Harrison's Reports (1954)

■aatt«r JaAUMT 4. 1921, at the post oAc« at New York, Menr Y— k, uater Ibe aa* 1 3, 1873. Tsartjr SubBcrlption Rates: UnRed States $15.00 U. S. Insiilar Possessicms. 16.50 Oanada 16.50 Mexico, Caba, Spain 16.50 <ar«at Britain 17.50 Avfitralia, New Zealand, India, Europe, Asia .... 17.50 35c a Copy 1270 SIXTH AVENUE New York 20, N. Y. FubHahed Weekly by Harristni’s Reports, Inc., Publisher A Motion Picture Reviewing Service Devoted Chiefly to the Interests of the Exhibitors P. S. HARRISON, Editor Established July 1, 1919 Its Editorial Policy: No Problem Too Big for Its Editorial Columns, if It is to Benefit the Exhibitor. Circle 7-4622 A REVIEWING SERVICE FREE FROM THE INFLUENCE OF FILM ADVERTISING Vol. XXXVI SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 1954 No. 17 THE HEIGHT OF DECEIT A breathless press release from Paramount’s home office states that “ ’Elephant Walk’ yesterday (21) enjoyed one of the biggest openings of a picture in recent years at the Astor Theatre on Broadway, with the first day attendance surpassing that of the sensa' tional'grossing ‘Stalag 17’ by 25 per cent.” Harrison’s Reports has long ceased to pay attention to claims of record-breaking grosses and attendances, for experience has shown that it is rare that such claims are accurate. Moved by curiosity, however, the writer checked back on the claim made by Paramount at the time “Stalag 17” opened at the Astor on July 1, 1953 and found that the company reported standing room only business for the biggest single day’s attendance in that theatre’s history. Yet this record attendance, according to Paramount, now has been surpassed by 25 per cent. Just how this could be done is difficult to fathom, for the seating capacity as well as standing room capacity at the Astor are no different today than they were last July. Allowing, however, that by some miracle “Elephant Walk” was able to pack into the Astor 25 per cent more people than it has a capacity for, this writer could not help but wonder what there was about the picture that should prove to be so great an attraction, particularly since a number of publications, including this one, did not have too high an opinion of the picture. A walk down Broadway to the Astor Theatre soon provided this writer with a possible clue as to why the picture may have been attracting unusual attention, for on both sides of the marquee, in plain view of the Easter crowds that were walking either uptown or downtown, were the words, “ELEPHANT WALK in SPECTACULAR SCOPE.” And the word “SPECTACULAR” was painted on the marquee in the same sweeping style that has become identified with the word “CINEMASCOPE” in all advertising matter used with pictures made in that process. An immediate telephone call to a member of Paramount’s publicity staff for information on this heretofore unpublicized “SPECTACULAR SCOPE” process brought forth much hemming and hawing about it being news to him, together with a statement that those who might know something about it were no longer in the office because of the lateness of the hour. On the following morning, upon further inquiry, this writer was informed that the words “in SPECTACULAR SCOPE” had been removed from the marquee and that their inclusion in the first place was an error of judgment. Upon being asked whether Paramount or the Astor Theatre management was responsible for advertising “ELEPHANT WALK in SPECTACULAR SCOPE,” this publicity man remained non-commital. As a general rule, the promotion that is put behind a Broadway opening of a motion picture, including the advertising, exploitation, publicity and designing of exterior signs and marquees, is the work of the distributing company, for it either pays for the entire cost or for a major portion of the cost. The idea, of course, is that the impact of such a campaign will seep through to the subseqeunt-runs to the ultimate benefit of both the distributor and the sub-run theatres. There is every reason to believe that this general rule was followed by Paramount in connection with the showing of “Elephant Walk” at the Astor Theatre. And in the absence of a clear-cut denial that it was responsible for the use of the words “in SPECTACULAR SCOPE,” Harrison’s Reports cannot help but assume that Paramount is responsible. The fact that Paramount was able to remove the words from the marquee immediately strengthens that assumption. In view of the fact that “Elephant Walk” is a conventional size picture, there can be no question that Paramount’s use of the words “in SPECTACULAR SCOPE,” lettered in a manner that was similar to the sweeping design identified with CinemaScope, hits a new low in misrepresentation to entice patrons to the box-office. ALLIED CHARGES 20TH-FOX WITH FALSE AND MISLEADING ADVERTISING The following organizational bulletin, dated April 15, has been issued by the Washington headquarters of Allied States Association of Motion Picture Exhibitors: “In a desperate effort to cram stereophonic sound down the throats of the exhibitors regardless of the suitability of their theatres for such installations or their ability to pay therefor, 20th Century-Fox is conducting a pressure campaign the like of which was never seen before. “Allied has made it clear that it does not oppose the installation of CinemaScope with stereophonic sound by any exhibitor who can afford to do so and thinks it worthwhile. What Allied objects to is the coercion and misrepresentation used by that company in forcing its will upon the exhibitors. “But Fox will not tolerate even that measure of opposition and for several weeks it has been featuring in its advertising and publicity solicited statements, chance remarks and other utterances by Allied members favorable to stereophonic sound in a palpable attempt to embarrass Allied. “In some instances we have been assured by the persons quoted that they did not authorize the use of their names or statements by Fox and all of them spoke for themselves and not for their organizations. (Continued on bac\ page)