The Exhibitor (Nov 1938-May 1939)

BM-5 ONT COVER Paramount in the operation of theatres — that operation which makes a once in-a-uhile patron become a steady customer — is the maintenance of the n top-notch condition. Equipment must be maintained , and the porter on the front covet* v a newsreel theatre in a large city takes care of the matter of removing gum from carpets, icient vacuum cleaner to remove the seen and unseen dirt that is so disastrous to the expensive any cinema. SECT January, 1939 HAIL! THE NEW. . . BUT SERVICE THE OLD • ''CAME THE DAWN,” through frequent use, became one of the motion pictures’ most famous phrases in the days before the cinema acquired vocal chords. With the coming of a New Year — even after 18 days — that dawn-of-a-new-day pervades the theater business as well as any other. With a new year, it is only natural that a theater operator’s thoughts should turn to imbuing his theater with the ''new”: what equipment he might purchase to improve his theater here and there, what gadget he might install to add to comfort. • APPLAUSE IS DUE the research and the science that brings to the theaterman new and improved devices, but in our enthusiasm for such things, we must not forget that not all theater operators are in a position to take advantage of such innovations, such refinements of equipment. It is then that we must turn our attention to existing equipment. While more than a decade has passed since talking, and synchronized, motion pictures were introduced, few theaters exist today with the original installation of the late 1920’s. (And the same thought applies to equipment other than sound apparatus). • THE PASSAGE OF YEARS is not kind to mechanical equipment any more than it is to persons. While equipment may seem to be (and essentially is) sound and mechanically still in good condition, it does not function as it once did. Have you, in the pursuit of assumed obligation to deliver to your clientele the finest in motion picture entertainment at prices commensurate with its "run,” neglected to maintain your equipment in its pristine condition, to give thereby your patron not only that which Hollywood has put upon the celluloid, but under such circumstances as will be conducive to the patron’s pleasure? • HAVE YOU, for example, maintained, through constant inspection and replacement, your sound reproduction and amplification system at its highest point of efficiency; have you maintained your chairs in the best possible condition; have you kept an ever-watchful eye on your air-conditioning and other apparatus to keep them in a condition to meet all emergencies; have you maintained the physical properties encompassed by your theater in modern condition; have you maintained your rest rooms and toilets in immaculate cleanliness; have you maintained a service personnel capable — and willing — to keep your theater in a condition which would be such as to invite the patrons to return? In short, have you kept pace with the time, adding the new here and there as it was possible, but, above all, keeping that which you have operating at its peak of efficiency? • THE ''NEW” IS FINE to possess, but the upto-the-minute operator is he who maintains his theater and its equipment at its peak performance through proper maintenance and servicing. Precision equipment — and every bit of theater equipment is just that — which represents millions of dollars in scientific research and production equipment, deserves all the consideration you can give it. Have you treated your equipment right? THE EDITORS. January IS, 19)9