Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1952)

€XHIBITOR$ FORUm Opinions Culled from Organization Bulletins MUST PERCENTAGE Allied Caravan of la., Neb., Mid-Central They conic thicker and faster! "Ivanhoc," ■Inews of Kilimanjaro" and "Fatima" are ie latest releases we've heard of on must•rcentage! Three at once! Just about all the :cent pictures released lately! Well — did iu ask for it, or, did you not? By going ■r "Quo Yadis" and "Greatest Show"? ver & out! Except for this — one young, nail exhibitor in our territory, population •00 wrote us that he has solved the mustrrccntage problem, "by not playing "Greatit Show" it has become the greatest veragc for film buying I could possibly »ve, and the salesmen who have a percentce picture don't even call on me anymore", 'ell, more power to this lad. Hut isn't is a lame that today, when we need every good icture to keep going at all, we can't have (em all because of impossible sales policies. !nd have you noticed releases lately, the 1st month or two: Brother, they stink! ven some with the percentage hook on em — which is natural progress; it's hap■ned before! Hut I did go up to the booth, int out the "Pictures Are Better Than ver" trailer and threw it way! I just don't ivc the heart to lie to my people any nger! LEO F. WOLCOTT. Board Chairman 'MISTRESS' MISTAKE Allied Caravan To prove to what ridiculous extremes disibution can go to gouge exhibitors is now oven by Warner Brothers in their demand special terms over and above their normal p allocation on "The Iron Mistress", ere's a picture that the kindliest reviewers ys is "gory" "violent in all its stark alism" and a picture that will "cause OSe with weak stomachs to turn their ads away from the screen". The only >x office potential of the picture is the arring of Alan Ladd. What do you expect Paramount to do th their next Ladd picture if members go r these silly terms being asked for "The on Mistress". GAMBLE WONT Western Theatre Owners 'Digest' Any one, in any line of business, who uld rise from an assistant manager's job sixteen, to having an investment cf ,500,000 twenty-seven years later certainly ,'es that business something better than r. Ted Gamble 'dished out' before the deral Communications Commission in ashington, D. C. on October 7th. In Mr. Gamble's testimony, during an inview on his application for a Denver TV annel, he stated that "the impact of tele'ion would eventually force the closing of >m 6,500 to 10,000 motion picture theatres in the country." He further testified that as early as 1949 he made up his mind of that fact and decided "he might as well get out". Consequently, he stated, he had liquidated all but $400,000 of his interests and expected to completely liquidate this balance within six months. (Certainly Mr. Gamble didn't just close up his houses and so he must be chuckling up his sleeve at the 'poor suckers' who bought his theatres.) Such condemnation of the Industry is like a man who kills his hen because it can't lay during its moulting season! Perhaps it is just as well that the Ted Gambles in the business liquidate their holdings for there is no room for those whose policy is 'take all, give nothing, and the devil take the hindpart'. There were other such 'skim the cream' boys back in the days before the advent of sound, when radio was supposed to 'kill off the theatre business', but in spite of them, cream rose again on the milk, and the business grew beyond even the most optimistic dreams. And, so it will again. Fifty years has given this business a toughness which can withstand competition, and it will survive— survive to grow beyond any hopes and dreams of today's optimists. The Editor MAILING LISTS Allied Caravan of la., Neb. & Mid-Central In a recent letter we asked for any ideas any of you had in what you were going to do, if anything, about the raise in postal rates and how it effected your advertising budget. Have some replies. One exhibitor is simply eliminating part of his mailing list. Another is putting out two months calendar on one sheet. Another is using a local "free" sheet once a month, taking a full page once a month for printing his programs. Another is a mimeographed sheet, thus cutting down on printing costs. Each plan has its advantages and drawbacks. We wondered about cutting our mailing lists. Certainly we know we send a lot more calendars than do their job. However, you can't expect to sell them if you've eliminated telling them. Two months at a time has been used by a number of places as a regular policy for a long time now. Only disadvantage is disrupting the printed schedule should something hot arise available for booking during the 2nd month, and the advantage of a "Fresh" calendar in the home at the first of each month. We recall as a kid that the day the show bills came out was always a day of anticipation to look over all the wonderful shows coming this month — they all look good at first glance (just like they do to us when we see them in the trade papers). To make it once every two months halves the anticipation and allows some pictures to start looking very old before they arrive. However, it's probably the best solution for small places who do not feel they can increase their calendar costs 50%. Of course, the best bet for all of us is to keep this organization working and collectively bring the pressure to reduce mailing costs back to their former basis. This should be organized at our first opportunity. BUSINESS' STAKE Allied ITO of Indiana After the movie theatre in Forest City, Iowa, burned down, during the next nine months that the theatre was closed tax collections (2% state sales tax) increased Z..V/r. In nearby Lake Mills, the increase was 19.5%. At Garner, another adjacent town, the increase was 10.7%. After the Forest City theatre was reopened, sales tax collections in that city increased 5.5%. Lake Mills and Garner then both dropped 7%. Do you think business men in Forest City were glad to see the motion picture theatre back in business?. MARCH OF DIMES North Central Allied You recall several years ago we had theatre collections for the March of Dimes. The theatre industry has been vitally interested in the March of Dimes campaign since it is for the purpose of fighting that very serious disease, polio. The theartc owners have all been charitably inclined and responded wonderfully to every requost in matters such as the March of Dimes. In addition to that, please remember, that when polio hits a community, it hurts a theatre greatly; therefore, it behooves us to do everything we can to support this campaign. While we do not request that you make theatre collections ,we do hope that you will cooperate with your County Chairman by either allowing him to put a trailer on the screen, or making collections in the lobby as patrons come in or go out, or placing a box near your candy case. Please cooperate with this worthwhile project. UA ON BIDDING North Central Allied Many of us have long suspected the bids are not fairly awarded. At least in the case of one company you can now determine for yourself what the winning bid is. Bill Heineman, Vice President, United Artists, has announced "that losing bidders, by making application in person or in writing to the local branch within seven days of the deadline for bids, may see the winning offer." This is a step in the right direction and we hope other distributors will follow suit (and we don't mean the law suit kind of suit). Nobody likes competitive bidding but as long as this evil must be endured, let's have it conducted fairly. As we "go to press" we hear that Fox is going to follow the same procedure — with certain limitations. FILM BULLETIN November 17, 1952 Page 15