The Exhibitor (Nov 1938-May 1939)

A L E D I T 0 R I THE NATIONAL Trade-mark Reg. U. S. Pat. Off. Vol. 17, No. 13 Feb. 8, 1939 CRITICISM IN NEW YORK CITY A Jay Emanuel Publication. Circulating in Maryland, District of Columbia, Delaware, Virginia, Eastern West Virginia. Covering the film territory served out of Washington, D. C. Published weekly by Jay Emanuel Publications, Incorporated. Publishing office: 1225 Vine Street, Philadelphia. New York City office: 1600 Broadway. West Coast office: 1119 Poinsettia Drive, Hollywood, California. Jay Emanuel, publisher; Paul J. Greenhalgh, advertising manager; Herbert M. Miller, managing editor. Subscription rates: $2 for one year; $5 for three years. Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Publisher also of The Philadelphia Exhibitor and The New York State Exhibitor. Address all communications to the Philadelphia office. JUST IN PASSING MAKING S. A. FRIENDS One of the sidelights on the recent trip of the American delegation to Peru cropped up recently when a woman member of the body reported that South Americans had peculiar ideas of American life as the result of seeing the crop of gangster, action pictures, etc., shown in the Latin American countries. The Latins, she declared, were surprised to learn from the delegates that our social structure was decidedly different from what had been shown on the screen. With an intensive drive being made among the film companies to increase their grosses in the South American market to make up for the loss in Europe, it will probably be necessary to keep the above angles in mind, especially since the Administration in Washington wants to kindle that brotherly feeling. Industryites do not have to have too good a memory to recollect that it was not so many seasons ago that a drive was made to discourage the star system used by one New York City daily. We do not know what became of the drive, but we do know that plenty of hats are still thrown into the air when a picture gets four stars (there have been one or two five star pictures, too) . To Exhibitors outside of New York City, the importance of a four star rating is probably not clear, but this is usually enough to insure a good gross for the picture in its first Broadway showing, with an attendant increase when it plays the later runs. Of course, there have been a few cases where even the four star advantage did not help, but these have been exceptions. One New York City newspaper has been using the "round the clock” system, rating from "fair” to "excellent,” while other variations are also seen. Some Papers do not use any particular system to rate the pictures, so that often it becomes necessary to read the entire review often unnecessary in the other cases. The New York City Reviewers, it might be mentioned, not only review the pictures as they think they see them, but they admit that their critical abilities are often affected by (1) the weather, (2) upset stomachs, (3) their personal dislikes, (4) miscellaneous. To be sure, there are some reviewers content merely to discuss the merits of the pictures. Perhaps the Situation in other spots is the same as in New York City, but we think the setup there is unique. At Times it does seem a pity that pictures which cost millions should have their values affected by such things as stars, movie clocks, upset stomachs, and smart alecks, but apparently the executives in New York are content, so there is not really anything to get excited about. It does seem slightly screwy to us, however. A HINT ON THE ANTHEM By this time, there can not be a theatre in the country which does not know there is a trend toward Americanism, either by trailer or short. No one can be too bullish about Americanism, but it is suggested here that the matter of selling it to one’s patrons be done with some good sense. It would be unfortunate if the National Anthem found itself in the position of "and selected short subjects” trailers or used as an exit march. NAT