The Film Daily (1933)

THE Thursday, Aug. 24, 1933 DAILY Film Boards of Trade to Continue in Operation change, or modify the schedule prescribed by any such board. * No action of any kind shall be taken by any such board without affording a full hearing to all parties concerned or affected. Section 4. Clearance and Zoning Boards shall function by majority vote; when, however, any such board is evenly divided upon any question such question shall be submitted for determination to an umpire to be chosen by the board. Appeals from the action of any Clearance and Zoning Board and from the determination of any umpire may be had to the National Board of Appeals provided for by this Code. Section. 5. The schedules prescribed and/or decisions made by any Clearance and Zoning Board or umpire shall be binding upon all distributors and exhibitors hi the area affected. Section 6. Any exhibitor or any distributor aggrieved by any classification made by any Clearance and Zoning Board or by any violation of any of the provisions of any clearance and zoning schedule shall have the right to have such grievance determined by the Clearance and Zoning Board having jurisdiction. Findings and decisions of such board shall be binding upon the parties affected or concerned, subject to the right of appeal to the National Board of Appeals. ARRTICLE XXV No distributor shall convey or transfer its assets for the purpose of avoiding the delivery to any exhibitor of any feature motion picture licensed for exhibition by such exhibitor. ARRTICLE XXVI Any exhibitor entering into a contract for the exhibition of motion pictures which permits the exhibitor to select from the total number of pictures licensed, less than eightyfive per cent (85%) of the total number, and to reject the remainder shall by written notice to the distributor reject each of such motion pictures not to exceed the number which may be rejected within twenty-one days after its date of availability in the exchange territory wherein is located the exhibitor's theatre, and failing to give such notice of rejection, each of such pictures shall be deemed to have been either selected or rejected in accordance with the provisions of said exhibition contract. ARTICLE XXVII No exhibitor shall contract for a license to exhibit more motion pictures than such exhibitor reasonably shall require for exhibition in any theatre or theatres operated by such exhibitor, with the effect of depriving a competing exhibitor from contracting to exhibit such excess motion pictures, provided however that nothing herein contained shall be deemed to prohibit any exhibitor from contracting for a reasonable number of motion pictures in excess of the number which are actually to be exhibited in the theatre or theatres of such exhibitor in order to reasonably protect such exhibitor against non-delivery of motion pictures. />■ ARTICLE XXVIII No exhibitor shall agree with any other exhibitor or exhibitors to allocate among them the motion pictures of distributors with the effect of eliminating fair competition between such exhibitors in the bidding and negotiating for the motion pictures of such distributors; provided that bona fide mergers of interest . through partnerships or corporations shall not be deemed to be within this prohibition. ARTICLE XXIX // No exhibitor shall transfer the ownership or possession of a theatre operated by any such exhibitor for the purpose of avoiding uncompleted contracts for the exhibition of motion pictures at such theatre or theatres. ARTICLE XXX No exhibitor licensed to exhibit a motion picture subsequent to its exhibition by another exhibitor having the right to a prior run thereof shall advertise such motion picture by any means of advertising prior to or during its exhibition by such other exhibitor, excepting in any case where the first exhibition date is less than seven days after the conclusion of the prior run; in such case such mo tion picture may be advertised during, but not before the commencement, of such prior run. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to prohibit any exhibitor from advertising generally all of the feature motion pictures licensed for exhibition by such exhibitor as a group but such general advertising shall not refer to any one of such motion pictures at any time prior to its exhibition by any other exhibitor having the first or immediately prior run thereof excepting as hereinabove provided. ARRTICLE XXXI No exhibitor shall lower the admission prices publicly announced or advertised for his theatre by giving rebates in the form of premiums, lotteries, reduced script books, coupons, gifts or things of value, throw-away tickets or by two-for-one admissions, or by other methods or devices of similar nature. This article shall not be deemed to prohibit exhibitors from reducing or increasing their admission scales as they see fit, except as may be prohibited by exhibition contracts. The provisions hereof are aimed at reductions in admission scales by means which are unfair to competing exhibitors and which deceive the public. ARTICLE XXXII No exhibitor shall exhibit a motion picture previous to dawn of the first day of its booked and confirmed date of exhibition without securing express written permission from the distributor thereof. Note: — It has not been possible for all those engaged in distributing motion pictures to agree to the provisions of Article XXXIII. The two conflicting articles are set forth below. PROPOSED ARTICLE XXXIII No exhibitor shall exhibit at any theatre in any city, town or community, two or more feature motion pictures for one admission where the exhibitors operating 60% of the number of theatres located in any such city, town or community have declared in writing that two or more feature motion pictures for one admission shall not be exhibited in any theatre in any such city, town or community. For the purpose of such declaration each exhibitor shall be entitled to one vote for each theatre owned or operated by such exhibitor. A feature motion picture shall be deemed a motion picture originally made and released in length of more than 3,000 ft. PROPOSED ARTICLE XXXIII It is recognized that the policy of exhibiting in any theatre or theatres more than one feature picture for one admission price, is an individual problem of each exhibitor, and such policy shall be left solely to the discretion, judgment and decision of each individual exhibitor. In connection with such policy, it shall constitute unfair trade practice for any one, directly or indirectly, to do any of the following things: (1) To insert in an agreement or agreements relating to the distribution and/or exhibition of motion pictures any provision which shall have for its effect substantially the following: That the exhibitor shall not exhibit any motion picture of feature length of the distributor at the same performance with any other motion picture of feature length; that is, as part of a so-called Double Feature Program; (2) To refuse to enter into or to conclude with an exhibitor any agreement for the present or future delivery of any motion pictures, because of the declared policy of such exhibitor favoring the Double Feature Program, or because such Exhibitor has indicated an intention to adopt such policy; (3) To interfere or attempt to interfere with, or to discriminate against, or to do anything tending to coerce, intimidate, threaten, or to take any action prejudicial to any exhibitor, because of the declared policy of such exhibitor with respect to Double Feature Programs. Any and all agreements heretofore entered into relating to the delivery and/or exhibition of motion pictures, and containing any provisions which may in any manner tend to interfere with the individual policy of each exhibitor as to such Double Feature Programs, or which may in any other manner be inconsistent with the terms and/or intent of this Article, shall be, and shall be deemed to be, as to such provisions relating to Double Feature Programs, of no further force or effect, and shall be deemed to be deleted from such agreements. ARTICLE XXXIV Exhibitors shall promptly make and deliver a correct itemized statement of each day's receipts from the exhibition of any motion picture and from so-called midnight shows, if any, upon the conclusion of each such daily exhibition and/or midnight show, when the license fee therefor is based in whole or in part upon a percentage of the exhibitor's admission receipts. ARTICLE XXXV The unauthorized exhibition of a motion picture and the doing by any exhibitor of acts which are illegal or in violation of the copyright law of the United States or of an exhibition license gives such exhibitor an unfair competitive advantage over an exhibitor who is honest, obeys the law and complies with his contractual obligations, misappropriates a portion of the playing time market of the motion picture industry, disrupts other exhibitor's bookings and scheduled exhibitions and imposes a burden of expense and waste which must be borne by producers, distributors and exhibitors. Therefore, no exhibitor shall directly or indirectly or by any means whatsoever: (a) Exhibit any motion picture at any time or place other than on the date or dates and in the places expressly booked and confirmed in writing pursuant to the exhibition license therefor; (b) Use a print of a motion picture at any theatre other than that specified in the exhibition license therefor; (c) Use a print of a motion picture at two or more theatres when licensed at only one thereof; (d) Use the print of a motion picture for any purpose whatsoever other than exhibitions duly lcensed and booked; or (e) Withhold the prompt return of a print of a motion picture for additional exhibitions at any theatre in excess of the time licensed and booked in writing. ARTICLE XXXVI No exhibitor shall lease, purchase or otherwise acquire any lithographic poster or any advertising accessory manufactured for or by the producer or distributors of any motion picture, for the advertising or exploitation thereof by the exhibitor, from any person, firm, corporation or association, other than such producer or distributor. All such lithographic posters and advertising accessories so acquired shall not be sold, leased, or given away by any exhibitor, nor used by any exhibitor for any purpose other than to advertise or exploit the motion picture for which such lithographic posters and advertising accessories were manufactured. ARTICLE XXXVII Film Boards of Trade throughout the United States shall continue their operations as local distributor trade Associations for the purpose, among other things, of functioning within the sphere of operations of trade associations and of specifically performing the following: (a) The supervision of the granting by members of the right of exhibition of motion pictures distributed by them without charge at public and quasi-public institutions properly equipped to show sound motion pictures and properly protected against fire hazards, in cases where such institutions house or care for inmates confined in them; and the allocation equally among the members of the number and class of motion pictures to be so supplied, (b) The collection of statistics regarding the number of theatres, their ownership, management, seating capacity, location, policy of operation and character of entertainment, (c) The maintenance of proper relations between distributors and the public, (d) The appearance before legislative boards and committees in connection with any existing or proposed national, state or municipal legislation affecting motion pictures, their production, distribution, or exhibition, (e) The prevention of fraud upon distributors of motion pictures. Membership in any Film Board of Trade shall be open to any distributor maintaining and operating an office for the distribution of motion pictures in the exchange center where such Film Board ol Trade is located. ARTRICLE XXXVIII In each territory wherein any distributor maintains an exchange, such exchange shall abide by the regulations promulgated by the [ Film Boards of Trade in such territory for the prevention of fire, for the holding of fire ' drills, and rigid monthly inspections, the inspection of prints, the storing of inflammable material, the maintenance and testing of sprinkler systems and fire extinguishers, the avoidance of smoking and other cautions, methods and devices to protect the lives of ] employees and the public to insure safety against fire hazards. ARTICLE XXXIX No exhibitor or distributor shall induce orl seek to induce the breach of any active contract licensing the exhibition of motion pictures. ARTICLE XL No exhibitor or distributor shall give any gratuity or make any offer, of any gratuity for the purpose of procuring advantages that would not other wise be procurable, or as an inducement ti influence a distributor or exhibitor, or representative of either not to deal with any competing or other exhibitors or distributors. ARRTICLE XLI But one form of license contract containing provisions generally expressive of the usual and customary trade methods of distributing and exhibiting motion pictures shall Be used by distributors to license the exhibition by exhibitors of one or more motion pictures released during any one season. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to prevent any distributor from adding thereto provisions expressive of such distributor's individual sales policy, provided any such added provision is designated as an added provision, or to require the use of such form for franchise license contracts embracing motion pictures released during two or more seasons. The so-called "Optional Standard License Agreement" (1933) negotiated by exhibitors and now being used by a large number of distributors shall be the form of license contract contemplated by this section, excepting in case any provision thereof is in conflict with any provision of this Code such provision of said Optional Standard License Agreement shall be deemed amended to conform with such provision of this Code. ARTICLE XLII No distributor shall refuse to make a fair adjustment of the license fees for the exhibition rights of a number of pictures licensed in a group for a stated average sum per picture and so stated in the license agreement, if the total number of pictures so licensed by any exhibitor are not delivered by such distributor provided such exhibitor shall have fully and completely performed all the terms and conditions of such license on the part of the exhibitor to be performed. Any dispute or controversy concerning any such adjustment shall be determined by arbitration provided for in this Code. ARTICLE XLIII No distributor shall refuse to deliver to any exhibitor any feature motion picture licensed under an exhibition contract therefor because of such exhibitor's default in the performance of any exhibition contract licensing the exhibition of short subjects of such ' distributor, or vice versa, in cases where such j exhibitor and distributor have agreed to ar , bitrate all claims and controversies arising ' under the Optional Standard License Agreement provided for in this Code. ARTICLE XLIV Any exhibitor forwarding or delivering to another exhibitor a print of a motion picture at the request or upon the order of the distributor thereof shall, but only for such purpose, be deemed to be the agent of such distributor.