Exhibitors Herald (Jul-Sep 1922)

September 30, 1922 EXHIBITORS HERALD 57 Warner Pro ALBERT WARNER IGHTEEX big pictures is our production goal for 1923! And each one of these productions will be made with the best talent available in the industry — meaning, that we will engage the best directors, the best screen players and the best known scenario writers to whip our stories into shape. All of the eighteen pictures will be made from books and plays which, when made known, will startle the industry. I say this without exaggeration. And I'll back up any assertion I make. As has been announced to the trade press, the forthcoming series of seven Warner Brothers pictures have been made from seven popular stories. Each work is known to thousands of people, and the reading percentage of the entire series runs into the millions. Furthermore, the men behind the stories, from the novelist to the directors, the players and the scenario writers, have a following that also runs into the millions. mi /^OUPLIXG these facts with the high ^ standard of production excellence that has been maintained in the making of the pictures — and there you have seven of the big box office attractions of the season ! We are not only striving to produce money-making attractions, but we have also dedicated ourselves to exhibitor cooperation. By co-operation I mean that we leave no stones unturned in helping the showmen of the country with publicity and advertising suggestions from the time he books the picture until the time he shows it to his patrons. An instance of the wide scope of our publicity and exploitation campaigns to aid exhibitors can be evidenced from the duction Pla IVhy W e Joined Will H. Hays By HARRY M. WARNER fact that we are sending a huge float containing the names of our seven productions from New York direct to California. This stunt is unprecedented m the history of motion pictures. And to say that it will help those exhibitors who will play our pictures is putting it mildly. mi WE have joined the Will H. Hays organization and we are glad to be with him in helping to restore the public confidence in motion pictures and in the industry in general. We believe he will counteract and wipe out all the unscrupulous promoters of motion pictures who are actually stealing the hard-earned savings of widows, orphans and the countless others who are regular patrons of the picture theatre. We believe that Mr. Hays is performing a wonderful service to the industry. We believe that he is wielding a powerful weapon in developing the educational as well as the entertainment value and general usefulness of the motion picture in the eyes of the public. We believe that he will safeguard the interests of all those connected in any way with the industry. And in advocating the diffusion of accurate and reliable information about the motion picture, in making known the great scope of this wonderful medium GUS SCHLESINGER General Manager, Foreign Department s for 1923 HARRY M. WARNER for the transmission of clean, wholesome and instructive ideas, he is performing a great service to the industry and the great American public. And that is why we joined Mr. Havs. Illl Foreign Distribution THE foreign distribution of the Warner Brothers productions is handled by Gus Schlesingsr. general manager of the foreign department, who by virtue of his long and varied experience in the industry is a specialist in the marketing of foreign pictures. The present outlook in the foreign market is brighter than it has been for many years, according to Mi . Schlcsinger. It is his opinion that the high production standard maintained by the Warner Brothers and other organizations will make it well nigh impossible for foreign producers to compete with the American product. "For many years the foreign producers have been earnestly striving to duplicate and outstrip the efforts of American producers," said Mr. Schlesinger, "but a keen survey of their pictures proves that they still have a long way to travel in the making of super-box office features. Illl FURTHERMORE, the foreign producer quite naturally lacks the viewpoint of the American public, and as a consequence his product cannot gain a strong foothold here. On the other hand, American-made pictures are more in demand now than they have ever been in the history of the business. And there is a good reason. "Our productions are made on an elaborate scale, with stellar casts, and strong dramatic stories. The ensemble of the completed pictures presents a veritable feast of entertainment for the public, and this is what hits the bullseye in the estimation of the foreigners. They love to see our beautiful women in dazzling clothes. They love to witness the dazzling investiture of wealthy homes."