies reduced the size of their season's catalogs. The combined majors had failed to deliver fewer pictures on the prior (1937-38) than the year before, and sales conventions had been starting in March, earliest' ever, but all the way through the summer and deep into the fall, the contracts came through slowly. Late 1937-38 product had been away below normal, ex- hibitors were beefing about features that were getting too short in running time (no less than 109 in '37-38 running under 67 minutes), reissues had not helped much, and very definite resistance to rentals for the new season was being felt. The alarm created among the distributors no doubt justified the 'Motion Pictures Are Your Best Entertainment' idea, even if the average theatre operator thinks it has been worth much less to him than its proponents had imagined. Pictures of genuine boxoffice quality, led by 'Alexander's Ragtime Band,' began coming through around the middle of August and activity in contract-taking pepped up somewhat, but, due to the general uncertainty of the times and other factors, many key deals were still stalled a long ways. And there is still much for the salesmen to do before the '38-39 books are closed. What a life they'lead! Exhibition's Kinks In exhibition, where the buying public is the deciding factor, the problems have also been legion during the past year. Aside from such matters as trade practice reforms and legislation which grows out of complaints made by the exhibiting branch of the industry, the theatres are concerned over a multitude of things which affect them directly or in- directly, locally or nationally. These problems make the theatre operator's or manager's life as trying in his particular sphere as those which beset the distributor in his selling of pictures and the producer in making them. Some of them are the concern of all three branches of industry activity, such as giveaways, double bills, overseating, censorship, public apathy and outer-industry competition in the form of sports or other oppositional ac- tivity. From the high-salaried operator in luxurious home office suites to the little independent in the tank town who operates part time, the quality of the product he is able to obtain is the important desideratum. That his public will shop with him if he has the right goods to offer is taken for granted, but an exhibitor's worries do not end with such simple busi- ness philosophy. Pictures that are deserving of better grosses than obtained may be dying because a fickle public has gotten fed up on certain types of productions. An opposition theatre may be holding out such alluring bait as giveaways or bank night; or the fickle film fan may avoid picture shows in favor of periodic amusement that acts as competition, including outdoor activities during the sum- mer months, football in the fall, the circus when it comes to town, local-events of various descriptions, etc. Not to men- tion Lent, the two weeks prior to Christmas and such acts of God as hurricanes or floods against which the best' quality of film suffers. Sundry Angrles Even though the product obtained by a given theatre may be considered good, there is always the added setback repre> sented by overseating, unfair price cutting competition, zon- ing and clearance, location of operation, etc. Then, in the face of the true business possibilities of the theatre, the operator must gamble for a profit on film, the value of which is to be proved but for which rental terms have been, agreed upon in advance of production in most cases. General business conditions and the danger of new and unforeseen opposition, not the least of which may be further theatre building in the community, also forces the exhibitor to gamble more thain he may consider is fair for him. There has been much building and face-lifting In the theatre field diiring 1938. If a new theatre is opened in a tough situation,- that theatre may get hurt but it also -works the other ^way very often. If the pictures on display are comparative in'audience value," a fickle public may desiert an older , house and flock to the one, newly built, which has the glitter of gold about it and nicer rest rooms. So it isn't just quality pictures that the exhibitor can rely upon. The operator not getting product that is as good as that of his competitor is in a.more difficult position, how- ever. "Since he cannot rely to any great extent bri the film he is buying, he may be forced into duals, if not already existing; into bank nights or other artificial stimuli; or into admission prices that are so low he is selling a scale rather than pictures. In addition to the 'Best Entertainment* campaign, durinif the past year games qf various descriptions^ have glutted the exhibition market and new boxoffice gags have been tried, including quizzes, spelling bees, coupon stunts and the lik? On the other hand,.the year 1938 has seen much agitation designed to do away with bank night and double bills. At present, steps are imder way to eliminate giveaways in the Greater New York area and elsewhere altogether. The move- ment to purge the country of banko, bingo and other b.o. bait, whether legal or not, started early in the year with test cases inaugurated in some sections on the games. Mean-i time, there are many operators who are afraid, as they will admit, to guess just how much banko and other stunts for b.o. stimulus have really meant in gross receipts. Duallng There has been no decrease in dualin'g throughout the country but territories which have been more or less free from the policy in the past, notably the south, southwest and portions of the west, are still holding their own with single bills. The result, in the absence of any authentic poll inside the industry or with the public, is that some theatre operators want the duals and others don't. In Philadelphia the legality of duals has been upheld following efforts of distributors to eliminate them, while in Chicago last spring there was talk of a city ordinance to ban double-featuring. In that situation, as well as in some territories of lesser importance, smaller indies have moved to triple bills as a means of competing with larger houses playing duals. While the time may come when all double-featuring will be wiped out and banko, bingo, giveaways, etc. are relegated to the scrap heap, it does not appear to be around the corner. No less near, in all probability, is a satisfactory settlement of clearance and zoning, over which there has been consider- able trouble during '38, notably in the Chicago territory, Indiana and Philadelphia. Trade Practice Code A trade practices program, first draft of which has been sent out for exhibitor approval, affords some hope in connec- tion with reforms in connection with zoning and clearance, but that all squawks on this mooted point could be settled by any pact having a chance of adoption is unreasonable to ex- pect. However, there may be relief on protection and clear- ance through plans for a system of arbitration to govern this as well as other items of dispute beliween exhibitors and dis- tributors. There is much that a system of arbitration inay have to bear, but also some things over which it may have no juris- diction. Time will tell. Exhibs continue to complain, in one -way or another, against radio, but notably because of participation in it by producers, stars and others. One of the complaints is against early airing of song numbers from pictures, although there is another school of thought which believes the establishing of a hit song through broadcasting redounds to the benefit of the film from which it comes. In Minneapolis Sunday night scales were cut early in the year as a means of combating competition on the air that nig"ht,' while in Birmingham, the R. B. Wilby. interests raised a howl" because admission was being charged to local broad- casting. Other Exhib Highlights The exhibition field also gave the industry historian the following during 1938: Threats of strikes by closing theatres; efforts to cut oper- ating cost by darkening some signs, thus saving electric current; complaints of subsequents against milking of films up ahead; successful use of medium names as b.o. fodder for stage-equipped theatres; failure to get Federal tax relief in the" 1938 tax bill; Sunday film tests here and there; closing of more than the average number of houses during the sum- mer; threat of as many as 88 indie theatres in one key to cut to a half-week against distributor demands, never carried out; advances by the drive-in type of theatre, mostly in the east but threatening to spread as summer opposition; dis- approval by larger buyers of long-term film contracts due to gamble taken; a tendency to favor neighborhood houses as first runs due to parking problems in downtown areas; a hurricane in the east that caused heavy damage to theatre properties, with Paramount the hardest hit; squawks which led to extension of the Greater Movie drive beyond Dec. 31 for subsequent runs; admission for 12 months held to 24c, bettering the mean average for the past eight years; probable testing of the Walges and Hours bill so far as theatres are concerned; killing of horse and dog racing in western Massa- chusetts, largely through efforts of exhibitors; inclination toward theatre building as taxpayers because of the low cost and stimulation of construction generally under new plan of the Federal Housing Administration to provide funds; and, lest it be forgotten^ an RKO reorganization that has been just around the corner for a long, long time now. Inside Stuff-Pictures Herbert Bayard Swope's boy, John Swope, who is also known to the film colony as an agent, of a sort, will be better known as a camera artist when his 'Camera Over Holly wood' (Random House;'$3.50) comes out this week. Swope's 10%er boss, Leland Hayiyard, wrote the introduction, which is a different sort of an intro is that his boss not only strongly suspects but as much as states that seemingly all the photographic subjects were taken in Hollywood while Swope was supposed to be snapping pro- ducers into buying Leland Hayward's actors, writers and directors. To the credit of Swope (and Hay ward) there aren't too many shots of Mar- garet Sullavan (Mrs. Hayward) although James Stewart, a particular pal of the lenser-agent, does seem to be generously represented. This is the volume for which Claude Binyon was to have done the intros but seemingly it's the type of book where pictures speak everything for themselves. Prominent actor had a huge grouch for the holidays, the result of out- smarting himself. He had a deal with an agency to make three pictures during 1939 for a major studio at $65,000 a picture. Contract had been signed by the studio and awaited the actor's signature. Meanwhile another agency told the thesp they could get him $100,000 per film, so he spurned the first offer. Instead of lamenting the loss of his services the studio gave three cheers. They were tickled pink to get out of the contract. Now the second agency has the actor on its hands. Best offer reported so far is $25,000 a picture. Deal is under way whereby Electrical Research Products, Inc.,' will dis- tribute complete booth equipment of-American manufacturers in about 50 •foreign tenritorieis. ERPI foreign distributing companies will handle equip- ment, many exhibitors in foreign countries preferring to do business with one established - firm. In the past ERPI foreign organizations have confined their activity to handling of Western Electric sound equipment although expediency has prompted them to distribute other kinds of booth equipment when necessary. Walt Disney Productions is the latest tag for Walt Disney Enterprises, the second corporate name for the company in two months. Title chang- ing began Nov. 1 when three Disney companies went out of existence through a statutory agreement. Firms disbanded at that time were Walt Disney Productions, Ltd., Walt Disney Enterprises and Liled Realty & Investment Co. New title was adopted as more fitting, as the company is primarily in the picture production business. Charles P. Skouras handed out bonus checks amounting to $54,000 to 2,000 employees of the Fox West Coast Theatres in California, Arizona and Montana. Disbursements covered bonuses for district and house managers in the recent F-WC business drive, prizes for special drive weeks, insur- ance premium refunds, employees' Christmas bonuses and awards for best decorations of theatres during the Motion Pictures Are Your Best Enter- tainment campaign. Movement is afoot by Lewen Pizor, prez of United Motion Picture The- atre Owners of Philadelphia to have every film house play 'The Star Spangled Banner' at the finish of each performance, but is meeting with no great success. Wherever tried in the Philly zone its pretty unsatisfactory, large number of patrons not even recognizing the strains or merely con- tinuing to walk out anyway.. Walt Disney's cartoonists may have taken a good long look at the big Wrigley sign atop the International Casino, N. Y. Some of the round fish, the little bubbles and iridescent color movement in 'Merbabies' suggest this.. , Chi's Ideas (Continued from page 45) lie a combination of stage show, vaudeville and pictures, so success- ful that it has become a standard policy in most vaudfilm theatres. Fanners and Quizzers Also in 1933, Sally Rand quit the legit stage in Chi to wave a couple of. fans at the World's Fair on the lakefront, and for at least four years following the fan dancers, bubble dancers, ostrich dancers, muff, scarf, bird and other dancers were evi- dently the only attractions which guaranteed" a strong boxoffice. No doubt there had been fan dancers before Sally Rand, but Chicago's great ability to take a static item and dress it up for popular consump- tion didn't fail in this instance, either. Quizzes were going along nicely in radio for a couple of years, but for a rather select audience; until, in early 1938, one Kay Kyser dressed it up with popular music that the whole nation could under- stand and made it the most wallop- ing idea of the year in radio.