Harrison's Reports (1930)

152 HARRISON’S REPORTS HOW MUCH THE HAYS CODE OF ETHICS MEANS When the Fox Film Corporation was about to release “The Cock-Eyed World” in Atlanta, it hit a “snag”; the censors were bent upon rejecting it. The losses that would have been sustained from a rejection of such a picture naturally were so great that the Fox Film Corporation requested Mr. Hays to send Governor Alillikin to Atlanta to see if he could not induce the censors and the other objectors, mostly women, to pass it. When the Governor reached Atlanta he invited all the good ladies of the city to meet with him that he might talk to them on the merits of the picture. “Now, Ladies !” he said, “This picture ‘Cock-Eyed World,’ which you no doubt have heard something about, I can assure you is very good entertainment. It is a picture that does not interest the women, and it has comedy that the men would understand. So we must let them have their fun.” And the good ladies passed the picture, thanks to the purification that was done to it by Governor Milliken. In the old days, independents used to make and release sex pictures. It is no longer profitable for them to do so, for the reason that the big producers are having so much sex in their pictures that an independent sex picture would starve to death. In “Sweet Kitty Bellairs,” Kitty is heard to say, “The kind of love he wants I don’t give ; they take.” There is talk with double meaning in “Matrimonial Bed” ; “dirty” thoughts in “Dancing Sweeties,” in “Anybody’s Woman,” “Eyes of the World,” “What Men Want,” “Recaptured Love,” “Our Blushing Brides,” “Children of Pleasure,” in “Follow Through,” and in others, too many to mention. And all these pictures were shown with the Hays’ emblem of purity stamped on the introductory title and on the end piece. Perhaps Mr. Hays feels that men have to have their fun ! REGARDING THE COURT DECREE IN THE FOX-WEST COAST CASE The decree handed down by Judge Geo. Cosgrave, of the U. S. District Court for Southern California, in the FoxWest Coast case is a “consent decree” ; the defendants approached the Government representatives and pleaded with them to drop the indictment against them, promising to be good in the future. And because of this fact, they cannot appeal it. An exhibitor on the Coast may bring any or all the defendants before the court if they should impose on him “unreasonable protection,” or if they should conspire to make it hard for him to obtain film. An exhibitor living outside the territory covered by the decree may sue the producers, if they should impose unreasonable protection on him, or if they should conspire to bar him from obtaining film, or to force him to abandon the practice of giving away premiums or of putting two features on the same bill, for a restraining order, or for damages. In his suit, he may use the Cosgrave decree as a basis. TWO INTERESTING ITEMS FROM THE NORTHWEST EXHIBITORS’ ASSOCIATION Part of a circular NORTHWEST THEATRE OWNERS’ ASSOCIATION sent to the members reads as follows : “Exercise every precaution in contracting for products for the coming 3'ear. In the matter of protection, insist upon listing of towns and theatres demanding protection ; also write into the contract what theatres you follow. If you have protection over theatres, write that into the contract also. . . . “With the market crash of last October and the continued downward trend of most stocks, the day of the producer coming into your town and threatening and bluffing to build a theatre is over. The public has held the bag and with dividends entirely eliminated or slashed to a point below bank interest, the public is washed up on investing in amusement stocks. That was the circuit’s only source of money to buy, build or acquire theatres. ...” September 20, 1930 WRONG FOOT AGES The length given by United Artists for “Abraham Lincoln” was 6,/t)4 feet. Divided by 90, it gives 96^4 minutes as the running time. The running time obtained at the theatre with a stop watch was 94 minutes — a difference of 2Y2 minutes. Universal said that “Outside the Law” is 7,116 feet, which gives 79 minutes as the running time. The actual running time, as checked by stop watch at the theatre, was 75 minutes — a difference of 4 minutes. First National said that the running time of “Top Speed” is bO minutes. The actual running time at the theatre was 71 minutes, a difference of 9 minutes. Tiffany said that “Thoroughbred” is 5,997 feet long, or 66 minutes, but the actual running time was found to be 5a minutes; that of “Under Montana Skies” 5,253 feet, or 58 minutes, but the actual running time was 55 minutes. M-G-M said “Romance” is 6,977 feet long, or 77J4 minutes. The actual running time at the theatre proved to be /5 minutes. Columbia said that “The Squealer” is 6,358 feet long, or 70J4 minutes. The actual running time proved to be 66 minutes, a difference of 4j4 minutes. “Sweethearts on Parade” is supposed to be 6,247 feet, or 69 minutes. The actual running time was 67 minutes. Paramount seems to be the only company so far to give a footage that corresponds with the actual running time of the feature. There is no reason why the other companies should tolerate discrepancies. Harrison's Reports will praise those companies that have a good system, and will condemn those that have no system until the latter are forced to install a system that will give out correct footages. An employee of one of the distributors told me that the part of film required for the threading, which is about fifteen feet, and the part pasted at the end of each reel, which, too, is about fifteen feet, is counted in the footage. When you count sixty feet for every reel in an eight reel film, it makes a difference in the running time of about five minutes, he told me. There is no excuse for the distributors to count the leader and the trailer in the footage of a film ; what the exhibitor is interested in is the exact running time of a feature and not in the “trimmings.” A CORRECTION When I was making up the last Blue Section, an employee of the Universal newsreel department told me that Universal had discontinued its newsweekly. Last week I went to the Beacon to review “Sweet Kitty Bellairs” and saw a Universal Newsweekly. I inquired at the main office and found out that they had discontinued only the silent version. The employee in question had already been discharged when I made the inquirj’. The Universal Sound News release schedule will be printed in the next Blue Section. SAM KATZ’S ECONOMY CAMPAIGN Sam Katz has discharged one hundred and twenty employees from the Public (theatre) end of the ParamountPublix organization in an effort to effect economies. Unfortunately, his efforts have been misdirected, for none of those he has discharged received more than fifty, and most of them thirty-five, dollars a week. If he really wanted to be serious in his economj efforts he could have discharged a few of his relatives, who receive anj'\vhere from five hundred to fifteen hundred dollars a week. The discharge of one of these men would have saved as much as was saved from the one hundred and twenty men. But relatives must be protected. It is too bad that Sam Katz, the ambitious, has not followed the suggestion made by Voltaire, the great French philosopher, to King Louis the XV : The revenues of the State were low and the King desired to effect economies. He sent for prominent laymen, as well as for titled persons, to advise with him. Among the laymen was Voltaire. During the meeting a count stated to the assemblage that he effected economies in his household by selling his horses. Voltaire rose and, putting up his hand, said: “No, gentlemen ! Keep the horses ; get rid of the asses !”