Exhibitors Herald (Dec 1924-Mar 1925)

38 EXHIBITORS HERALD January 17, 1925 LETTERS From Readers A forum at which the exhibitor is invited to express his opinion on matters of current interest. Brevity adds forcefulness to any statement. Unsigned letters will not be printed. The Free Show Problem LAMONT, IOWA.— To the Editor: In your last issue of the Herald in the “Letters From Readers” department, I noticed a letter from one Mr. Botsford, Royal theatre, Ainsworth, Neb., wherein he states how he would fight free shows, which brings a subject to my mind that I have been going to write a letter for some time. I own two theatres in two small towns both under 500 population and I have been bothered with free shows in one of my towns for the past two years, not in the town itself, but from the adjoining towns. There is one town about four and one-half miles west of me that has been running free shows for the past two years on Saturday nights only. They have a grafiscope portable projector whioli they set on a box every Saturday night and show across the main street. If the weather is bad they have it in the only town hall, not the best of accommodations, but nevertheless it is free, which is about all that is necessary. In the winter time, I think a small charge of 5 and 10 cents is made to cover the expenses providing the business men run short. They have been using Paramount pictures exclusively. A salesman told me this summer that Famous PlayersLasky were not supposed to furnish a noiltheatrical institution, especially free shows, but they did and do nevertheless, and their man tried to sell me some of their same pictures and expects me to do business on them at 10 and 25 cents. Well this summer some film salesman went into another little town about six miles from me and sold them a free show proposition. They erected a permanent booth in a little park that they had right next to the main street, and put on pictures twice a week, Wednesday and Saturday nights, using F. O. B. pictures. They sold them 30 pictures complete programs two a week for 15 weeks. There I was running Tuesday and Saturday nights at 10 and 25 cents and just about breaking even on the film rental all summer. On a rainy night I would have a better crowd as they would not go to the other towns, but you fellows in small towns like myself know what the word free means. I checked up on these towns and some of the merchants did not think it brought them any more business, while others said they would not be without them. Some of the people would kick on the pictures and say they did not like to sit on the hard planks and the pictures were not so bright, but still they went because it did not cost them anything. The merchants here want a free show next summer and it will mean taking your machine outside somewhere and building a booth for it, as my house will not seat enough to show inside, and this is the case with the majority of the small towns of this size. But these obstacles can be overcome all right. The main trouble is going to be the price, and that is the place where I think we theatre owners are not getting treated right. I know, and every small town theatre owner of towns my size knows, that he could not put on two complete programs a week and furnish everything short of $20 a night or $40 a week, and which is the same I am going to ask the merchants. But here is where the trouble comes, they will think this is high and even if they don’t, they will go over to these other towns and find out what it is costing them. The one town that is running Paramount is getting their pictures for $7.50 and some less, and the other town gave $12.50 a program, including everything. They were running F. O. B., and they ran their best stuff, including Thomson. This leaves a bad taste in my merchant’s mouth, as they will want to beat a fellow down. They will come at him, that it will be a benefit to the town and he ought to run for no profit at all, or very little, also that it will get lots of people in the habit of seeing motion pictures and thereby increase your business, after they close down running free pictures. But this is all poppycock. These other towns like the ones I have mentioned should not be allowed to buy their pictures as cheap as we who are running a theatre every week of the year. They should be made to pay about double the film rental and they would, if we had a film board of trade, that was made up of part exhibitors instead of exchange managers. It’s just as Mr. Cohen said, the exhibitor has not as yet got his rightful place in the sun nor will he ever until the organizations get strong enough to break up this one-sided affair. It would have been better for all concerned, if this free show proposition had never been introduced at all, but it has ; and we have got to make the best of it someway. This coming summer will see practically all small towns in this territory running free outdoor shows and it will simply be one fighting to get a little better pictures than the other one, or a little better accommodations. If there is going to be anything done in regard to this, it should be done right away as the film salesmen will be selling these merchants in these free show towns before very long, or they have already sold them; and I really believe that the best remedy is to boost the price plenty high and in this way it might discourage some of them and they would not try it, or if they did it would give us fellows something to work on. — H. M. Retz, Strand theatre. Lament, Iowa. Adopt a Uniform Reel for Your Own Protection. FT. STOCKTON, TEX. — To the Editor: We have films come to us from several exchanges, and we have tried to figure the reason for the great assortment, and we have only one answer. That is just this, that when a factory or better still a new manufacturer attempts to break into the field, he contemplates some talking point in favor of his reel. This is presented to the buyer, who is not a user of the reel at all. He sees the point, and hence the order. We have reels come to us that are light in weight and that are invariably all twisted and bent from shipping, so doubt the argument was a freight saving or even light material and cheaper prices. The damage, however, to film by use of these light reels is considerable. There is another. That is using a wide brass spring inside of the hub. These springs are so powerful that they invariably tear a short bit of the end of the film before they will release it. Very often the leaser or title is damaged by these reels, and we find that many of these reels that arrive have the springs bent down by force by some operator who no doubt lost patience with them, and in that case renders the reel useless. As far as taking hold of the film is concerned, let’s get a reel that is uniform and one that the operators approve of. — William Hoefs, Queen Theatre, Ft. Stockton, Tex. PURELY Personal Interesting news about exhibitors and people with whom they come into direct contact. Readers are invited to contribute items for publication in this column. Address them to “Purely Personal.” A. F. Jenkins, manager of the Community theatre, David City, Neb., has recently installed Powers machines with Mazda equipment, and believes his pictures are very much improved. !(C * * E. E. Meredith, owner of the Virginia theatre, Fremont, W. Va., writes that the Strand theatre at Morgantown, which has been dark for several weeks while being remodeled, re-opened December 29. Howard L. Swisher, who opened the Swisher theatre, which was the name of the original building, made an address at the formal opening. “The Movie News” -will be issued every two weeks as a means of advertising the Strand attractions. * * * The Liberty theatre at Huntington will not be ready to open before March 1. It is being built and will be operated by the Cabell Amusement company. The house will play either Pantages or Keith vaudeville. * * * “The Ten Commandments” played the Huntington theatre at Huntington and the Rialto, at Charleston, during the week of December 29. The night prices ran up to $1.50 and tax. ^ The Virginia theatre at Fairmont played Thomas Meighan, Betty Compson and Harold Lloyd during the holidays and clipped the personal ads of these three players from moving picture trade publications, framed them, and hung them in the lobby. It caused much comment. ^ ^ ^ “Peter Pan” was seen at Charlestown and Wheeling during the past week, keeping in step with the national showing. * * * Harold Ballah, of Rivesville, who owns the state rights to “The Pendleton Roundup,” got a first showing for it at the Dixie theatre at Fairmont and the engagement was very successful. * sK ^ Bill Weiland, of the Standard Film company, Pittsburgh, who owns “Ten Nights in a Bar Room," in this territory, offered it at the Dixie theatre, at Fairmont, recently. Reno Fleming, the manager, is now wishing he had run it four nights instead of two. * Hs Baby Peggy appeared at the Virginia theatre in Wheeling, in person, the week of Dec. 29. C. A. Moulte, of the Supreme Photoplay company, of Pittsburgh, states that she proved a drawing card. * * * A splendid drawing card has proved itself at the Kearse theatre, in Charlestown, which permits anyone to enter from 1 :00 to 2 :00 p. m. for ten cents.