Exhibitors Herald (Dec 1924-Mar 1925)

February 14, 1925 EXHIBITORS HERALD 35 Exhibitor Concurs in Quigley’s Appraisal of Distribution Plan Fears Higher Rate on Film Carriage However Gruwell and Guild Discuss New Proposition for the Centralized Handling of Prints Fear that the new Railway Express Transport Company will take undue advantage of its relationship to the American Express Company, and thus ship all films by express rather than by parcel post, which carries prints at a lower cost, is expressed by exhibitors commenting upon Martin J. Quigley’s editorial, “Express Company Plan for Distributing Motion Pictures,” published in the February 7 issue of the Herald. Theatre owners concur in Mr, Quigley’s appraisal and praise of the new centralized distribution plan. Exception is taken on only one point. Says J. P. Gruwell, Ideal theatre, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. : Conclusions the Same With One Exception: Gruwell “I have read with interest and pleasure your able discussion of the new distribution experiment launched by Walter Irwin and his associates, and my conclusions are the same as yours with one exception. You say: ‘We expect to see the influence of exhibitors lined up solidly behind the plan of centralized distribution.’ Things have been popping so swiftly in this business of late that it is only natural that suspicions are aroused by the movements hither and thither of prominent film folk. Last Saturday, for instance, Sam Spring, named assistant secretary of First National after Harry Scwalbe’s abdication, and Abe Blank, Des Moines and Robert Lieber came to town almost simultaneously with the return of Sam Katz from Detroit. Just an incident, of course, but one can be suspicious if he wants to. And while Sam was in Detroit, Herbert L. Stern and Barney Balaban of the B. & K. interests, hopped off for the metropolitan area the other side of the Hudson. Business I * ♦ * Lou Marangella, first of the “Ben Hur” vanquard to return from the Italian front, spent all of Friday with us and slipped us the low-down on the other side of the pond. He smacked his lips and told us all about frascati wine, all about the Montmarte in Paris, all about the beautiful scenery in Italy, in fact, all about everything but “Ben Hur.” S'funny, isn’t it? * * * Our old friend, Oscar Rumore, pounced in on us from Oklahoma this last week. Oscar, you know, is our “90 per cent bunk” friend. The old boy stated that while in Oklahoma they slipped him the report that Hoot Gibson was going over to P. D. C. on the termination of his present Universal contract. Of course, we never take Oscar seriously, but he does spread a lot of interesting gossip. * * * When Oscar was told that the independents were considering the hiring of General Pershing as their Will Hays, he re-' marked that they (the independents) must be planning on bringing modern warfare into the present skirmish. Wonder if Will Hays has put in his order for a general's uniform? * « « Clayton Sheehan hesitated in the Windy City on Ids way to the Orient where he will represent Fox. Oayton has a big job ahead of him before his arrival on the other side of the Pacific. For instance, he’s got to learn how to twist his tongue so that he can rattle off, Um wah lung chow chop suey. You say it. * * * Harold Franklin, supervisor of theatres for Paramount, Game into the lake region to shivver after summering for one week at Atlanta where Famous held its theatre convention. Harold B. was giving McVicker’s the once over before it passed into the hands of Balaban & Katz. * * * Edward Auger did a hop-skip-and-jump from New Orleans to Chicago to Detroit last week. How’s business? Now all together : “Vitagraph’s business was never better.” Ed was mum on Vitagraph’s withdrawal from the Hays group. Let the home office tell it. — SHRECK. “This would undoubtedly be true, were it not that Mr. Irwin’s company is a subsidiary of the American Railway Express Company, which charges from one-half to two-thirds more for carriage than does our present parcel post system and gives the small town exhibitor as little service as possible for the money. “Before the war the natural competition compelled the express companies to give any exhibitor in a small town served by more than one company reasonable service. But now no matter how well meaning a local agent for the American Railway Express Company may be, he is so enmeshed in home office red tape that he can do very little. Gruwell Cites Example "In our case for example, Mr. Olson has no service from 6 p. m., Saturday until 8 a. m., Monday, although there are two express trains which can car^ film entering the town between those limits either one of which is likely to carry shipments from our Milwaukee exchanges to us. So in such a case it is up to us to locate the express agent, ask as a special favor that he go to his office on Sunday and permit us to get film out and then transport it ourselves to our theatre, paying the charges in cash, for he is not permitted to take a check during the hours that the bank is closed. “For this privilege we pay two-thirds more than we do if the film comes parcel post, in which case we have access to the post office on Saturday evening and Sunday morning after each mail train arrives at a saving of at least one-third of the transportation charges. “I realize that in most cities Uncle Sam has not as yet provided the exchanges with pick-ups such as the express company gives, but the total cost of the pick-up service plus the parcel post charge is not except in cases of very long haul as great as the express charge. Gonsequently until that situation is met and remedied, your country exhibitor will seriously object to using a service which compels him to patronize the American Railway Express service.” Stay Out, Says Guild Contrasting the view of Mr. Gruwell is the opinion expressed by R. E. Guild, Peerless theatre, Holyoke, Col., who, because of the higher rate of express, believes that distributors should see “that it is to their advantage to stay out of a deal like this.” He says: “In your issue of February 7, 1925, you have an article entitled ‘Express Company for Distributing Motion Pictures.’ You went the limit in trying to picture what a fine thing it would be for the producers and the distributors. If the express company had written the article themselves, they could not have done better. “Now let us look at the exhibitor’s side of the question. We had a hard fight to get films shipped by parcel post instead of express, but finally won out causing the express company to lose this business. Now the real purpose of this move is to compel the exhibitor to have not only his films but his advertising matter as well, shipped by express. They are handing out a nice bait to the producers and distributors and a barbed hook for the exhibitor. “Here are the actual costs by parcel post and express from Denver to Holyoke. By parcel post a six reel feature costs 64 cents including insurance to Holyoke and a two reel short subject 32 cents. Total for program 96 cents one way or $1.92 including return. A six reel feature by express costs $1.42 and two reel short subject 88 cents, total $2.30 one way or $4.60 both ways, a difference of ^.68 a day. If I run six days a week and change every day, it would cost me $838.84 more a year to ship by express than by parcel post. Here is another joker in the proposition. "Any exhibitor that has had the bad luck to get a shipment of advertising matter by express knows how they charge for this, yet under this new scheme they are going to ship it all by express. Some time ago I had a shipment of advertising matter come by express through an error. The charges on it were 90 cents. I took the package to the post office and had it weighed. It would have cost 22 cents by parcel post. “It is time that the exhibitor woke up to what this means to them, and maybe enough distributors will see that it is to their advantage to stay out of a deal like this so that the small exhibitor will still have a market to buy his pictures in that will be glad to send them parcel post.”