The Exhibitor (Nov 1942-May 1943)

EDITORIAL r « f Reg. U. S. Pat. Office VOL. 29, No. 10 January 13, 1943 A Jay Emanuel Publication. Covering the film terri¬ tories in the Metropolitan East. Published weekly by Jay Emanuel Publications, Incorporated. Pub¬ lishing office: 1225 Vine Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. New York City office: 1600 Broad¬ way. West Coast Representative: Samuel Lindenstein, 425 South Cochran Avenue, Los Angeles, California. Representatives in Washington, D. C.; Albany, Buffalo, Boston, and New Haven. Jay Emanuel, publisher; Paul J. Greenhalgh, business manager; Herbert M. Miller, managing editor. Rates: Each edition, one year, $2; three years, $5. Address communications to publishing offices: 1225 Vine Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Please notify the Circulation Department of any change in address. While every effort is being made to handle changes as fast as possible, sub¬ scribers should allow at least three weeks. e Old Argument Arises A company’s recent publicity release to the effect that “a definite trend toward longer engagements of its product is noted” has again brought to mind the age old argument, that distribu¬ tors never have exploited full possibilities of pictures in every area. Big shows, as may be expected, get extended and preferred playing time, but the distributors prefer to let it stop there. From there on, having exhausted what they think are the possibilities in the cream division, as to exploitation, etc., they let the indi¬ vidual exhibitor carry the full load although the independent theatreman is not geared to get the maximum out of his playing time for many reasons, one of which is that he cannot afford to spend much money on an extensive campaign. The distribu¬ tor, generally, refuses to participate, and perhaps rightly so. The net result, then, is a full cannon blast at the start of the picture’s playing time in an area, backed up by rifle shots, whereas the sensible thing to do would he to keep up the heavy fire for a longer period. However, even without assistance from the distributor in the matter of ad budgets, often the subsequent run houses have been getting as much as possible out of the product where such films deserve the attention. 3n Oliii 3< Hue SECTION ONE Arbitration Cases 22 Editorial Page 3 In the Newsreels 22 In the Spotlight . 18 Late News Highlights . 5, 6 National Legion of Decency List 22 National Mirror . 13, 14, 15 26, 27 National Release Date Guide . Inside Back Cover News of the Territory NT1, et. seq. People You Know . 4a, 4b Production Periscope . 20 The Score Board . 24 Territorial Trade Screening Guide 24 Territorial Highlights . 4a The Tip-Off 28 SECTION TWO REVIEWS (The Exhibitor’s Pink Section) SS-l-SS-10 "Three Hearts For Julia,” (MGM) ; “Silent Witness,” (Monogram) ; “Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour,” (Paramount) ; “Lady Bodyguard,” (Paramount) ; “Night Plane From Chungking,” (Paramount) ; “Reap The Wild Wind,” (Para¬ mount) ; “Star Spangled Rhythm,” (Paramount) ; “Dead Men Walk,” (PRC) ; “Hitler’s Children,” (RKO) ; "They Got Me Covered,” (RKO-Goldwyn) ; “Johnny Doughboy,” (Republic) ; “McGuerins From Brooklyn,” (UA-Roach) ; “Hi Ya, Chum,” (U) ; "Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon,” (U) ; "Tenting Tonight On The Old Camp Ground,” (U) ; “Varsity Show," (Warn¬ ers) ; “Fortress On The Volga,” (Artkino) ; “The Playboy,” (Jewel); “Shadow Of A Doubt,” (U); "Rangers Take Over,” (PRC) ; “Immortal Ser¬ geant,” (20th Century-Fox) ; "Margin For Error,” (20th Century-Fox) ; “Chetniks — The Fighting Guerrillas,” (20th Century-Fox) ; "The Meanest Man In The World,” (20th Century-Fox) ; “Man Of Courage," (PRC). Material contained in the Late News Highlights section often represents newest developments in stories found on other pages of this issue. The Late News Highlights section of THE EXHIBITOR goes to press last, with all the latest news as available. The distributor, it might he observed, overlooks nothing. This is proved by the faet that one distributor recently took it upon himself to change the point-unit system of two decades standing. In the past, on a Thursday through Saturday engage¬ ment, three-tenths of the week was allowed the exhibitor for expense. Now, with playing time from Wednesday through Saturday, at the distributor’s request and naturally reducing the Saturday gross, the distributor allows only two-tenths for the Saturday expense. The distributor, in this case, forgets he created the extra day for the run, which results in a lower gross on Saturday, so he immediately tries to protect himself at the expense of the exhibitor. This is another example of how a new gadget may be in¬ vented to chisel a few more dollars. When the distributors lost their foreign markets, American theatremen were asked, and expected, to pay more, and they did. And at no time have the balance sheets of the distributors looked better. It does not follow that a picture which gets extended play¬ ing time in its first runs deserves it in the subsequents. Many top shows don’t hold up as they work their way down the line. “Tales of Manhattan,” to mention hut one, started off like a house afire, but it failed to keep its initial pace. Reports have it that 20th Century-Fox did adjust where business fell down, hut the exhibitor, in future cases, stuck with his overhead, will be less inclined to gamble in a hurry. Behind the distributor’s attitude there appears one impor¬ tant factor, generally accepted as the reason for the cockiness of certain sales managers: there is less product. Even exhibitors who don’t object to pay a fair price don’t like being made patsys at the whim of executives who think every show is an “A.” And it might be pointed out in this connection that while giving huge bonuses to distribution employees is a big incentive to them, everyone knows that in the final analysis it is still the exhibitor who pays. QUIN.