Exhibitors Herald (Dec 1921 - Mar 1922)

January U. 1922 EXHIBITORS HERALD 61 First scenes from Marshall Neilan's screen version of Booth Tarkington's famous story "Penrod." Wesley Barry appears in the titular role, while "Herman" and "Verman" are played by Sammy Morrison and his sister Florence. It is to be distributed by Associated First National. Short Subjects Winning Crowd • (.Concluded from page 34) prohibitive prices and feels that the exhibitors, stars and producers are overpaid. Such fellows as Lloyd and Chaplin are going to have to get that idea that the public will pay any price to see them out of their heads or pretty soon they will be able to retire, which I presume they are able to do, however. I believe that a year from today the fellow who has a week's program of good short subjects produced at the right cost, so he can rent it to the small town exhibitors at such a price and under such conditions that said small towner can give his patrons a good short subject show of about six reels for a dime, will be settin' JAKE for a cleanup, and that the fellow with a lot of "specials" and the stars that appear in them at presidential salaries will be able to find time for a nice long vacation. I know this is in the face of a lot of bunk about the public's demand for big pictures, and I may be wrong. I seldom burst into such a lengthy discussion of my views and convictions but content myself to read everything ob K m *it I % l ' mm tainable and study my business from every angle, and being satisfied to work out my own salvation and let the other fellow do the same. But I believe this is a time and it is growing in importance that we should increase our patronage and get folks into the theatres where we can reach them with anti-censorship arguments for while there has been almost no censorship propaganda spread in Arkansas yet, it is bound to come and is already a great menace in some states. I am taking time by the forelock and starting in this week's paper (we have only a weekly) a series of discussions on censorship, and I believe every exhibitor in the state should start the same thing, and thereby get the run on the reformer, for he is sure to start his work here sooner or later. In the meantime get the masses back to the theatres. Oh, yes. the ticket tax returns show an increase in patronage all the times, DOES IT? Wonder if any one ever stopped to figure out that this increase comes from increased admission prices and that patronage is actually decreasing steadily, in numbers of paid admissions. * * * Remember Mr. Laemmle's "Shoulder to Shoulder Talks" in his house organ about five or seven years ago, about "Short Subjects vs. the Features"? Well, that is good argument now, and if Mr. Laemmle will get back in his old harness and shoot the snappy short subjects to us in sufficient volume, of the same quality he is now putting out, and save some of that insurance money now paid for premiums on super-special million dollar productions, which only millionaires will be able to pay the admission prices to see, he will find himself settin' Jake a year from today. Well, this is my day off, or I would not be writing at such length. I got up a little earlier than usual this a. m., and everything is set for my show today. So if you are getting tired throw it in, but I would really like to see this letter printed as I would like to know how many exhibitors think I am crazy. Well, I may be, but so long as I can change my policy with a result of trebbling the number of paid admissions, a reduction of $85 a week in expenses and a hundred dollars a week in profits, I should worry. I don't mean that I am making that much money, but I was losing and now I am making, so that means that my profit as a result of making the late changes are profitable in that amount. I have been invited to write to your publication so here it is and I guess you won't bother to invite me again.