Exhibitors Herald (1927)

November 12, 1927 EXHIBITORS HERALD 47 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. “Business Needs Renovating” ALEXANDRIA, MINN.— To the Editor: I am accused of negligence, by J. C. Jenkins, because I have not kept him informed of the happenings here, but the trouble is I have been trying to make a living, and while I follow J. C. all over the West and back to the East, each week of his travels, I also thought that if I told him the bass are striking fiercely, that the ducks are in here thick, and the roads everywhere are dry and smooth, that he would neglect his work of visiting exhibitors as per the route sheet as made up by the Herald, and hit for this section to get the old rod and reel working as well as the old musket. My son, Harry, made a trip to the lakes for ducks and came in with the limit, then to change the fare slightly tried for bass, and on three consecutive days got the limit of bass, and they were all three pounds or better, so on Friday he made me leave the old desk long enough to go with him in a try for bass, and we hooked 16 of the nicest in two hours that I have seen this summer. But about J. C. changing the monicker of the old bus, how come? Not that I object to what he wants to name her but it keeps us readers thinking all the time, to be sure he is talking about the old girl that he did call Viola, and Clara. Come to think of it I don’t think any of the godmothers ever published anything whereby they approved the use of their name on that animal he is driving, and I’ll bet Marie will take a fall out of him as soon as she reads what use her name is being put to. Well, J. C., as you are headed East, keep going until you hit the crowd down there that is trying to decide how many features can be sold in a bag, without a comeback from the exhibitors, and if they won’t let us buy 10 or 20 at a time, use your influence to persuade the big boss that there should be a clause whereby an exhibitor can weed out 50 per cent of the purchase, (if they are undesirable), incorporated in the contract. In my opinion, this business should be renovated, should be put more on a basis of all other legitimate lines, as for instance if a grocer buys a bill of goods he does not have to buy more than he can use, and he gets desirable goods or his money is refunded; if any portion of the purchase is rotten, he is not forced to sell that portion to his customers, but whatever we buy we are compelled to pay for, regardless of the fact that if we are to get our money out of the culls, we must take a panning from the public for showing them, or, of course, we can pay for them and set them aside, which many of us do, and it seems there should be some ruling adopted when the new contract is compiled, allowing an exhibitor the right to cancel a certain portion of each contract’s feature, so that he would not be compelled to either lose the rental if not shown, or have to show undesirable product. Let us hope Abram F. Myers and the commission can work out the several clauses necessary to eliminate the objectionable practices the producers are at the present using to the sorrow of thousands of exhibitors. Well, J. C., while you are making the rounds, try to give us the dope on what the exhibitors think of the present system of forced showings, of undesirable features, and hoping you and your old Hoosier friends have a kicking up time, I’ll say adios for the present. — H. J. Longaker, State theatre, Alexandria, Minn. P. S. Just used Thomas Meighan’s “The City Gone Wild.” It is the real article, in fact, the best Tom has starred in during his career, and it should put him on the map again. Also, it should prove that with good stories he will come back, and stay there. — H. J. L. Found! WATSONVILLE, CAL.— To the Editor: Short subjects never did much for me. This is a general statement. Of course, there are exceptions. However, the general run of comedies with which I have been compelled to insult the intelligence of my audiences has been so absolutely maudlin, uninspired, unoriginal and senseless that I believe they have actually turned people away from the theatre. It seems to me it is the thing people don’t like they remember longest. I had given up hope of seeing a consistently amusing comedy until such time as a new comedy producer appears in the field, who will have a rare combination of brains, a real sense of humor, originality, and above all, courage, when I met with a very pleasant surprise. I saw a Mack Sennett comedy last night that was really funny. It was a college comedy starring Eddie Quillan. It was logical and actually amusing to both kids and grownups, and Quillan was funny. Tell your exhibitors to watch for him. If I am not making a bad guess they will have in this boy a comedian who will help at the box office. He will not stay in two reelers long, but while he does let’s make the most of him. — J. L. O’Connor, California theatre, Watsonville, Cal. Block Booking By PHILIP RAND Block booking is now the great question , It puzzles our “ Federal Trade.*9 Is it a boon to the smallest of showmen , Or but on his bankroll a raid? Who picked out these conference fellows? (I never was called on to vote ) Shall the big boys expend their opinions , And we in the country play “goat”? The big cities don*t play ALL the pictures That any one company produces — It’s only the neighborhood theatre And small towns , block booking abuses. Ask me what I know of block booking , And I'll tell, that it ruins your “biz”; You can’t buy a big job lot of pictures And run on your patrons a “whiz.” Our patrons alt “shop” for their pleasures; They come when the “good ones” are shown ; When the punk ones appear on the billboards. They leave us serenely alone. It takes all of the pictures now making To find suitable ones for to show. And you can’t find even fifty-two big ones To keep up your crowds on “the go.” To think, then, one outfit can give you Fifty-two dandies to boost l Good Lord— if you sign up a year’s run You fall into a fine “ robbers ’ roost.” No! We small boys want to hand-pick ’em. Want to choose but the best from the field. We’ll pay what is right to secure 'em— Our theatres then profits will yield. On Jaysee and Service NEILLSVILLE, WIS.— To the Editor: Well, I see where Old Man Jenkins has hopped down on the banks of the Wabash amongst the Hoosiers. Also, that he has had another change of heart and baptized his old flivver “Marie.” I don’t blame him much for that, for his first two christenings were not so good. If his old rattletrap bus will perform as well as “Marie” has in her pictures for the past half a dozen years, it may be possible that his old three-wheeled velocipede may at least keep running until the first snow storm hits it. I sure got mad when I saw how that old bird had manhandled my name and the name of my town. You know he writes on the typewriter by the hunt and peck system, and after he has bounded around in that contraption of his all day he can’t, at the end of the day, tell whether he is hitting a “G” or an “L.” In fact, when he hits a big town he stays there several days under the pretext that he is calling on exhibitors, whereas it is only due to the necessity of giving his liver and floating ribs a chance to settle. Horning into the argument between Mr. Wenger and our Old College Chum Service, I must say that I find it necessary to side with Service relative to his remarks on Clara Bow in “Hula.” I saw this a month or so ago in Milwaukee and there was nothing to it that would raise it above the ordinary program picture — neither Clara Bow’s acting, nor the story, which is nothing new and which we have had many times under various names. If a fellow’s town is big enough so that there are plenty of flappers and shyks I would imagine that Clara would draw like a house afire. However, I have run her in such pictures as “Kid Boots,” “Mantrap” and “It,” as well as one picture, “The Best Bad Man,’ where she was in support of Tom Mix, and I did not find that she caused any extensive flutter among the common or garden variety of patrons. We, out in the sticks, can tell within a few cents just what a given star or picture will do under normal conditions, and if any film hound ever comes around and gives me a song and dance to the effect that “Hula” is in any way a special, I will be looking out the window and give him a nasty look to boot. — Wm. E. Tragsdorf, Trags theatre, Neillsville, Wis. “You Win” SALMON, IDAHO. — To the Editor: In the October 8 issue I note that Crockett Brown in his radio talk announces that he has challenged the film industry to a debate on this question, “Resolved that producers are long on money and short on judgment,” and note further that he wants Jenkins, O’Hara and myself to act as the judges. “Davy Crockett,” old top, I’ll give you my decision right now. “You win.” Tweaking the Lion’s Tail is all very well for Big Bill Thompson of Chicago but when I got my hand on the tail of Metro’s lion (the same one you spoke of) to get it to face me, it roared out “The Great Parade” is “not for rent alone to any situation.” Yet my neighbor has played it and didn’t buy out Metro’s warehouse to get it, either. Funny old lion. Left paw all claws, right paw velvet. Too bad I caught hold of the left one. I enjoyed your article, “Davy” — write some more — but how in Sam Hill do you pronounce (your town) Nashwauk? Perhaps that is named for the Indian guy whose images in wood we see in front of cigar stores ! Often wondered what that chief’s name was anyhow, but it must be Nashwauk. Of course, it’s Nashwauk, but please tell us what Nashwauk means in good old United States. — Philip Rand, Rex theatre, Salmon, Idaho.