Exhibitors Herald (Jul-Sep 1922)

September 30, 1922 EXHIBITORS HERALD 59 False Publicity Kills Patronage Says HARRY M. WARNER Aiding Independents Is Great Asset Say WARNER BROTHERS I JACK L. WARNER N reviewing evils that constantly are besetting the motion picture industry, Harry M. Warner contends that the attempt by theatreowners and producers and distributors to fool the public with false advertising relative to a picture not only helps to kill off theatre patronage, but also immeasurably hurts the industry. It is Mr. Warner's firm conviction that if truthful advertising in both the trade and newspaper press is maintained, the industry will be taken out of the rut of its present decadent and hokum stage. "If the producers and distributors of pictures continue to splurge smooth, but false, facts about a picture, this industry will gradually lose its popularity in the eyes of the theatre-going public," said Mr. Warner. "For when this sort of advertising is carried on incessantly, and the picture does not back up the statements made in the newspaper and trade press, the succeeding ads will thereby lose their force and conviction. "The result of this procedure can readily be surmised. The public will come to look disdainfully on the advertising copy, and as a consequence theatre owners will be wondering why the crowds do not come to his theatre. This sort of thing has been carried on to excess, and the sooner it is stopped the better it will be for both producer and theatre owner. "It simply means that when a real box office attraction comes along, all the smooth phrasing and ballyhooing will do it no good. Because the public has become used to the same line of advertising, because it feels that in the past that same advertising did not truthfully tell about a picture, the public pays no attention to future announcements. Now more than ever before in the history of the business is there a greater need for sane and truthful advertising in both the newspapers and the trade press. "We have dedicated ourselves to exhibitor cooperation, and in rendering this cooperation we will not wilfully mislead exhibitors into the belief that what is hailed as white will turn out to be black. In other words, our policy will be rigidly adhered to as far as our advertising and publicity copy is concerned. When we are truthfully sold on the merits of our features, we will truthfully tell both exhibitors and public about it. "The seven pictures we will release this fall are, in my estimation, worthy of the highest commendations because each and every one of them contains the big essentials needed for big box office attractions. Merely a glance at the list of our pictures, the names of the screen players, the scenario writers, and the directors we have engaged for these films, will convince the most skeptical person that the Warner pictures are indeed worthy of all the praise that can be bestowed upon them." S. L. WARNER Scene from "Rags to Riches" "Rags to Riches," directed by Wallace Worsley. THE encouragement of the independent producers is tending to elevate the motion picture to its greatest and highest standard, according to Sam and Jack Warner, members of the Warner Brothers organization, who are producing a number of the forthcoming series of ■-even Warner pictures. Both Sam and Jack have been allied with the industry since its infancy, and during this period they have found that the smaller producing companies are helping to maintain the excellent standard of motion picture production. "Since 1918 the smaller producers of pictures have had a hard struggle," say Sam and Jack Warner. "But the earnest endeavor to bring forth high class moneymaking features has been very successful indeed. In 1918 the picture business was being rapidly cornered by the big producing organizations. Had their aims been accomplished, the small producers would have been forced out of business, and the market would have been cluttered with only a few brands of films. * * * "These films, good or bad, would have been foisted on the public and no doubt patronized because the public demands and must have entertainment. Today, however, due to the fact that the big companies could not monopolize the industry, the exhibitors realize that the small producing units are turning out pictures which more than meets with public approval. And the standard is ever soaring upward toward bigger and better productions. "The smaller producing companies have one big advantage over the larger concerns, and that is the personal contact between the producer and the director and the actual filming of the picture. This advantage has proved its worth, for the simple reason that every successful producer has studied the public's demand and knows what will satisfy their amusement apnetites. "In short, the producer is on the ground from the day the picture is started up to and including the day the film is shipped from the cutting room ready for exhibition. This fact is proved when we consider the working methods of a genius like David Belasco. When Belasco stages' a production for the legitimate stage, the public throngs to the box office because they know they can expect something unusual, because Belasco has consistently satisfied the public with his plays "Briefly, he has created an international reputation by catering to and studj'ing the wants of the public. And he has done this simply because he personally looks after every detail in the staging and producing of the play. "Another change that has served for the betterment of the industry is the eradication of mob scenes and large mammoth structures in picture making."