The Film Daily (1924)

THE uesday, October 7, 1924 Reply To Griffin (Continued from Page 1) es and push group booking down throats of exhibitors, ome of the replies follow : Arrow Film Corp. •N. E. Shallcnberger pointedly :s why Griffin should be averse to ck booking from independents, en he admits that he has done so h Famous and First National, rther, Shallenberger remarks: Furthermore, in the letter, I notice that distinctly mentions Warner Bros,, Prod. t. Corp., Vitagraph and Metro-Goldwyn. ardly believe that any one of the above IS could be classed as. Independent disutors, as you know as well as I, each he above named is really a national disutor and not independent. Therefore, T suggest that you call Mr. fin's attention to the fact and ask him ther he ever really tried to get pictures a really-honest-to-goodness exchange whether he was ever mistreated when did receive pictures from them. I am : he has not been." Film Booking Offices Attributing a large portion of his npany's success to the attitude it plays toward independent cxhibit, Harry M. Berman expresses sur>e at Griffith's statement and adds: Griffin states that it is impossible for to buy independent product because of insistence of independent distributors he buy their entire output, as that is only way that they are selling their luct. This is quite a surprise to me. I was als under the impression that the independdistributor was selling on a basis of t the exhibitor desired to purchase. '. can only speak for our own company, r since the re-organization of the F. B. it has been our policy to sell our product :he manner in which the exhibitor de1 to buy. We never have forced him to the entire output. Naturally forcing exhibitor to tlie entire output of anys product is a hardship. I want to also ; that ever since our re-organization we made every efTort to sell to the inmdent exhibitor on a 'live and let live' We have always tried to give the pendent e-xhibitor the best of service and y possible break, and because we have ; this we are enjoying their confidence. noted in Mr. Griffin's letter that in tioning the independent distributors, he :ted the F. B. O. This naturally was a t disappointment to me, as I felt that y exhibitor did consider us among the ing independents. However, now I know our name was omitted. It was done osely, bccatise ujpon investigation, I ! found out that Mr. Griffin is buying jres from our San Francisco branch on icture for picture basis, and we are ity glad to sell him on this '1)asis. He played two of our pictures during Au N The Nathan Gordon Circuit of Nezv England Has Booked HAROLD BELL WRIGHT'S "THE MINE WITH THE IRON DOOR" lATHAN GORDON KNOWS. He is only one of many who hiave taken this great screen novel "sight unseen," because the name of Harold Bell Wright means big money, and because the cast is superb. It's a Sol Lesser Presentation t gust and has booked another for November. Furthermore, we appreciate business that we receive from a house which is using exclusively First National and Famous Players product. In a situation on this kind, it certainly is quite a compliment to us that Mr. Gritfin should turn to the F. B. O. to book the balance of pictures needed for his program.'' Relative to the Michigan situation he says: "In your letter you also mention the M. P. T. O. of Michigan, stating that the independent producers and distributors are holding exhibitors up whenever they have the opportunity. For your information let me say this — that our Detroit office is enjoying the best of prosjierity. It is one of our leading branches. This goes to prove that the Michigan exhibitors are not being held up as far as our company is concerned." Vitagraph Vitagraph operates a flexible book ing policy that precludes transactions of the kind Griffin complains of. Explaining this, John B. Rock states: "For your information our records show but one transaction with this theater. Our production, 'Masters of Men' on Oct. 5 and 6, 1922. "This does not look as if he were held up on a block selling proposition — does it? "This season we have what we term a flexible policy. "Exhibitors may contract with any of our salesmen or branches for one production or the entire year's output. "Our blocks of pictures are sold to exhibitors with their eyes wide open. They have confidence in Vitagraph that we will deliver what they are buying and, we value this confidence and .good will. "We have a live and let live policy and we know of no case in the past where an exhibitor has been forced to buy an entire block of subjects in order to do business with Vitagraph. "It would, therefore, seem that Mr. Griffin is in error when he states he would like to do business with Vitagraph and other companies that he mentions Ijut that he has to buy the entire output." Warner Bros. Abe Warner of Warner Bros, takes Griffin and others in similar spot to task for booking pictures in bulk at the beginning of the season and then discriminating against independents by insisting upon the cream only of those programs. He says: "This exhibitor, like many others, at the very start of his year's bookings discrimininates against the independent producer by signing up a large quantity of pictures, often without really knowing what he is buying and then expects to be able tn pick the cream of an out-put like the Warner product to hold up his wholesale purchase of job lot films. "Motion pictures are not like shoes, or hardware or clothing. They are not all cut from the same pattern and the organization behind the pictures stands for even more than it does in any commercial line. Speaking for our own product, Warner Bros, cannot turn out twenty pictures of the calibre we are making and afford to sell them on an individual basis. "Suppose the situation were reversed, could Mr. Griffin, if he had but a few "fill in" dates left, select onyl the high spots on the programs of the larger producing combines. He most certainly could not. "If it were not for the courage of the Independent producer in making a desirable product the exhibitor of today would be in a very sad plight. He would be forced to deal with a select few, pay the price demanded and in plain words become not much better than a high grade janitor running a theater for the producing company, with the doubtful privilege of paying his ow* expenses. "We feel very proud of our record and if the exhibitor has not by now the confidence in the type and quality of our productions and does not feel that we have demonstrated by past performances that he is not buying a cat in a bag, then all I can say is that we should discontinue producing twenty or more big pictures per year and concentrate on a few pictures each year and go out and easily get all the money the market can stand for the few. "If the independent market is ever forced to this situation, the exhibitor will not complain because he is asked to buy too many pictures, on the other hand he will be congratulating himself if he can strike a balance on the right side of his ledger." PRODUCERS DISTRIBUTING CORPORATION =2££e COMING SOON ^ -***■ -^^ ■^* -^^ -*^ -^1 REGAL PICTURES, INC. PRESENTS JACQUEMMB L®GAM ^ItsSdk -...^f^Cf^ JACQUELINE LOGAN ~FaOM THE NOVEL BV MAUDE RADFORD WARREN ADAPTED BY C GARDNER SUUIVAN ^ DIRECTED BY RALPH INC£ ^■v^'-r..^"^v,;-r^'>-'.«N»iOJ; SEASON 1924-1925 THIRTY FIRST-RUN PICTURES IF YOU WANT Your coupons cut and deposited Your dividends received and deposited Your securities safe-guarded Your rents collected and repairs supervised Your investments analyzed To save some of your income Your reinvestments made To make a trust fund now for yourself or another Advice about your Will or Relief from your financial cares EAST RIVER NATIONAL BANK Broadway at Forty-first Street {In the heart of the Times Square District) COME IN AND TALK IT OVER OR WRITE US iniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin^^ A BRILLIANTCAST IS BEING ASSEMBLED FOR THE SCREEN | PRESENTATION OF THE WORLD FAMOUS FARCE-COMEDY i funcipal yictuAeo MoAte^ Jiotiucluyt HEADED BY THE INIMITABLE SCREEN COMEDIAN SYD CHAPLIN AMERICAN DISTRIBUTOR TO BE ANNOUNCED IDEAL FILMS, LTD. -DISTRIBUTORS FOR UNITED KINGDOM PRODUCED BY CHRISTIE FILM COMPANY, Inc. 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