Exhibitors Herald (1925)

Incident Bears Out Universal Policy An incident worthy of note is the recent experience of Mr. C. C. Dunsmoor, owner of the Legion theatre, Marshalltown, Iowa, with the Universal Pictures corporation. Universal sometime ago acquired the Casino theatre, Marshalltown, which operates in opposition to the Legion. Mr. Dunsmoor has long been using Universal service. With Universal entering the town he assumed that he would have to look elsewhere for service. But, somewhat to his surprise, he was offered a Universal contract. It will he Universal’s Casino theatre that will look elsewhere for product. This incident comes as a bit of concrete evidence of the sincerity of Universal’s expressed theatre policy and as such is a very interesting piece of news for theatre owners. * * * Outside Executive For Trade Work The proposed plan of the Motion Picture Theatre Owners of America to appoint an executive to the position of general director is directly in line with a move which has proven successful for many trade organizations. It is a fact that a great deal of the general day in and day out work of an association cannot be left to officers alone if the best results are to be gotten. Every member and officer has as his major interest the operation and development of his own theatres and in most instances association work cannot expect to come in for better than secondary attention. But in the case of a competent, outside executive, with sufficiently broad experience, who is regularly and consistently on the job, a great deal of work can be accomplished which will strengthen and develop the service of the association to individual members and to the theatre field as a whole. We hope the proposed plan carries through and that the “right” man is obtained. ■» * * Movie Season Work Test of Cooperation The huge task of organizing nationally the “Greater Movie Season” campaign is being successfully carried on. Organization has been practically completed in several territories and each week new districts are falling into this list. There is every indication that the force and effect of this campaign will be felt throughout the nation. It is certain to be the means toward effecting a new birth of interest in motion pictures and the good results of this should be felt for many months after the campaign has ceased its active operations. The campaign is one of the most elaborate attempts at industry-wide cooperation that the business has attempted. Hence, the results of it will be watched with a great deal of interest. Many important factors in public life will observe very closely just what this business can do when it sets out to attract to a particular and definite idea the attention of the whole country. The success of the campaign, of course, depends upon the quality of cooperation and support yielded to the movement by theatre owners. In this respect it stands on common ground with practically every other question facing the industry. The exhibitor is the controlling factor. We hope for his own interest, and for the interest of the whole business, that he will see that the “Greater Movie Season” campaign goes over big and bold. * * * Territorial OKeh For Film Contracts Mr. John C. Flinn, for the Producers Distributing corporation, has placed authority for the final acceptance of contracts with division managers. In this decision Mr. Flinn has cut away from an old practice in the business which has been the source of great dissatisfaction with exhibitors and which has never been proven to be indispensable for the welfare of distributors. The exhibitor, obviously, is entitled to a prompt and unqualified acceptance or rejection of any contract for service, offered by a film company, which he may sign. In a great many cases where contracts must be forwarded to New York for approval, he does not receive this. Frequently, local conditions are not nearly as well understood in New York as they are on the spot and the result of this is disadvantageous, sometimes to the distributor and sometimes to the exhibitor. If division managers are of sufficient calibre they should be accorded more authority. If they are not, the solution should not be found in keeping up a clumsy and time-killing system but, rather, in getting men that fit the jobs. Mr. Flinn’s plan certainly will receive the approval of exhibitors and it is not unlikely to be the forerunner of a complete readjustment in the present general practice of having all contracts approved at the home office. Under the most ideal conditions the negotiation of a film contract is a difficult transaction. Everything that can be done toward simplifying the matter, eliminating possibilities of misunderstanding and hastening the operaton should contribute substantially toward making business better and more satisfactory for all concerned.