The Exhibitor (Jun-Oct 1939)

EDITORIAL T H E A Jay Emanuel Publication. Covering the film terri¬ tories in the Metropolitan East. Published weekly by Jay Emanuel Publications, Incorporated. Publishing office: 1225 Vine Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. New York City office, 1600 Broadway. West Coast office, 1119 Poinsettia Drive, Hollywood, California. Representatives in Washington, D. C.; Albany, Buf¬ falo, Boston, New Haven. Jay Emanuel, publisher; Paul J. Greenhalgh, business manager; Herbert M. Miller, managing editor. Subscription rates: $2 for one year; $5 for three years. Address all communi¬ cations to 1225 Vine Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. IUST IN PASSING DON’T BLAME THE HEAT Reports from the field are not encour¬ aging. The bottom has almost entirely dropped out of the business and while partly the cause may be daylight saving or the usual summer letdown, we think it due to another factor. Never in the history of the business have there ap¬ peared so few hit pictures at this time of the year. Theatres have a right to expect better product when the going gets tough. Extra pressure is needed. The exhibitors are doing their share by installing cooling systems. Charges have been made that certain distributors are withholding better product for the cooler weather. This is a fallacy. People must be entertained, no matter what the period of year. Lower the entertainment standard and it becomes harder to at¬ tract audiences later, more difficult to hold them as regular patrons after they have been weaned away through inferior films. Several years ago, a movement was started to darken the theatres dur¬ ing the summer. Unless something is done it won’t be necessary to start a movement to close the theatres during the hot spell — if the theatre-going pub¬ lic can’t be pepped up through better pictures. Statements won’t help — only features that will attract at the box office will. Definitely, the fault is not the heat — it’s the product. WILLIAM F. RODGERS: NO. 1 SPOKESMAN Whether you agree with the distributors’ viewpoint in the matter of the trade pact and arbitration rules or whether you think the solution to the industry’s problems rests in government intervention, it seems there is one point on which all of us are in accord — the gradual rise of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s general sales manager William F. Rodgers into the No. 1 position as spokesman for the distributors. When Sidney R. Kent was with Paramount, later when he moved over to 20th Century-Fox, he was accepted as spokes¬ man for the gentlemen on the other side of the fence. But during the past few years, owing to illness and pressure of administrative duties, he was not able to serve in the place he formerly held. Then came the trade parleys, with many spokesmen for the distributors. Distribution executives were quoted; many issued statements, but it was quite plain that Bill Rodgers was the man who was rushed to the front line, meeting all attacks and appeasing all factions. His succession into the No. 1 spot resulted from a series of many meetings, during which time he conferred with exhibitor leaders and independents from all parts of the country. Regardless of how they felt about the pact, they all were in accord about Rodgers. He dealt the cards above the table. He definitely took Kent’s place. And last fortnight, when he delivered an address to film men assembled at the annual convention of Allied in New York City, presenting the distributors’ ideas on arbitration to the in¬ dustry and defending the distributors’ views on the pact, he hurled a challenge to the dissenters and threw down an answer to every sort of visible objection that had been listed. As far as we are concerned, the value of both the pact and the arbitration system depends, on how they work out, the spirit in which those participating help perform the proper func¬ tions and the sense of fairness and good will always integral parts of such a setup. But with regards to Bill Rodgers, we be¬ lieve he can put the code over now because he has the confidence of the exhibitors. Frankly, when so sincere a spokesman believes in anything, it is probably the most important argument for it. Bill Rodgers is an asset to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and the entire industry. QUAD.