The Exhibitor (1953)

THE TREND toward listing the cost of the glasses separately at houses using 3-D films seems to he growing. In that way, no federal tax is collected on the portion of the admission charged for the glasses. ★ LEST there he any confusion as happened recently in New England, MGM’s “Young Bess” is not a sequel to “Gallant Bess.” The latter, it will he remembered, was about a horse. ★ A SURVEY has shown that because of the influence of 3-D and Cinerama, attendance at roller coasters throughout the country has increased. Along the same lines, we can now expect more auto crashes, more guns being fired, and more wax figures going up in flames. ★ BOB WILE, the energetic Independent Theatre Owners of Ohio executive secre¬ tary, wants to know, in view of the ad¬ vanced priced pictures around, when some theatres will advertise: “This attraction is being shown at our former regular prices.” ★ A HITHERTO unexpected property of 3-D appeared when an escaped convict gave himself up to the FBI. He is supposed to have told the latter that when he went to the movies and saw 3-D, it “scared him”, so he surrendered. Further comment isn’t necessary. ★ THIS is Cerebral Palsy National Campaign Month. Run the Joan Crawford appeal trailer. — H. M. M. INDEX Vol. 50, No. 3 May 20, 1953 Section One Editorial . 5 Feature Article— “It Seemed Like A Good Idea” . 6, 7 New York News Letter . 8 The International Scene . 12 This Was The Week When . 16 The Tip-Off On Business . 17 What’s New In 3-D and Wide Screens 20 The Score Board . 17 In The Newsreels . 22 People . 24 Section Two The Servisection . SS-1 — SS-8 _ THE COVER PHOTO _ Al Daytz, president, Daytz Theatre Enterprises Corporation, Boston, discusses problems of buy¬ ing, booking with brother Mickey, treasurer. Vol. 50, No. 3 May 20, 1953 Wliure Are We liiiimj V The uncertainty that the producing side of this industry is showing toward the eventual place and future of 3-D, wide-screen, and 2-D is creating such a had case of jitters among exhibitors that it would he ridiculously funny if the whole matter didn’t have such serious implications. It is true that anyone would need to he clairvoyant to know exactly how public tastes are going to react to a steady diet of novelty, whether one or the other will prove to he just a fad, and which will have permanence. Much of this will need to he learned the hard way, through trial and error. But, meanwhile, the theatres in this country and in the entire foreign market can’t just shut up shop. Right now, the number of theatres equipped for 3-D or wide-screen, or due to he equipped during the next three to six months, is relatively small. All of the thousands of others are due to he squeezed by the decision of most distributors to withhold product or to limit production until their own and competing tests are made. During this period of bickering and one-company jealous development, there are going to he serious consequences. It isn’t a question of current shortages. There are plenty of pictures ready for the market in 2-D. A lot of them represent high quality merchandise, hut they either aren’t being released, or are being dropped into the market without the usual enthusiasm and sales bombast that makes for good boxoffice. Best proof of this is right in the trade press. For the first time since 1946, distributor advertising in 1952 showed a slight spurt, and led the industry to its most solid business in six years, but in the first three months of this year, witli executive attention distracted by the new “gim¬ micks”, distributor advertising has dropped off more than 22 per cent to a new industry low. Gentlemen of production and distribution, where are we going? What is to keep the thousands of “bread-and-butter” theatres operating while you individually try for the new and the different? This industry can’t live off a few hundred spot pres¬ entation houses. We don’t advocate a resistance to change and development, but let’s keep our all-industry perspective, and not get so enam¬ ored with change as to sluff basic, proven investments. A JAY EMANUEL PUBLICATION. Founded in 1918. Published weekly by Jay Emanuel Publica¬ tions, Incorporated. Publishing office: 246-248 North Clarion Street, Philadelphia 7, Pennsylvania. New York office: 1600 Broadway, New York 19. West Coast Representative: Paul Manning, 9628 Cresta Drive, Los Angeles 35, California. Jay Emanuel, publisher; Paul J. Greenhalgh, general manager; Herbert M. Miller, editor; A. J. Martin, advertising manager; Max Cades, business manager; Marguerite Gibson, circulation manager; George 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. International edition: one year, $2.00 in United States and pos¬ sessions, $3.00 in Canada and Pan-American countries, $5.00 in all other countries. General edition: one year, $7.50 in United States and possessions, $10 in Canada and Pan-American countries. $15 in all other countries. Address all correspondence to the Philadelphia office.