Harrison's Reports (1930)

November 1_, 1930 176 HARRISON’S REPORTS independent exhibitor from showing it within three or four days is an inconvenience to the public, whose comfort will, after all, have to be taken into consideration. 'I'he decision by Judge Cosgrave makes it unnecessary for you to agree to the Zoning proposals of the Hays organization, regardless of its threats to impose its schedule even against your protests, for if you, after the Film Board of Trade of your zone puts the Hays schedule into effect, should find that the protection granted to the circuit theatre against your theatre is "unreasonable and discriminatory,” you may bring suit in the Federal Courts for the purpose of enjoining the circuit theatre owner and the distributors whose film he runs from carrying on the conspiracy against yQU, praying the court for relief. And an authenticated copy of Judge Cosgrave's decision will be extremely helpful in such a suit. I hope that now you understand the importance of Judge Cosgrave’s decision and that you know it is there to help you in case you should need its help. Bear in mind that it is not* a resolution, passed at a convention; it is the law of the land, at least as long as it remains unreversed by a higher court. THE RIGHT AGE OF THE PATHE DISC SOUND NEWS Pathe releases its disc sound news four days after its film sound news, because, it states, four days are required to manufacture the discs; and in computing its age it deducts the time required in their preparation. In other words, the disc sound news is, according to this policy, one day old when the film sound news is four days old. The value of news events in news weeklies depends, as a rule, on their freshness. When a news event is shown in a theatre, through a film sound news, today and the same scene is shown in another by a disc sound news four days later, the scene in the disc sound news is not as “new” as was the scene in the film sound news; by comparison, it is stale. Therefore, when you pay for ten day old news and you show it fourteen days’ old, you are not getting a fair deal. Pathe’s reason for computing the age of its disc sound news from the day it can release it is not a good excuse, for this reason; those of exhibitors who show news weeklies fresh, have talking picture instruments that can reproduce two kinds of sound, film and disc, but they contract for the film versions exclusively. Those who have only a disc sound reproducing apparatus are, as a rule, the smaller exhibitors, such as cannot afford to pay the price for a very fresh news. The time required for making the discs ready, therefore, cannot be considered as “active” time. In other words, if Pathe were to be able, by some advanced mechanical invention, to prepare the disc versions at the time it prepares the film versions, the disc versions would have to be kept in the vaults for several days before it could put them into cireulation. So, as you see, there is no advantage in having the disc news ready at once, and no disadvantage in having them ready four days later; the time required for tlie preparation of the discs is “inactive” time. In my opinion, Pathe knows very well that what is said in this article is correct, l)ut it is apparently trying to profit by forcing the smaller exhibitors to pay a higher price for the purpose of securing their news fresher. If you are having any trouble with the Pathe exchange, you should demand that the release schedule and the release-day chart printed in HARRISON’S REPORTS be used in the calculation of the right age of your news, for the information contained in them is accurate, having been obtained from the Home Offices of the different distributors. In case you should be unable to persuade the Pathe manager to give you your news at the right age, you should communicate with this office. SAM KATZ’ PROSPERITY WEEK Sam Katz is carrying on a campaign boosting the Paraniount-Publix prosperity week. In order to make this week successful, he is displaying a letter the organization received from President Hoover, congratulating it for its efforts to inspire hope and confidence in the hearts of the American people. And by a way of spreading cheer all around him, Sam Katz has discharged some more thirty-five dollar a week employees from his department, and is cutting down the salaries of others, all small-salaried persons. Prosperity is not brought about by discharging small salaried clerks; this increases the ranks of the unemployed, and consequently adds to the existing misery. By the way, it is manifest that the Paramount 'I heatre, on Broadway, the heart of New York City, is not doing so well, despite the optimistic statements of Mr. Zukor to President Hoover, and of bam Katz in his prosperity campaign, if one is to judge by the fact that Paramount stars are making personal appearances each week. REFRESHING FRED WEHRENBERG’S MEMORY I asked Fred Wehrenberg in the presence of three of his friends whether he had ever sent a letter to W. A. Steffes, accepting the invitation of Allied States to the meeting at Washington, on July 2, last year, and was told by him that he did not remember. “I may have sent one or I may have not; I don’t remember.” Because I desire to help persons with a weak memory, I am copying herewith the letter he had sent. It is dated June 24, 1929. “Received your wire on my return from a fishing trip and hasten to answer. My organization will go on record as protesting sound prices and other unfair tactics, now being used by distributors. I will try to make it, if possible, to be on hand at Washington July 2nd and will try to have as many exhibitors there as I can possibly bring together. Go to it, old boy; you are the best fighter in the business.” Fred sent a similar letter to Mr. Abram F. Myers. The excuse Fred gave me for having attended the M. P. T. O. A. meeting at the same hotel, on the same hour, and on the same day, is that he obeyed the call of Mr. Pete Woodhull, national president of the organization. I am glad that Pete Woodhull did not ask Fred to jump into the river; it would have been a calamity. THE HAYS ORGANIZATION A MORAL COWARD In advertising “The Lady Surrenders,” a picture produced by Universal, the Stanley Theatre, a First National theatre, owned and controlled by Warner Bros., by virtue of its control of First National, inserted the following advertisement in the Philadelphia papers: “As Intimate As a Boudoir! — As Passionate As A Lover’s Eyes! — As Tantalizing As A Sweetheart’s Kiss! — As Daring And Irresistible As Youth Itself! ‘A LADY SURRENDERS’ . . . With Conrad Nagel. The Young Husband Who Found Himself With Two W’^ives At One Time! Genevieve Tobin, The Sex Appeal Beauty. . . .” A friend from Philadelphia wrote me that the ad seemed as if the manager of the Stanley Theatre was trying to advertise a house of prostitution. This is not the first time in which Warner Bros, has broken faith with the rules set down by the organization of which it is a member; and not the first time in which it has given Mr. Hays grief. Warner Bros, has repeatedly refused to follow the others in matters that affect an adopted policy towards the American public. But Mr. Hays has not had the courage to tell Warner Bros, what it could or could not do. Has he the power? I should say he has! Let him expell it from his organization, giving the public the reasons for such expulsion, and you will see how far Warner Bros, can defy public sentiment. But Mr. Hays hasn’t the courage, even though he has the power. If it were a small concern, such as Columbia, or Tiffany, he would certainly have told it what is what! Like a bully, he would have taken either of these concerns by the ear and thrown it out, and it would have been pleading to be readmitted into the organization’s ranks. But Warner Bros, is contributing a large share of “Kale” to the Hays coffers, and for this reason he can afford to wink both eyes.