The film daily year book of motion pictures (1926)

Opinions on the Foreign Outlook THE MARCH OF EVENTS ABROAD By E. E. Shauer Director Foreign Department, Famous PlayersLasky Three developments have been the outstanding features of the march of progress in the industry abroad during the year just closed. These have been : More and better exploitation. Greater interest in the proper presentation of high class pictures. Decided progress in the development of real motion picture theaters. Perhaps the greatest influence in bringing about the first development has been the wonderful success scored by "The Ten Commandments," "The Covered Wagon" "Scaramouche," and others of the very best features produced in the last two years. Exhibitors in every important country have enjoyed such unprecedented business wherever and whenever they have applied modern methods to the exploitation of the features of the above classification that they are no longer content to proceed along old fashioned lines. As examples there are the splendid record breaking runs of "The Ten Commandments" in London, Paris, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Berlin, Wellington, Tokyo, Kobe, Copenhagen, Rome, Rio de Janerio, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, etc. So great has been the public response to aggressive and well planned exploitation and advertising in Australia that nine road shows have been required to satisfy the demands of the theaters in Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania. In Great Britain every known box-office record for volume of business and duration of run has gone by the boards in the marvelous business enjoyed by the exhibitors who have given their keenest thought and attention to exploitation. The second development which has added greatly to the exhibition arm of the industry has been the increased attention paid to the presentation of the screen programs. Better music, prologues and more beautiful settings and surroundings for the program have added immensely to the drawing power of the best in the motion picture art. Larger orchestras are being installed in the leading cinemas in the principal cities, such as London, Paris, Berlin, Stockholm, Sydney, Buenos Aires, Amsterdam, Melbourne, Tokyo, etc., and in no single instance has the wide awake exhibitor failed to reap the increased benefits from such progressive action. Exhibitors in Europe and South America have visited the United States by the score to study the best American methods of presentation and have built up alert, keen-minded theater staffs who have shown great ingenuity in ap plying the most up to date methods for the further enhancement of their own programs. There has been noted a well defined trend towards the construction of more and better class theaters throughout the most progressive countries. This applies particularly to Great Britain, France, Germany, Australia and a number of other countries. In London, our own beautiful Plaza theater will be in operation during the coming year. Already a number of beautiful houses have been finished in London and the provincal cities, with the result that practically every important key center is well taken care of with the very best first run theater facilities, and greatly increased business has been the rule in all centers where the acute need for more modern theaters has been rectified. Australasia has made marvelous progress in this respect, with its Prince Edward at Sydney, the Capitol at Melbourne and the De Luxe at Wellington, three of the finest and most modern theaters to be found in the entire world. All three theaters had as their opening attraction "The Ten Commandments" and all established marvelous long run records, the Prince Edward run of 36 weeks being second only to the record of 62 weeks for "Ten Commandments" at the Criterion in New York. The engagement at the Capitol was for 19 weeks, while the Wellington run also constituted a record for New Zealand. It is impossible to exaggerate the good will for the industry which has been built up by these new theaters and the wonderful manner in which their programs have been exploited and presented. Japan has its truly wonderful Kabuki-Za theater in Tokyo, built along the lines of the finest motion picture palace in this country. The augury for the coming year is bright indeed. Greater success and greater prosperity for the exhibition arm of the industry throughout the world has meant and. will insure for the future greater prosperity for the entire industry, both here and abroad. PROBLEMS The uncertainty and demoralization prevailing at the moment in the independent market is peculiarly reflected in the foreign market. With the growing expansion of direct foreign distribution by the first line companies — the available product for the independent distributor in foreign markets is becoming scarcer. And here is the paradox : Coupled with the increasing difficulty that the independent has for placing his product as advantageously as heretofore domestically — the foreign field offers him a larger source of income than he has ever enjoyed heretofore. The profitable marketing of product therefore assumes an importance never before paralleled and requires the best of knowledge, discrimination and resourcefulness. This can only be acquired by years of experience, consequently it behooves the producer to entrust his foreign revenue to men with a thorough acquaintance and appreciation, not only of export conditions but also American production and distribution problems. Agitation against American films is reported from many centers. Barriers are being erected to shut out much American film. But so long as American producers continue to make a high standard of pictures — the best American productions will still find their way to foreign screens. GEORGE E. KANN, SIMMONDS-KANN ENTERPRISES, INC. P. D. C. ABROAD IN 1926 The year 1926 will mark an important stride in the foreign markets for Producers' Distributing Corp. Conservatively speaking, there will be no more important productions emanating from any other American Studio than are this year being released by P. D. C. With the distributing throughout the world of his history-creating THE TEN COMMANDMENTS there is not one foreign market that is not fully aware of the box-office meaning of the name of Cecil B. De Mille. THE ROAD TO YESTERDAY and THE VOLGA BOAT MAN, the two personally directed De Mille Specials will achieve box office history everywhere. At the time of the writing of this article THE ROAD TO YESTERDAY had just been privately screened at a special midnight preview at the Embassy Theater in New York. The tributes and enconiums paid by the critics have no precedent. It proves how momentous it is that Cecil B. De Mille and Producers' Distributing Corp. have joined together. So far two of the De Mille supervised productions, HELL'S HIGHROAD and THE COMING OF AMOS have been presented and each has been pronouncedly and emphatically accepted by the foreign critics who have viewed it. The Christie Brothers, Al and Charles, are also contributing characteristically sterling feature length comedies for the coming season. SEVEN DAYS and MADAM BEHAVE (MADAME LUCY) bear ample testimony to this statement. 825