The Exhibitor (1950)

A NEW SYSTEM would stamp the incom¬ ing and outgoing time on each ticket purchased, thus allowing for partial re¬ fund if the theatre so desires. The selling line should be: “Always some part of your money back if you are not satisfied. 1 ★ A GROUP headed by the president of a national film trucking service is seeking to buy a major league ball club. If this results in a sale, undoubtedly it will mean the elimination of all free transportation to first base. ★ A PATRON, asked why he was sitting on top of a car in a drive-in, said that his friends inside the car objected to the manner in which he was eating popcorn. ★ WITH such titles as “Louisa,” “Peggy,” “Harvey,” “Stella,” “Francis,” and others, no one can say that the marquee changers aren’t being given a break. ★ A DRIVE-IN with community good will is the one which has a nearby fire truck come around once a week to give the children free rides with the siren going full blast. ★ ALTHOUGH every manager probably isn’t geared to do it, one tlieatreman finds busi¬ ness increased through a book discus¬ sion before one matinee performance each week. ★ A CRISIS arose at a swank midwest house when an usher discovered that someone had smuggled a forbidden item, popcorn, into the house. ★ A NEWSPAPER columnist, commenting on the fact that popcorn has been developed that will pop to 37 times its actual size, poses the question whether eventually it will he selling for a dime a kernel, and be eaten off the kernel like an apple. — H. M. M. it ! f June 28, 1950 Plain Talk From Barney Balaban There was one part of President Barney Balaban’s address before the Paramount sales convention in Los Angeles that is im¬ portant for everyone in the industry. “The Paramount statistical department”, Balaban said, “estimates the 50-top grossing pictures released in 1946 each produced a domestic gross ranging from $2,400,000 to about $9,000,000. In 1950, on the basis of present available information, the 50 top-grossing pictures of this year will turn in domestic grosses ranging from $1,500,000 to about $5,000,000. Furthermore, the current outlook indicates that very few of the ‘A’ pictures released this year will only gross domestically in excess of $2,000,000”. He continued, speaking of a producer who proposed a picture to be made for $1,300,000: “The only realistic measure for the budget of a picture today is— will it recoup our investment and give our company a reasonable profit in the kind of a market in which it must be released a couple of years from now? If it won’t, then $1,300,000 is excessive, and the film shouldn’t be made”. In short, Barney Balaban asks his company to look at facts in the face of present conditions, and bring in completed pictures at a cost that will prove profitable in the present market. If Paramount has pictures that deliver at the boxoffice, the terms it will receive will be in accord with the films’ value. If the productions do not meet the standards of today’s market, then the tlieatreman will feel that the price should be revised downward. Barney Balaban has always been a leader and an astute and practical man, a firm believer in the future of this industry. We salute him for his honest, constructive thinking. Common sense, motivated by what the production division must do, backed by the company’s confidence in its product, merchandised properly to the trade, and instilling confidence through such merchandising, must result in the industry coming out of the doldrums. Vol. 44, No. 8 /mimberX VuDIT \ JUREAU ) TIONS INDEX Vol. 44, No. 8 June 28, 1950 Section One Editorial . 7 Feature Article— “Paramount Rlueprints The Future” . 8. 9 In The Newsreels . 20 People . 16 National Release Date Guide . 22 The Scoreboard . 18 The Tip-Off . 16 Trade Screenings . 18 Physical Theatre . PT-1 — PT-22 Section Two SS-1— SS-8 A JAY EMANUEL PUBLICATION. Founded in 1918. Published weekly by Jay Emanuel Publica¬ tions, Incorporated. Publishing office: 1225 Vine Street, Philadelphia 7, Pennsylvania. New York office: 1600 Broadway, New York 19. West Coast Representative: Paul Manning, 923 Alandele Avenue, Los Angeles 36, California. Jay Emanuel, publisher; Paul J. Greenhalgh, busi¬ ness manager; Herbert M. Miller, editor; James A. Dalton, advertising manager; Max Cades, production manager; Marguerite Gibson, circulation manager; George F. Nonamaker and Mel Konecoff, associate editors. Subscription rates: Each of six sectional editions (New England, New York State, Philadelphia— Washington, Southern, Mideast, Midwest— Western): one year, $2; two years, $3.50; three years, $5. General edition: one year, S7.50 in U. S. and possessions, $10 in Canada and Pan-American countries, $15 in all other countries. Address editorial and business correspondence to the publishing office, 1225 Vine Street, Philadelphia 7, Pennsylvania. The Check-Up