Year book of motion pictures (1925)

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J. G. Bachman 1925 Having just completed a coast to coast tour of Sculberg exchanges, I am impressed by the progress of the independent market n stabilizing itself suffici:ntly to be in a position o offer exhibitors product hat not only compares avorably with, but often rpasses, that of the larger listributors. This condition is bound to have its effect throughout the entire industry durThe independents are They ing the coming year no longer an outlet for inferior pictures have become the source of a high grade, reliable supply of the best available productions. The biggest novels, the biggest stage pieces that can be bought furnish the independents with stories. Our Preferred Picture, "The Boomerang," the great Belasco play that was sold at a record price, is an example of what the independents have. And Mr. Exhibitor can buy independent product without signing up for a series if lemons in order to get one film that will net him a profit. The wise showman will make 1925 an independent year. 1925 IMPORTANT w The strong and consis ent upward trend in all nes of business that has een manifest for the past ix or eight months is the jrerunner of the greatest ra of prosperity our counry has experienced in a ;eneration, and we of the notion picture industry annot fail to see in it an >pportunity for advancing >ur interests to a high mark, surpassing anything 'hat has gone before. Our business is not esentially one that responds as a whole to room times of purely sectional limitation or in John E. Storey certain individual lines True, such booms do have their good effects, but they are not necessarily lasting. It is pretty generally the case that these good effects endure no longer than the conditions which caused them. The outlook today, however, is far different. The American farmer has come into his own and no matter how remote he may seem from the things that directly touch us, he is, nevertheless, the index which in the last analysis points to prosperity for us all, or away from it. It is estimated that fully 50 per cent of the buying power of our country lies in the hands of the farmers. Since the war the prices of farm products have gradually slumped to the point where they did not even represent a profit for labor. Therefore, du'ing that period, which ended less than a year ago, the great farm purchasing power was practically non-existent. Within the last six months wheat has hit $1.50 and corn has gone up in proportion. Rust has affected the Canadian wheat crop. This means that the world must look, to a very large extent, to the American wheat crop, and the American farmei consequently has come into his own. The reaction to this condition has had farreaching effects. For example, bumper crops and prices mean a sha^p increase in the demand for transportation. Railroads, called upon for greater facilities, are hastening const uction and repair work, and the consequence is tremendously increased orders for steel. From every viewpoint, therefore, our own business is looming up as a machine of huge potentialities, and the running of this machine is in our own hands. For this reason, I do not believe that the present is the time for experiments in new systems and practises of questionable value. 1 do not believe it wise for us to devote time to such things. The old adage, "Make hay while the sun shmes," is not by any means out of date. For the best results — and it is best results that we are looking for — I am confident that picture production and sales must be kept entirely on the competitive basis In that way only can we be assured of product and merchandising of merit proportionate to our big opportunities. A Mood of mediocre product or a hint of false values in selling would do us more harm at this stage than we could offset in a year of working. In other words, it is the box office value of a picture that determines the patronage of a house, and it is upon this basis that we must sell. The season 1924-25 is destined to mean great things in the forward march of the motion picture industry, and it is my sincere hope that the industry at large — producers, distributors and exhibitors— will grasp the means at their hands to the end that we shall establish a momentum sufficient to carry us to new and hitherto undreamed of heights of success. AS TO THE INDEPENDENT Broadly, I should say that the prospects for a very big year are unusually good. It would seem pretty clear that the motion picture theaters throughout the country are for a big season. However, the benefits may not be evenly spread. The development of power in two or three massive distributing organizations and . , _ „ . the rapidly accumulating Arthur b. *nend power of exhibitor combinations may be of more value to the industry at large than would seem at first glance. Obviously, great power may be used wisely, or unwisely. One would hazard too much in offering an opinion now as to how these several powers will be wielded. Uusually the recruiting of forces and the tightening of lines on opposite sides presages war, not peace. At any rate, there seems to be a gradual persistent pre-emption of the place in which the so-called independent producer might plant and cultivate his ambitions. And this is much to be regretted. One might be genuinely optomistic if there loomed somewhere on the horizon the coming in of a well financed, well manned distributing agency, that would operate independently' in the truer sense of independence, and which would function purely as an agency, and not as a controller of the product that came to its doors. AGAIN ON A SOUND FOOTING T consider it the first asic principle of success our industry that motion ctures are the entertainent of the masses rather an the classes. And ith this in mind I am •ppy to say that developents of the last year :eak well for prosperity v the picture industry in 925. The great "super spec ur ti _ cials" which attracted so W Hammons muth allention for a (ime undoubtedly won lor the picture theaters a certain amount of new patronage from the classes. But they unfortunately brought about a diminished interest on the part of some exhibitors in keeping up for their audiences that diversity of entertainment which means so much to the "regular fan" — the ordinary picture goer of the masses. There could be but one result ; a loss of patronage from the masses that far more than balanced the small gains from the classes. This meant, of course, a net loss at the box-office. 375