Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (Sep 1934 - Aug 1935)

6 INDEPENDENT EXHIBITORS TILM BULLETIN Allied Sets August 5th as "National Allied Independent Day" (Continued from Page Four) raise their admissions on certain pictures to 25 cents, a price too high for their type of patronage. Further, those pictures play the circuit's first-run houses at 15 cents matinees. "If it's 25 cents today, what is there to prevent it from going to 35 cents or 50 cents tomorrow?" asked the colonel. "The theory that your competitors can set your admission prices places your business in their hands. And, power is never used leniently, at least in this business." A special committee, appointed to hear further evidence on Cole's charges, listened to other disclosures of affiliated chain aggressions in the South. F. Weis, operating the Savannah Theatre, Savannah, Ga., told of being unable to buy product for last-run at any price unless he joined the Tri-States Theatres, Inc. This booking combine freezes product, forcing independents to buy and book through them or do without sufficient product. John Cunningham, owner of the State Theatre, Miami, Fla., told the committee of being shut out of practically every product. Last season he was able to obtain only 46 pictures and, in a frantic effort to find a way out of his predicament, he wired President Roosevelt, but received no reply. Block Booking Condemned Littlefield on Block Booking . . . Thoroughly covering all phases of the block booking issue, Walter Littlefield gave the delegates a primary lesson in the evils of the compulsory b-b practice and urged every exhibitor to support the Pettengill bill. Boston's Littlefield prefaced his remarks by pointing the fact that the Pettengill bill refers only to compulsory block booking. Any theatre owner desiring to buy complete products is free to do so. He divided his arguments into three portions: 1 — Block booking is unsound economically. 2. It does not allow theatres to select films to meet the individual requirements of their local communities. 3 — It is the greatest factor for monopoly in the hands of the major producers. Every evil now existent in the industry is traceable directly to the shortage of films, Littlefield stated. New producers are discour.-.ged from entering the business because the market is tied up by the 8 companies now in control of the industry. National Allied Independent Day For the purpose of raising a huge fund in the national treasury of Allied States Association, the convention at Atlanta unanimously accepted the proposal of W. Stoeppelman, of i exas, to have every member theatre contribute 25 per cent of its gross receipts on Monday, August 5th. The motion followed the demands of several men from the floor that a fund be raised to fight the attacks of the producers and affiliated chains by taking them into the Federal courts. August 5th will be publicized as National Allied Indenendent Day and the public will be urged to attend an independent theatre on that day. A complete publicity campaign will be worked out by Allied and supplied to all members. Stoeppelman, who was an American Federation of Labor organizer in Texas prior to entering the exhibition business, said that the great strength of unions comes largely from the fact that they have substantial bank accounts to see them through any battles. "Why can't independent theatre owners establish a similar fund?" he shouted. Strong Organization Samuelson Closes . . . Sidney Samuelson closed the convention by impressing the delegates that there is no evil in the industry which cannot be cured by a strong organizaion. He spoke of Allied's farflung influence. He urged the delegates to return to their respective units to preach the gospel of organization. Unable to resist the temptation, he had to take one smack at the producer-owned MPTOA. "In Allied, you will find no hired hands of the major producers." Theatres recently outfitted with AMERICAN uniforms Academy, Lebanon . . . Colonial, Lancaster Broadway, Camden . . . New Highland, Audubon AMERICAN UNIFORM CO 134 SOUTH 11th STREET, PHILA., PA. I Convention Briefs Al Steffes, militant independent from Minneapolis and former Allied prexy, really set the spark to the fireworks by declaring the convention "lousy" so far at Wednesday's general session. He said that they relished the terms "red' 'and "bolshevik" up where he comes from. Calling for action and plenty of it, he shouted "something had better be done or we'll all be out of business!" GEORGIA'S 'GENE TALMADGE . . . He impressed the delegates. I KIN. 1365 RACB 3685 I Aaron Saperstein, Chicago's leader and a gentleman who should know a thing or two or three about rackets, termed the new buyingbooking stunt in the South "an up-to-date, modern racket." At the midnight committee meeting Saperstein remarked, "I've seen and heard something of rackets where I come from, but this has them all beat." * * One W. Stoeppelman, of Silsbee, Tex., just about stopped the show with his droll humor. He was immediately dubbed "the second Will Rogers." In his more serious moments, he termed the major film companies as constituting the "most vicious monopoly in the United States, except, possibly, the Standard Oil Company." Dave Barrist called the refusal of the affiliated theatres in Atlanta to honor conventioneer badges "the most petty thing he has ever heard ot in the industry." * * Georgia's pleasant Governor Eugene Talmadge impressed the convention as a potentially important national figure. His personality will carry him a long way and he is the homespun sort of man the nation could go for. Among Walter Littlefield's resolutions on block booking was one condemning trade papers tor distorting the facts concerning the practice and the effects of the Pettengill bill.