Harrison's Reports (1954)

80 HARRISON’S REPORTS May 15, 1954 “CinemaScope pictures will be made available to all theatres which are equipped with proper screens and anamorphic Inses, and the exhibitor will have option of showing CinemaScope pictures with full stereophonic sound, single-track magnetic sound or single-track optical.” As to Mr. Lichtman’s telegram, his outline of his company’s new “ability-to-pay” policy seems to be basically fair. But the one point that seems to be in need of further clarification is the aid that will be given, if necessary, to those exhibitors who, in order to obtain CinemaScope pictures prior to the new policy, installed stereophonic sound equipment at considerable cost to themselves and have not yet had an opportunity to recoup their investments. This is admittedly a ticklish problem, particularly in regard to those exhibitors who have installed stereophonic equipment in recent weeks or months and have not yet had an opportunity to play enough CinemaScope pictures to help them recover their costs. Experience may prove that theatres equipped for stereophonic sound will outdraw theatres that are not so equipped, but faihng that it seems only fair and just that some provision be made to help those theatres earn back their investments. A FINE REISSUE According to reports from RKO, the reissue of “Pinocchio,” Walt Disney’s feature-length Technicolor cartoon, is outgrossing its original 1940 release by twenty per cent, is doubling receipts of its first re-release in 1945, and is drawing more business in almost every situation than the big money-making “Snow White.” That some exhibitors realize the box-office potential of “Pinocchio” as a reissue is evidenced by the announcement of Charles Boasberg, RKO’s general sales manager, that more than 342 exhibitors already have booked the picture for the coming summer vacation months. Mr. Boasberg has a logical explanation for the current interest in this picture : “There is a new generation of movie fans to whom ‘Pinocchio’ is an entirely new and fascinating entertainment,” he said. “And as a result of a greatly increased population since the end of the war, there is a much larger audience of young people. Furthermore, as a result of our past experience with numerous other Disney feature-length cartoons, we have been able to employ better timing and more intensive promotion campaigns.” A not unimportant point to be considered by the exhibitors in re-booking “Pinocchio” is that, with an audience dominated by youngsters, not only in numbers but also in influence, concession sales rise considerably. “Pinocchio,” as most of you know, is an excellent entertainment, and even though it was made in 1940 its appeal today is as fresh as it was then. This is one reissue that offers you an opportunity to make some money provided you do something about it! WELCOME NEWS The product shortage is so acute that any announcement of new production plans is indeed good news to the exhibitors. Particularly welcome is the announcement that William F. Rodgers, popular former general sales manager of MGM, has formed a production company in association with Sam Dembow, the independent producer and former theatre executive. Jack Skirball, also an independent producer, and Cliff Work, who was formerly in charge of production at Universal. The company, which is to be known as Amalgamated Productions, Inc., plans to produce a minimum of three pictures a year, with a budget of at least $750,000 per picture. Rodgers, who will be president of the fiirm, stated that neither he nor his associates will draw any salaries, and that their earnings will come solely from profits. He added that there will be practically no overhead charges on the company’s pictures, with all money invested going into actual production. With his usual clear-headed reasoning. Bill Rodgers made it plain that his company is not going to aim for Academy Awards; that it will seek to make pictures that will entertain and at the same time have the necessary selling ingredients; and that it hopes to market the pictures on terms that th^ exhibitors can afford. Except to state that the company already has story properties worth more than a million dollars, Rodgers was not in a position to reveal further details. He did say, however, that he hopes to have the first picture completed this year. The experience and knowledge of Bill Rodgers and his associates augurs well for their new producing company. And if it is any comfort to Bill, he can rest assured that he is embarking on this new venture with the best wishes of most, if not all, the exhibitors, who will always remember his sincere efforts to deal fairly with them. ANOTHER OPINION ON VISTAVISION Among the spectators at the recent Vista Vision demonstration at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City was Jack O’Quinn, secretary of the Allied Theatre Owners of the Gulf States. Here is what Mr. O’Quinn had to say, in part, in a report made to his membership in a recent organizational bulletin : “The writer viewed the demonstration from the 9th row where any flaw would be most apparent. I truthfully believed that Paramount fudged in trying to show the older pictures as being so bad. I feel that if my picture was so badly out of focus that I wovJd have closed long ago. Secondly, the thing that surprised me most was that one of the projectors had such a ghost that the white smear was a foot or more above the titles — just imagine that, in the largest theatre in the world. “The second reel of the demonstration was excellent, so good in fact, that I don’t believe that imbibition printing was used. It appeared to be a dye tran§^ fer positive. The focus was excellent in the reel, and there was one scene that appeared to have full 3-D. The depth in most of the scenes was good due to ‘framing’ tricks. “The thing most exhibitors are interested in, is whether or not you have something to sell and I say that you don’t have a thing to put on your marquee. The photography is best yet, but we have had a lot of good photography. Our customers won’t know whether we are playing a Vista Vision picture or not, unless we advertise it and after seeing it they will inquire ‘’What is VistaVision’?” In short, Mr. O’Quinn has said what Harrison’s Reports has been saying all along: VistaVision is nothing more than a good photographic technique that will mean nothing to the paying customers and will not, of itself, attract any one to the box-office.