The Exhibitor (Nov 1938-May 1939)

SPECIAL FEATURES TREND OF FAVORABLE PRESS COMMENT ON MOTION PICTURES Chart No. 1 1938 — ■ 1937 1936 12 Mos. Average, 1938 60. 956 " " , 1937 66.856 " " , 1936 58.256 type of comment Editorials Col limnl st.s News Items 1938 1937 1936 PRESS COMMENT IN 1938. 52.256 38.1 37.6 23.7% 22. 16.9 24.1# 39.9 45.5 ♦ From records kept by the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, this chart indicates the trend Comment favorable to the industry averaged 60.9 percent of all clippings analyzed, as compared with 66.8 Area below the heavy black line indicates favorable comment with the area above including adverse and neutral of press comment on the industry in 193 8. percent in 1937 and 5 8.2 percent in 193 6. COmmenComidered as rgasons for th( peak in April was fhe Hays report on the motion picture industry, with the May drop resulting when the " poison ” episode popped up with attendant results. July saw the government suit filed. The September and October highs may be credited to the industry campaign. The 'November and December drop may have resulted from legislative activity, personal affairs of film players, etc. The records are kept by the MPPDA and are submitted by this publication to its readers as such. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Has Run Remedy New York City. Dear Sir: — Wherever we go today we hear people crying how bad business is — personally, I can’t answer for the conditions in other trades, but I can suggest something that may help in our own industry. Take for example, a picture like "Jesse James” opens at the Roxy and runs for four weeks, drawing over half a million people. Why can’t this and other pictures be allowed only two weeks in these first run houses, changing the policy to a two a day house and getting a higher price at the box office for the first run then after the second week let the circuits or smaller houses grab some of the big money. In this way more pictures can be shown at these first run houses; at least 26 pictures a year in each Broadway house. Under this method a greater production output can be had and as a better price can be paid by the exhibitor he’ll get some first run product sooner. With a better income the producer can turn out a good class A and B pictures. By playing a picture in a theatre for a long time it holds back production and keeps the second and third class houses from making money. Here’s hoping the trade opens its eyes, I remain Your very truly, Nat Hoffberg. ADVANCE SHOTS Tip-Off to New Pictures Reviews of the following pictures have been received during the past week. The advance shots are given for the benefit of out-of-the-can exhibitors, pending complete Six-Point Reviews in the next issue of the Blue Section. BLONDIE MEETS THE BOSS (Columbia) — Penny Singleon, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Jonathan Hale. 70m. Second of the Blondie series — and better than the first — this has Dagwood the homebody, Blondie the breadwinner. A jitterbug contest adds exploitable angles. I WAS A CONVICT (Republic)— Barton MacLane, Beverly Roberts, Clarence Kolb, Janet Beecher. 62m. A post-penitentiary story of three men who had been incarcerated for pulling fast ones on Uncle Sam, this has plenty of action for the smaller situations. THE OKLAHOMA KID (Warners)— James Cagney, Rosemary Lane, Humphrey Bogart. 80m. Contribution of the Brothers Warner to the majors’ current cycle of hoss op’ries. PANAMA PATROL (Grand National) — Leon Ames, Charlotte Wynters, Adrienne Ames, Weldon Hayburn. 67m. Second in GN’s Cipher Series, this is a well-made spy-chasing meller, with loads of suspense, entertainment. ROLLIN’ WESTWARD (Monogram — Tex Ritter, Horace Murphy, Dorothy Fay, Charles King. 5 6m. Homesteaders and cattlemen fight it out until Tex Ritter comes on the scene to prove it was all a put-up job anyway. This is a routine entry in the series. SKY PIRATE (Monogram) — John Trent, Marjorie Reynolds, Milburn Stone, Polly Ann Young. 61m. Tailspin Tommy comes to the screen, with John Trent in the leading role in another story that combines the appeal of spies with aerial acrobatics. SOCIETY SMUGGLERS (Universal)— Preston Foster, Irene Hervey, Fred Keating, Walter Wolfe King. 70m. A smuggling yarn, this offers little out of the ordinary, while Treasury agents get their men. STAR REPORTER (Monogram) — Warren Hull, Marsha Hunt, Wallis Clark, Morgan Wallace. 62m. Crusading newspaper publisher Warren Hull (his own star reporter) solves the underworld in 62 exciting, entertaining minutes of plot, counterplot. THROUGH THE CENTURIES (Guranteed). 61. A documentary films on Christian persecution, with emphasis on the life of Pope Pius XI. WINNER TAKE ALL (20th Century-Fox) — Tony Martin, Gloria Stuart, Henry Armetta. 61m. A rou-ine prize-fight story, this is a lower bracket offering for the neighborhood runs. Short subjects reviewed during the past week included the following: BIG TOWN COMMUTERS (Columbia)— 9m. A good travelogue of New York City. March 1, 19)9