The box office check-up of 1935 (1936)

HORSE-OPRY WITH SINGIN': NOTING A REVIVAL C] Used to be just ridin', shootin', fightin'. Now music adds new zest to Westerns by LINDSLEY PARSONS NOVELTY has often bolstered fading box offices in the past, and it was novelty this year that caused the lowly "horse opry" to come back to the screen in a veritable blaze of glory. The three prime essentials of a good Western used to be riding, shooting and fighting. It was the addition of a fourth element that caused the Western revival — this element was music. For the past seven years "hillbilly" and cowboy music has swept the country through phonograph records and the radio. No radio repertoire, from the mighty chains down to the smallest one-lung station, has been complete without at least a half-hour of hillbillies and cowboy singers, and some have even featured two or three of these groups. One cowboy radio and recording star is said to have outsold the country's best known crooner on phonograph records by a ratio of three-to-one. Yet this prolific field of entertainment was unplumbed by motion pictures until the past year, when the inclusion of cowboy and hillbilly music raised the Westerns to new heights, bringing an average 25 per cent increase in Western theatre grosses, and causing many major companies to enter a field which had become the almost exclusive property of independent producers. Even the titles of popular cowboy songs have proved a distinct asset when attached to pictures, and several companies have done so with considerable success. Among pictures to fall in this category are Paramount's "The Last Roundup" and "Wagon Wheels," Republic's "Tumbling Tumbleweeds," and Warners "Moonlight on the Prairie." In other cases the pictures have served to popularize the song, as in the case of Republic's "Westward Ho." The turning tide of popularity has caused an increase in Westerns of the "epic" variety, along the lines of that all-time favorite, "Cimarron." Among these pictures are MGM's "Robin Hood of E! THE BOX OFFICE CHECK-UP Dorado" and Paramounf's "Buffalo Bill." One of the biggest of the pictures which fall definitely into the new musical Western class will be Paramount's "Rhythm of the Range," with Bing Crosby; while Wheeler and Woolsey are to star in a musical comedy with a Western setting, called "The Wild West." The fact that exhibitors report a 25 per cent advance in revenue on Westerns despite the large increase in the number of Western series on the market, indicates that Westerns as a whole, are probably bringing in at least 100 per cent more revenue than they have grossed at any time since the silent days when they were so popular. A series which has definitely reflected the new trend in Westerns is the Republic group starring Gene Autry, radio entertainer and recording artist. Autry, with only three pictures on the market, is nearing top place among the Western stars, in exhibitor and audience popularity. A recent survey by Republic Pictures, which polled the reaction of fhe first 200 exhibitors to play the Autry pictures, showed that they have won approval of general Western audiences, and in addition, through the musical element, have brought in patrons who do not ordinarily go to see Western pictures. In addition to the Autry's, three new series of major Westerns, and approximately eight series of independent productions, have been placed on the market. The major series are Paramount's "Hopalong Cassidy's," made in addition to the regular Zane Greys; Warner's Dick Foran series, and Columbia's series starring Chari es Starrett. Republic is also continuing with the John Wayne series, which is now filmed against historical backgrounds with a number of songs in each picture. Among the independents, Supreme Pictures has launched a series with Johnny Mack Brown, in addition to its Bob Steeles; while Jack Perrin and Bill Cody have returned to the market in other series. Puritan Pictures is also releasing a Tim McCoy series. The average life of a star in Hollywood is about five years, but Western stars ordinarily enjoy their popularity for about ten. The income of a Western star who manages to achieve a definite place in audience popularity is considerably smaller than that of the featured box office celebrities, but his future is much more secure as long as he manages to remain constantly on the screen, not allowed to be forgotten. If a Western star leaves the screen for only a few years, the road back to popularity is a difficult one. The increasing demand for Westerns probably reflects returning prosperity in the rural sections, as Saturday night in the farming communities always has been preferred time for these pictures. In fact, where Westerns are wanted at all, the demand is so great that exchanges are generally able to make them carry the load for two or three features, so that it is almost impossible to determine just how much the action pictures would actually gross on their own. BIGGEST MONEY-MAKING WESTERN STARS BUCK JONES . . 104% GEORGE O'BRIEN 100% HOOT GIBSON . 51% TIM McCOY. . . 28% KEN MAYNARD . 27% JOHN WAYNE. . 26% BOB STEELE . . . 6% T O M M I X . . . . 3% GENE AUTRY . . 2% TOM TYLER .. . 2% These rankings are based on the poll of exhibitors naming "The Biggest MoneyMaking Stars of 1934-35." Complete results of which appear on pages 84-85. 60 OF 19 3 5