Harrison's Reports (1932)

Entered as second-class matter January 4, 1921, at the post office at New York, New York, under the act of March 3, 1879. Harrison’S Reports Yearly Subscription Rates: United States $16.00 U. S. Insular Possessions. . 16.00 Canada, Alaska 16.00 Mexico, Spain, Cuba 16.00 Great Britain, New Zealand 16.00 Other Foreign Countries.. 17.60 36c a Copy 1440 BROADWAY New York, N. Y. A Motion Picture Reviewing Service by a Former Exhibitor Devoted Exclusively to the Interests of Exhibitors Its Editorial Policy: No Problem Too Big for Its Editorial Columns, if It is to Benefit the Exhibitor. Published Weekly by P. S. HARRISON Editor and Publisher Established July 1, 1919 PEnnsylvania 6-6379 Cable Address : Harreports (Bentley Code) A REVIEWING SERVICE FREE FROM THE INFLUENCE OF FILM ADVERTISING Vol. XIV SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 1932 No. 15 REAL ESTATE INTERESTS OF A FEW RUINING THE INTERESTS OF AN ENTIRE INDUSTRY It has been repeatedly stated in these columns that there will not be a decided improvement in the quality of the moving pictures, nor will the cost of production be brought down to a profitable basis, until the making of pictures is taken away from Hollywood and brought east. The producers know that this theory is correct. “Why,” you may ask, “are not the producers moving production east since they know that it is to their best interests to do so?” Before giving an answer to this question let us go back several years and state the reasons that prompted the moving picture producers to move production to the Coast. Sunshine was the chief consideration. The cloudy days in California are very few. Consequently, the working days during the year are far greater there. A producer can work outdoors there even in winter time, for the climate is very mild all the year around. There was good excuse at that time why production should be carried on in California, but since the invention of the so-called day-light lamps, such an excuse no longer exists, for they can now produce in the east almost every foot of film they produce in Hollywood ; and what they cannot produce they can do so in the Southern states, such as Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and elsewhere in the South. Even if they had reason to hesitate moving the studios east during the days of the silent pictures on account of the cost involved, that excuse ceased to exist from the day talking pictures supplanted the silent pictures, for it w'as mainly in the east where the talent for the production of such pictures was obtained, and to have the artists remain east instead of moving to the Coast would cost the producers much less ; some of the best artists, in fact, would not move west on any salary. I know at least of two artists who would work at one-half of what they have been offered if they could work east — Lynn Fontaine and .Alfred Lunt. Such being the facts, why haven’t the producers moved production east? Because eight or ten persons have made heavy real estate investments, and if production were brought east the value of these investments would diminish substantially, and in some cases might even dwindle to nothing. In addition to the financial reasons, there are personal reasons : The leaders, the stars and the satelites have formed themselves into an empire; they feel as the rulers of old used to feel. It may surprise many of you to know that there is stricter observance of precedence at Hollywood than there is in Washington. Pity the host who will seat the wife of an assistant director, or supervisor, closer to the guest of honor than the wife of his superior. Futures have been blasted by such errors, or by a chance remark of an inferior in rank made about the person or the affairs of his superior. With production moved east, this empire will crumble, naturally, for, aside from the fact that New York is six times as large as Los Angeles and Hollywood combined, New Yorkers are cynical and they would laugh their royal feelings off. There are two important reasons why production should be moved east. The first is economical : The cost of transporting talent west, of railroad fares of the executives, of telephone and telegraph fees, of freight and express charges, is enormous. Before the market crashed, it was nothing unusual for an executive to spend one hundred and fifty dollars on a telephone call. Even office boys used long distance telephones to communicate with Los Angeles or Hollywood. The telephone companies have grown fat from the moving picture industry. It has been estimated that the savings from these items in only one year would defray the cost of moving east the machineries of the studios. The second reason for the moving of the studios east is moral : the Home Office executives will be able to keep an eye on production and to advise the production executives as to the tone of stories they should produce. I had a talk with a distribution executive of one of the smaller companies last week and was told by him that he, while on the Coast recently, stopped a director from writing a story based on an idea which he had in mind, and which was unpresentable in pictures. At present there is hardly any check; with the studios east, the picture producers will have the guidance, to a certain degree, of those who will sell the pictures. In other words the distributors, though they could not tell the producers what stories to put into pictures, could at least tell them what not to put. There is still another reason why production should be brought east. New York is the intellectual centre of the United States, just as London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, and other cities are the intellectual centres of other nations. All magazines, with the exception of one, “The Red Book Magazine,” are published in New York. The best authors and playwrights are found here. And so is all stage talent. Most of these artists would be content to work here for much less; for they would work at their homes, in a much more inspiring environment. Aloving these people to the Coast ruins them. One year in Hollywood is enough to debauch an artist intellectually. After the year is over he might just as well be in Timbuctoo, or in an Eskimo snow hut, as to be in Hollywood. Harrison’s Reports reiterates that not until production is brought east will there be an improvement in the quality of moving pictures. HOW “POLLY OF THE CIRCUS” IS BEING RECEIVED In a recent issue of the Cadillac Evening News, of Cadillac. Michigan, I read the following in the picture section: “Patrons of the Lyric Theatre Monday commented on the ill-advised showing of ‘Polly of the Circus’ during the Easter season and particularly that it had to be shown before the group of grade and high-school students of Mesick. Will H. Hays came in for his share of criticism, and those who resented such a showing asked what he is doing to clean up the movie industry when he will let such performances pass his so-called rigid censor board. “ ‘Polly of the Circus’ has offensive parts and should be resented by the ministry, churches and laity. When the heroine of the play refers to some parts of the Bible as ‘hot stuff,’ complains bitterly because the preacher in the play is so attached to his church, and in another part insinuates that if the preacher were married he would have to sleep in the woodshed during Lent, it is also time that local pastors register formal protests so that the local theatre management can take up the showing of such movies with higher authorities who in turn should register serious complaints to Dictator Hays of the entire movie industry.” Unfortunately, any protests to Mr. Hays against the production of such pictures will prove of no avail, for the reason that the producers do not heed his recommendations. After all, the avoidance of the language complained of is a matter of good taste; the picture producers must possess good taste before they may avoid including in pictures situations and talk that offend. And they have grown too callous in Hollywood to distinguish between matters of good and of bad taste. Protests to Hays or to the producers are useless. The best thing those who object to the lack of good taste in pictures can do is to urge their Senators to work for the Brookhart Bill. It is the only thing that will bring about an improvement in tone of the pictures.