Boxoffice (Apr-Jun 1937)

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COVERING ILLINOIS, WISCONSIN, INDIANA, UPPER MICHIGAN AND EASTERN MISSOURI INDEPENDENT FDTDRE DHIGHT New Union Ruling Baffles Exhibitors Chicago — Local exhibitors are at a loss to understand the reason for the latest union rule forbidding any sound engineer entrance into the projection booths. Since Thursday, April 1, the edict has gone out from operators union headquarters to the effect that the projectionists henceforth will handle all cases of trouble in sound equipment, and that men from the equipment distributors will not be permitted even to be present. According to Frank Clifford, business agent of local No. 110 here, the order came through from George E. Browne in the Washington, D. C., office of the lATSE and is general all over the country. Clifford stated that he had the order from Browne and that he was enforcing it, but had no knowledge of why it was issued or what was its portent. He further stated that he expected to have more word from “lA” headquarters in the next few days which would clarify the order as well as explain what is to be done in case of complete breakdown and also what is to be the status of the exhibitor who pays a weekly service under an extended contract. Stevens to Keokuk Post Keokuk, Ia. — H. E. Stevens has assumed his new duties as city manager of the Frisina circuit houses here. For the past year he had been manager of the Avalon Theatre, Lawrenceville, 111. Vincent Helling, former manager of the Grand Theatre here, has taken over the managership at the Avalon in Lawrenceville, 111. LAMBERT PLANS ONE Princeton, Mo. — F. A. Lambert contemplates the erection of a new theatre here to replace the structure destroyed by fire recently. Admission Tax Bill Faces Illinois Springfield, III. — A bill, known as Senate Bill No. 125 and introduced by Senator Tuttle, would impose a two per cent tax on gross admissions at motion picture theatres, etc. Apparently there is no provision in the measure to pass the tax along to the patrons of the theatres. The taxes so charged and collected are to go into the state’s old age assistance fund. There is a provision that if the tax is not paid the state treasury may bring civil suit to collect same plus a 50 per cent penalty under a civil action, while any exhibitor who violates the act may be punished for a misdemeanor. Returns must be made monthly. Theatres are not affected by the present three per cent state sales tax. Exhibitor Petition on Score Charges St. Louis — All motion picture exhibitors in eastern Missouri and southern Illinois are to be asked to sign a petition for presentations to the various motion picture exchanges here requesting the elimination of all score charges. This action was decided upon by a special committee of the MPTO of St. Louis, eastern Missouri and southern Illinois recently appointed by President Fred Wehrenberg and including W. A. Collins, Metropolis, 111., and De Soto, Mo., chairman; Noah Bloomer, Belleville, HI.; A. Groeteke, Webster Theatre, St. Louis, and Sam Komm, Miners Theatre, Collinsville, 111., and Shenandoah Theatre, St. Louis. It is hoped that through the concerted action of all exhibitors in refusing to pay the score charges that this tax on the income of theatres will be completely eliminated in this territory. Return of Duals in Chicago Expected to Increase Product Output Chicago — If present indications materialize, the distribution of independent pictures in Chicago probably will get its longawaited break in the very near future. Since double features were brought back just before the first of the year, the independents have been expecting a sharp increase in playing time due to the need for more product than had been committed from the major companies. This break, however, has been slow in forthcoming. Instead, local theatres have used this need for more pictures to clean up a lot of old commitments with the result that many features on old contracts which were not expected to be used have been “picked up” and played on twin bills along with current product. Fulfilling Selective Contracts In addition, selective contracts have been fulfilled to greater extent than the original terms called for, and in a number of cases, commitments on short subjects have been converted to equalized feature bookings. All of this has served to keep the theatres running double features with the exclusive use of major product. Now, however, after several months of such a course, the theatres have used up about all the possibilities which such procedure has offered, and there is at last a marked trend toward the use of independent pictures. And, according to competent observers, this trend is not merely because the theatres must have just pictures, just footage of film, but rather because the theatres in turning toward the independent product have come to recognize that quality is to be had and that entertainment value is being woven into the so-called independent pictures in quantity sufficient to guarantee a high degree of favorable audience reaction and consequent boxoffice possibilities. Fast Consumption of Majors Another factor now working in the independent’s favor is the rate at which pictures are released here. The weekly re( Continued on page 65) CENTRAL EDITION Is One of the Seven Sectional Editions in Which BOXOFFICE Is Published Weekly. The Other Six Editions Are: NEW ENGLAND, MIDEAST, MIDWEST, WESTERN, SOUTHERN, EASTERN. CALVIN HERMER, Central Editor, 908 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago, 111. Phones: Webster 2233-4-5. DAVID F. BARRETT, 5149 Rosa Ave., St. Louis, Mo. H. C. BRUNNER, 2820 N. 52nd St., Milwaukee, Wis,