Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1962)

featuring Short Subjects MORE DISTRIBUTORS ENTERING SHORTS FIELD Three Companies Join Majors in Answering Plea for High-Quality Subjects By AL STEEN ^HE INCREASING importance of short subjects to exhibition is indicated for the 1962-63 season by the entrance of three established companies into short subject distribution, adding considerably to the number of subjects available. American International Pictures in major cities will make its debut in the theatrical short subject field, releasing 13 new UPA cartoons. The rapidly expanding Herts-Lion International Corp. has entered the field with 20 theatrical award-winning cartoons, and Crown International has three color subjects ranging from 18 to 32 minutes in length. It has become a bromide to say that the public likes short subjects but doesn’t get enough of them; and that the patrons feel cheated if they don’t get at least a newsreel with their features. That has been said for years, but it holds just as true, if not more so, today. The fact that the public is becoming more short subject-minded has awakened the major companies, and independents as well, to the realization that more attention should be paid to the production of the cartoons, travelogs and sports reels — and to the longer featurettes. A pressing need for the longer subjects, two-reelers and even three -reelers, was expressed over and over by exhibitors attending the recent Theatre Owners of America convention in Miami Beach. “We could use many more two-reelers than are available,’’ one exhibitor said. “We’ve had to bring back some for re-runs because there weren’t enough new ones. And some three-reelers would be mighty helpful.’’ This feeling was particularly true among those exhibitors who operate on a single feature policy. With features getting longer and longer, they said, thei-e is a place for slightly longer short subjects to fill out the program. Exhibitors, generally, have barely tapped the merchandising field on short subjects. But where they have gone out of their way to promote a short, the results have been beneficial. A TOA representative from New England said that recently he booked what he thought was a weak feature, and, to bolster the program, he booked a tworeel subject for which he gave almost equal space in his advertising. Business was surprisingly good; and the feature turned out to be far better than he had anticipated. with word-of-mouth, after the first day, a factor in holding power which increased during the four-day engagement. The exhibitor gave most of the credit for the opening-day business to the plugging of the short subject, not realizing that he had a good feature as well. “This may be a i-are instance,’’ he said, “but it opened my eyes to the interest the public has in good short subjects.” A Missouri theatreman said that he had been showing one or two shorts as sort of a curtain-raiser at his drive-in, presenting them ‘in that period just before it became dark enough to start the feature. He noticed a surprising increase in early attendance and, based on that, he advertised his shorts on the attraction sign at the entrance to the drive-in. He said he could not “put his finger” on how this might have brought in new customers, but that he was sure it had some effect. As much as short subjects are liked, the public is demanding quality in this field, too, and the companies apparently are 1962-63 Shorts Lineup, AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL Seven new UPA Mr. Magoo cartoons; six Dick Tracy cartoons. BUENA VISTA One new 20-minute musical featurette; one Goofy cartoon; three Donald Duck cartoons; two live-action subjects; two two-reel cartoons; 12 Disney cartoon reissues; two reissued live-action subjects; seven People and Places reissues; two True-Life Adventure reissues. COLUMBIA Two two-reel color travel featurettes; ten Loopy de Loop cartoons; eight Mr. Magoo reissues; 15 Cream of the Crop cartoon reissues; eight Three Stooges reissues; 10 World of Sports subjects; six Candid Microphone reissues; three serial programs, and Assorted Comedy and Comedy Favorites two-reel comedies. CROWN INTERNATIONAL Tliree color subjects, 18 to 32 minutes in length. HERTS-LION INTERNATIONAL CORP. 20 award-winning color cartoons, 10 minutes each. METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER •Six new Tom and Jerry one-reel cartoons; 12 complying. A study of the shorts program outlined in this issue of Boxoffice will prove that point. One distributor pointed out that the public has become so travel-conscious that a mediocre travelog would draw adverse comments. People who had visited the countries shown on the screen knew whether it was correctly covered, while those persons who had not been there could “sort of feel” that the locale had not been properly depicted. And yet, he added, travel films were among the top favorites. In the late 1940s, Hal Roach was a little ahead of his time when he turned out a series of three-reel Technicolor comedies. And he poured a lot of money into them. In those uncertain post-war days, they probably did not get the attention and the playdates they deserved, but in today’s market they probably would be snapped up. The late E. W. Hammons, maker of comedies and other types of short subjects, (Continued on page 17) Company by Company Gold Medal cartoon reissues; 104 issues of News of the Day. PARAMOUNT Six Popeye cartoon reissues; 20 cartoons; three two-reel specials; six Sports in Action; five one-reel subjects. LESTER A. SCHOENFELD Five featurettes, ten two-reel subjects, seven one-reel subjects; one Academy Award-winning documentary short subject; one Academy Awardwinning live action short subject. 20th CENTURY-FOX Movietone CinemaScopes in color, encompassing travel, sports and music; new Terrytoons and reissues of Terrytoons of the past. UNIVERSAL-INTERNATIONAL Two two-reel color specials; eight one-reel short subjects; 19 Walter Lantz Cartunes; seven Walter Lantz Cartune reissues; one Football Highlights; 104 issues of Universal-International News. WARNER BROS. Three two-reel Worldwide Adventure specials; six one-reel Worldwide Adventure specials; 16 new Merrie Melodies and Looney Toons cartoons; 13 Blue Ribbon cartoons. BOXOFFICE :: November 26, 1962 11