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THE NATIONAL FILM WEEKLY
Published in Nine Sectional Editions
BEN SHLYEN
Editor-in-Chief and Publisher
DONALD M. MERSEREAU, Associate Publisher & General Manager NATHAN COHEN .. Executive Editor JESSE SHLYEN. .. .Managing Editor
HUGH FRAZE Field Editor
AL STEEN Eastern Editor
IVAN SPEAR Western Editor
I. L. THATCHER .. Equipment Editor MORRIS SCHLOZMAN Business Mgr.
Publication Offices: 825 Van Brunt Blvd. Kansas City 24, Mo. Nathan Cohen, Executive Editor; Jesse Sblyen, Managing Editor; Morris Schlozman, Business Manager; Hugh Fraze, Field Editor; I. L. Thatcher, Editor The Modem Theatre Section. Telephone CHestnut 1-7777.
Editorial Offices: 45 Rockefeller Plaza, New York 20, N. Y. Donald M. Mersereau. Associate Publisher & General Manager; A1 Steen, Eastern Editor; Carl Mos, Equipment Advertising. Telephone COlumbus 5-6370.
Central Offices: Editorial — 920 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago 11, 111., Frances B. Clow, Telephone superior 7-3972. Advertising— 5809 North Lincoln, Louis Didier and Jack Broderick, Telephone LOngbeach 1-5284.
Western Offices: Editorial and Film Advertising— 6404 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood 28, Calif. Ivan Spear, manager. Telephone Hollywood 5-1186. Equipment and Non-Film Advertising — 672 S. Lafayette Park, Los Angeles, Calif. Bob Wettstein, manager. Telephone DUnkirk 8-2286.
London Office: Anthony Gruner, 1 Woodberry Way, Finchley, No. 12. Telephone Hillside 6733.
The MODERN THEATRE Section is included in the first issue of each month.
Atlanta: Martha Chandler, 191 Walton NW Albany: J. S. Conners, 140 State St. Baltimore: George Browning, Stanley Thea. Charlotte: Blanche Carr, 301 S. Church Cincinnati: Frances Hanford, UNniversity
17180.
Cleveland: W. Ward Marsh, Plain Dealer. Columbus: Fred Oestreicher, 52% W. North Broadway.
Dallas: Mable Guinan, 5927 Winton. Denver: Bruce Marshall. 2881 S. Cherry Way.
Des Moines: Russ Schoch, Register-Tribune Detroit: H. F. Reves, 906 Fox Theatre Bldg., WOodward 2-1144.
Hartford: Allen M. Widem, CH 9-8211. Jacksonville: Robert Cornwall, 1199 Edgewood Ave.
Memphis: Null Adams, 707 Spring St. Miami: Martha Lummus, 622 N.E. 98 St. Milwaukee: Wm. Niehol, 2251 S. Layton. Minneapolis: Don Lyons, 72 Glenwood. New Orleans: Mrs. Jack Auslet, 2268% St. Claude Ave.
Oklahoma City: Sam Brunk, 3416 N. Virginia.
Omaha: Irving Baker, 911 N. 51st St. Pittsburgh: R. F. Klingensmith, 516 Jeanette, Wilkinsburg, CHurchill 1-2809. Portland. Ore.: Arnold Marks, Journal. Providence: Wm. Trambukis, Loew's State. St. Louis: Joe & Joan Pollack, 7335 Shaftsbury, University City, PA 5-7181. Salt Lake City: H. Pearson, Deseret News. San Francisco: Dolores Barusch, 25 Taylor St., ORdway 3-4813; Advertising: Jerry Nowell, 355 Stockton St., YUkon
29537.
Washington: Charles Hurley, 306 H. St. N. W.
In Canada
Montreal: Room 314, 625 Belmont St., Jules Larochelle.
St. John: 43 Waterloo, Sam Babb. Toronto: 2675 Bayview Ave. Willowdale, Out. W. Gladish.
Vancouver: 411 Lyric Theatre Bldg. 751 Granville St., Jack Droy.
Winnipeg: 300 New Hargraves Bldg., Kenneth Beach.
Member Audit Bureau of Circulations
Second Class postage paid at Kansas City, Mo. Sectional Edition, $3.00 per year. National Edition, $7.50.
MARCH 13,
NEW 'BUND-SELLING'
THE TERMS “blind-selling” and “blind-buying” used to be sore spots for exhibitors back in the pre-consent decree days when blockbooking was the prescribed and accepted system of the picture business. Block-booking, as it once was practiced, has been eliminated, but blind-selling is still with us, though in a different form.
It’s not blind-selling of the old days. Too frequently a film salesman is required to sell a picture about which the potential buyer knows nothing. The exhibitor suddenly is offered a picture cold. He hasn’t been conditioned, as it were, or informed that the particular picture even had been made. In other words, he is asked to buy a pig-in-a-poke.
Our point is that some distributors are not taking advantage of tradepaper advertising on many of the features. They expect a salesman to sell an unknown commodity and they expect an exhibitor to buy it — blind.
A film buyer is more likely to make a deal for a picture that has been well advertised than for a picture of which he has never heard. There are many good, solid pieces of film merchandise on the market that apparently are being kept secret. And this carries over into the exhibitor’s own selling efforts, leaving him cold and uninspired as to the saleable values in these pictures. Is it any wonder that so many of them fail at the boxoffice?
The situation does not exist only for pictures. There is blind-selling in the equipment and concessions items fields, too. An exhibitor who is in the market for equipment and concessions material is more favorable to a product that is consistently advertised in the tradepress than to one that is strange to him.
In that respect, an equipment man, a strong believer in advertising, once told us that he did advertise consistently, not because he believed an exhibitor, upon seeing his ad, would rush to the telephone or his writing desk and place an order. He said he did it because when one of his salesmen called on a customer and announced the company he represented, the customer invariably would say, “Oh yes, I see your ad (in this case Boxoffice) every week.” In other words, the customer had been presold.
A producer could pick up hundreds, even thousands, of additional bookings and an equipment dealer or manufacturer could make many more sales if their salesmen did not have to contend with blind-selling — that is, selling an un
advertised picture or an un-advertised piece of merchandise.
★ ★
An Important Ruling
Exhibitors, who may have felt uneasy about working in concert on campaigns aimed at legislation or public opinion because of possible antitrust laws violation, may have nothing to fear. That is, if a recent Supreme Court ruling in a railroad-trucking case can be interpreted correctly.
Forty-one Pennsylvania trucking companies and their trade associations sued 24 eastern railroads, a railroad association and a publicity firm for a total of $250,000,000 in damages, charging that the railroads had violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by conspiring to turn opinion against trucks through a deceptive public relations campaign.
Two lower courts had given the truckers a judgment of $852,074 against the railroads, holding the railroads were in violation of antitrust regulations. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, however, who wrote the high court decision, declared in substance that a campaign aimed at public and political opinion, no matter how “nasty” and how successful it might be, was not in violation of the antitrust laws.
Commenting on the decision, TOA, in its current bulletin, stated:
“It would appear, from the newspaper reports on the decision, that any industry and its trade associations are free to work together on campaigns aimed at legislation or public opinion, without fear of antitrust violation. If this is true, such of our campaigns as involved pay TV, wages and hours, etc., would be in the clear — although the antitrust aspects of our activities have never been questioned.”
★ ★
Weather Service
Theatre Owners of America has injected a helpful gimmick in its semi-monthly bulletins. It is presenting weather forecasts and weather maps, supplied by the U. S. Weather Bureau, The service is of particular interest to drive-ins, especially those which open about mid-March.
According to the forecasts, the precipitation will be heavy in most of the country, especially the northern states. Moderate to light precipitation is predicted for the eastern states. As for temperatures, western and midwestern states will be below normal. The eastern part of the country will have readings above normal. Or so says Uncle Sam.
— AL STEEN
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