The Film Daily (1929)

Tuesday, July 9, 1929 DAILY To Urge Percentage at Meeting Today GUARANTEE AND SPLIT EXPECTED TO BE ADOPTED (Continued from Page 1) be adopted. They are expected to hold out for straight percentage, with guarantees eliminated. Distributors. as has been pointed out by THE FILM DAILY, favor the percentage system, but also feel that the guarantee and split policy should be the one adopted. The guarantee is essential in most instances, the distributors will contend, pointing out that it is a necessary protection, to assure that the exhibitor "gets behind" the picture and puts it over. Today's meeting will be to lay the groundwork for future conferences. Members of the exhibitor committee ETC * R. F. Woodhull, M.P.T.O.A. president; R. R. Biechele, president of the Kansas and western Missouri unit, and Dennis Harris, Pittsburgh, are exhibitor members of the committee. Jack Miller, head of the Chicago unit, will serve it business affairs permit him to be in New York today. On the committee representing distributors are: R. H. Cochrane, Universal, who will preside; S. R. Kent, Paramount; James R. Grainger, Fox; Ned E. Depinet, First National; Felix F. Feist, M-G-M; Claud Ezell, Warners; Al Lichtman, United Artists; Joseph Merrick, Educational; M. Van Praag, Universal; Phil Reisman, Pathe; Lee Marcus, RKO; Oscar Hanson, Tiffany Stahl; and a representative of Joe Goldberg, Columbia sales head. Percentage (Continued from Page 1) spread over among both camps, as it should be. Guarantees Stand Percentage minus guarantees will be difficult — impossible evento obtain. If distributors insist upon this but make amends in other directions, the scales may be expected to strike a balance. Even tempers, consideration for each other and a constructive desire to iron out the kinks will go far. It is urged, and anticipated, that these elements of restraint will prevail at today's potentially far-reaching meeting. K AN N Lone Star Exhibitors Express Doubts Over Outcome of Sound To Dismantle N. Y. House Consolidated Amusements, has sold the Victory Theater, New York to a realty corporation. The house closes this week and will be dismantled. Dallas — Texas exhibitors generally are alarmed over the sound situation, fearful that the development means the elimination of the "little fellow." I'he big houses in keys and semi-keys are doing business and have a chance to get into the black, but the small tow us feel that top heavy overhead presages their doom, unless distributors agree to an equitable percentage arrangement for talking pictures. As in a number of other territories, Texas exhibitors have noted a swelling of grosses when sound films are shown, but insist that the increased overhead is preventing them from making a profit. There are 11 principal circuits in Texas, operating in 96 different cities and towns, and 49 minor circuits operating in 221 towns. Publix, Saenger, Dent, Robb & Rowley and Interstate Amusement Co. are among the principal circuits. Most of their houses are wired for sound pictures. Independent exhibitors are "flocking to sound" a check-up of the state shows. There are well over a dozen different synchronizing systems being sold. Non-synchronous systems also have been installed in a number of houses. The situation existing in the state, so far as rentals is concerned, is summed up by Col. Cole, head of the state unit, as follows" "I have been wondering who, outside of the five or ten thousand men directly affected, has been giving a thought to what is happening, and is bound to happen, to theaters in towns of 5,000 or less, over the United States. "Really it is a pitiful situation. These theaters see their little business disappearing week by week, going to the larger cities, which have sound installation. They realize that next year, even if they are able to get silent pictures, such pictures will have little or no drawing power, and will be for the most past poor, revamped entertainment. They see no possibility of continuing in business as silent houses; and, if they are able to add and subtract, it takes them only a few moments' calculation to figure the impossibility of turning their houses into sound houses. Equipment Cgst, One Consideration "Much stress has been laid, and many articles have been written, on sound apparatus, and it is right and proper that an exhibitor should consider carefully the type of apparatus which he should install ; but after all, the cost of apparatus, whether it be $1,000 or $10,000, sinks into insignificance when one calculates the weekly expense entailed in running sound pictures. The cost of equipment is a capital charge to be amortized over a period of years, but cost of film must be defrayed week after week, and this is the governing factor which must decide the question. "Consider the case of an average 4,000 population town with one theater, which has been running four programs a week at a total film cost of $125. Such an exhibitor has been paying approximately $20 for a good feature. If he were able to obtain such a feature in sound at the same price, and if he decided to run three programs instead of four, nevertheless, he would find his program costs running at least $85 a week additional, because he would have to pay for synchronization at least $50 a week additional and his short subjects $35 a week additional. "If he were compelled to pay double for his features (and this is about the lowest figure that we have been able to find in the market so far) then he would have more than a double program cost over what he has been paying. "I would also call attention to the fact that the above figures are the minimum I have so far been able to obtain, and do not represent by any means the average prices asked — and sometimes obtained. Most of these quotations have been so ridiculous and impossible that they are unbelievable. Too Many Unsound Predictions "There have been all sorts of wild figures and predictions as to the eventual increase in box-office revenue on account of sound. I know, of instances where exhibitors have done three or four times as much on a single picture as they have ever done before; but this was true either because of its being opening night in sound, or else on account of running one of the few big outstanding talking pictures. The program 'talker,' after the first flurry, gets but little more than the old program feature. It is ridiculous to assume that the box office, as a whole, in the majority of cases, will ever be increased in any such proportions. "If the industry, as a whole, shows an increase of 33 1-3 after 'the tumult and the shouting dies,' I think we shall be exceedingly fortunate. How, then, can anyone sincerely and honestly tell one of these little fellows that he can afford such an increase in entertainment expense? "Has the industry, as a whole, given this matter any serious consideration? Have the big men in this business, at the head of the larger companies, given the matter any thought, or have they deliberately decided to 'scrap' these 5.000 or 10,000 theaters? Philadelphia Territory Finds Sound Bothersome (Continued from Page 6) the coal fields, is off. Coupled with sound, it makes the whole situation gloomy. 2. The bigger towns like Bethlehem, Reading, Harrisburg and Lancaster, have just about reached the saturation point, with no more theaters needed and plenty of competition as matters stand now. 3. In a few of the towns, competitive theaters have gotten together in an effort, either to make peace, or to have one buy out the other. 4. The same general cry for decrease in overhead applies upstate as elsewhere in the Philadelphia territory. Unemployment Adding to Cleveland's Sound Ills (Continued from Page 6) Ventilating and cooling systems in the large downtown houses offer additional resistance to suburban competition. Summing up their difficulties such as increased cost of sound film, the high cost of good sound equipment, the evil effects in business of bad sound equipment, the high cost of preparing a house for proper acoustics, low downtown matinee admission prices, cooling systems in the large houses, and general business depression in this locality, exhibitors state they are facing troublesome times unless relief is forthcoming. PROVES KNOTTY PROBLEM Minneapolis — Exhibitors of this territory, in common with theater owners in other sections of the nation,are finding difficulty in adjusting themselves to the revolutionary changes brought by sound pictures. Following the sensational success achieved nationally by "The Jazz Singer," which, singularly enough did not cause any great outpouring of patrons here, the talkers have been regarded as "quite the thing" in operation of the territory's theaters. However, with the talker development, came the bogey of overhead which has made profitable operation of many theaters impossible. The difficulty is that there are no precedents, no bases of comparison on which to gauge film rentals. An exhibitor who figures he could "get by" paying $100 for a silent film, states that the figure demanded for talkers is closer to $400. And he pays it, knowing that he will go "in the red" on the engagement. There are many complaints being made with respect to the mounting overhead, some exhibitors declaring they cannot "come out" on operating a sound house. Accordingly, some are considering abandonment of the attempt to present talkers. This viewpoint was emphasized at the May convention here when a number of exhibitors announced that they were reverting to a silent policy. Some exhibitors of the territory insist that the chains are favored to an unwarranted degree, and feel this is unjust as they offer a leveling influence and a force for protection to exchanges in the distribution of films. Thus, they argue, if an exchange puts them out of business through impossible film rentals, the exchange will suffer because the chains will not make up the difference. The principal chain in this territory is Northwest Theater Circuit (Finkelstein & Ruben), which has about 150 theaters in Minnesota, North and South Dakota and Western Wisconsin. The firm is a partner with Publix in first runs of the Twin Cities. While the first runs in the two cities are doing business, overhead is a matter of concern. An indication of the hold sound pictures have taken is the move _ in wiring Gateway houses here, which "shoot" at ten and IS cents. Whether they will be able to step up admissions with sound is problematical. There are many different kinds of reproducers installed in Northwest theaters. Some of these are proving very satisfactory and with the number'of sound films and sound houses increasing steadily, it is felt that the situation will adjust itself to end the use of red ink by the territory s small theaters.