Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1941)

Harrower nil nil III! WHERE\'ER you go, you hear all sorts of opinions on what the blocks-of-five plan is going to do to the business. There is a radical difference of opinion between exhibitors on the one hand, and the producer interests represented in the home offices. The odd part of it is that whereas the exhibitors are generally kicking about the plan, the producer interests are concerned because they fear the new setup will give exhibitors a crushing advantage in that they can turn down at will these blocks-of-five. Herewith we have set down some of the many reactions heard around the home offices from gents in distribution, sales and advertising. You can take 'em or leave 'em. They are interesting in one respect. They show clearly that nobody has the faintest idea just how the block plan is eventually going to pan out. * * * The new selling system will make it tough for the studio boys who have been turning out the C to Z grade pictures. They can no longer coast along with the comforting knowledge that their sub-par product will play so many thousand theatres as under the old plan. Looks as if the factory-type product henceforth will be eliminated entirely, or sold for double-feature fodder for what the buyer chooses to offer. * * * Suppose a producer flops on his first block-of-five! Suppose three out of five do a box-office nose-dive I That's quite possible. That means on his second block he's got to click around 80 percent or he's in a tough spot. With his first block panning out weak, his resultant revenue is small, and he will be forced to kick in a heavier budget than he planned in order to regain lost prestige. And if the second block gets poor boxoffice returns, it is quite conceivable that this unfortunate producer may find himself practically washed up. He will be unable to coast along with bad product for half a selling season or more as is possible under the present system. * * * The master minds in the home offices and studios are fully aware of the dangers inherent in the untried selling system. That, friends, explains all this commotion in the sales organizations. Frankly, none of them know where they are. Anybody's guess is as good as the next fellow's, including yours. So they are going into huddles at the studios, with the sales and advertising experts at the home offices rushing back and forth to the Coast to mull over the problems with the boys who make the pictures. They are all trying to hit some formula that will insure a reasonable guarantee of coming out on top for the first year under the blocks-of-five plan. ^ ^ ^ Producers realize they have to click strong with their first block. They can't afford to have that first block look bad stacked up against any other competitor's offering. On the face of it, this situation would seem to create more or less of a buyer's holiday. But will the exhibitor really be able to enjoy a pick-and-discard setup, or will the seller be able to put the pressure on stronger than ever through a shortage of product that looms under the new plan? Nobody at this early stage can tell. It is quite possible that there will be such a dearth of product created by reduced production that exhibitors will be forced to buy willy nilly, or only operate certain days. Are the producers going to go slow under the new plan, and hold back on production, waiting to see how the cat jumps, or will they work harder than ever to turn out as much good product as possible in order to meet the tougher competitive situation between studios? It seems reasonable to assume that we are headed back to a situation approximating the good old days of competitive selling, before block booking and blind selling. The days when every producer was putting everything he had into each picture. The days when any independent producer with enterprise, experience and a reasonable bankroll could make a box-office picture, and he and the exhibitors would clean up. Those were the happy days. The healthy operating days. Is there any reason why they shouldn't return? If the above surmise is correct, then a real selling problem confronts the sales forces. It means the return of real competitive selling, which is a healthy condition that is bound to benefit the exhibitor. In fact, it will benefit the business in general — even the producers. The intensified selling will mean that the sales boys will have to go back over the sales route time and again to close certain tough spots that have held out. And when the salesman has finally cleaned up his schedule for the first available blocks-of-five, he will have to turn around and start battling all over again to dispose of the second group. This means close supervision of each territory to get the maximum sales results at the least expenditure of time and money. That may be the reason why certain sales forces are being reorganized into more districts and fewer exchange centers. District managers may find it a physical impossibility to properly supervise so many exchanges as at present. Looks as if a lot more sales jobs are going to be created. And that isn't unhealthy, either! * * * Under the new plan the e.xhibitor will have to keep informed on every picture he plays. That means that a lot of exhibitors are going to spend more time looking at pictures than they ever did before. This will undoubtedly affect the system of trade paper reviews. Exhibitors unable to view all the pictures booked will have to depend on the trade reviews. And "puff" reviews won't help much. Neither will the "no opinion'' review. Looks as if the trade paper scribes will have to call the turn on every picture — good, bad, indifferent. Just like that. Thus, trade paper reviews will become more vital and important than ever before. They will assume the dignity and importance that reviews should have. After all, what is more important in a trade paper than the reviews? * * * There are many other interesting speculations wrapped up in the new selling plan that the home office folks are mulling over. Will the blocks-of-five eliminate the double feature? Or will it cause revivals of old pictures to be coupled with current product to form double bills? With the average neighborhood theatre running three changes weekly, can the producers follow along with these blocks-of-five without any hitch? It seems certain that producers will cut down on the number of pictures till they find out just where they're at. Thus, it may become a simple mathematical proposition for both exhibitors and producers. How many pictures can the exhibitor turn down and still have enough for his play dates? How many pictures can the producer have turned down by a given number of exhibitors, and still afford to go on producing? Only time will tell. Nobody in the business is smart enough to answer most of these speculations now rife in home offices. We cannot escape the conviction that this revolution is stimulating the whole industry and giving it new energy and interest. JACK HARROWER. JANU.ARY 11, 1941 7