Exhibitors Herald (1927)

October 22, 1927 EXHIBITORS HERALD 15 Distributors Grant Exhibitors Redress in Renta! Agreement Conferees Set o: to Draft New Factions Divided in Opinions on Outcome of Trade Practice Conference in New York The Results Modified plan of block booking adopted at Trade Practice Conference, although not in resolution form, ivhich precludes action on this subject by the Federal Trade Commission should terms of agreement not be adhered to. Agreement among exhibitors and distributors to create a new uniform contract, eliminating those provisions to which objection is note made. By JOHN S. SPARGO NEW YORK, Oct. 18. — The Trade Practice Conference, ordered by the Federal Trade Commission, and in session here all of last week, ended its session Saturday afternoon. Whether the mountain, as represented in this instance by the motion picture industry, labored for that week and brought forth a mouse, or whether it accomplished some great and lasting good is a question that is being answered differently from different quarters. Will H. Hays, the producers, the distributors, the affiliated exhibitors are certain that much good will result from the conference. Some of the independent exhibitors present are of the same opinion, but there are many who do not feel that their cause gained much by the week the delegates spent in New York. Commissioner Abram S. Myers, Federal Trade Commission, before whom the conference was held, expressed himself after the close of the convention that some of the accomplishments of the conference were substantial but not as much as he had hoped for. The two big accomplishments of the conference, as seen from the ground is that a new uniform contract will be drawn, and the present system of block booking will be modified by six points yielded by the distributors. The six points are printed herewith. The action taken on the matter of the contract is described elsewhere in this issue. The action taken on block booking came at the final session of the conference, after the matter had been wrangled over on the floor of the conference and in committee rooms for four days. On suggestion of Commissioner Myers a joint committee had been named on Friday and instructed that it was expected of them that some solution, or substitute for block booking, would be worked out. This committee consisted of : EXHIBITORS— Charles L. O’Reilly, T. O. C. C., New York; Nathan Yamins, Fall River, Mass.; Fred Wehrenberg, St. Louis; Ben Berenstein, Los Angeles. DISTRIBUTORS — /. Robert Rubin, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer ; Attorney Siegfried Hartman, Universal ; Clifford B. Hawley, First National; J. I. Schnitzer, F B O. ADVISORS — E. A. Schiller, Loew’s, Inc.; M. E. Comerford, chain theatre owner; Leo Brecher, T. O. C. C., New York; Sol Raives, president, T. O. C. C. This committee labored late into the night and early the next morning again took up the vexatious question, but without reaching any conclusion until long after the time set for the opening of the final session of the general conference which was 11 o’clock. Commissioner Myers, who admits that he is not a motion picture man, chafed under the delay and expressed himself in no uncertain terms that he thought there could and should be more action. Finally, after the opening of the session had been delayed nearly two hours after the time set, Mr. Myers sent for Mr. Hays. The two went ( Continued on page 32) The Six Rules on Block Booking Here are the six rules modifying block booking, as agreed upon by the Trade Practice conference after presentation by J. Robert Rubin, of the distributor group : !• block booking shall not be used for the accomplishment of any illegal purposes. 2 No distributor will require as a • condition of permitting an exhibitor to lease its pictures that such exhibitor shall also lease pictures of another distributor. 3 If any exhibitor shall claim • within a reasonable time prior to the date fixed for the exhibition of any picture included in any block leased by him that such picture will be offensive to the clientele of his theatre because of racial or religious subject matter, such claim shall be arbitrated by the board of arbitration of the proper zone, and, if sustained, such exhibitor shall be relieved of obligation to take and pay for such picture. A If any exhibitor who has purclmsed an entire block of pictures offered by any distributor so elects within a reasonable time prior to the date fixed for exhibition of any picture included in such block, such exhibitor may refuse to take such picture by paying one-half the allocated price therefor, provided that the pictures so rejected out of any block shall not exceed ten per cent of the number included in such block, and, if a rejected picture is resold by the distributor, one-half the net price received on such resale shall be credited against the exhibitor’s obligation in respect of such picture up to the amount of such obligation. 5 Reissues will not be included in • any block with new pictures. / News reels and short subjects '** will not be included in any block with features and the lease of news reels or short subject blocks shall not be required as a condition of being permitted to lease feature blocks or vice versa. The matters dealt with by paragraphs three and four shall be covered by appropriate provisions to be included in the new uniform contract.