Harrison's Reports (1932)

IN TWO SECTIONS— SECTION ONE 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, OCTOBER 1, 1932 No^40 X-RAYING THE 1932-33 PRODUCTS — Article No, 4 Before taking up the next company’s product for analysis, let me again caution you against signing contracts for more than 35% of the gross receipts for any picture, no matter how “stupendous” its owners may say it is, for once you give in you may just as well know that every company in the business will try to make you give them the same percentage ; the salesmen of the different film companies interchange information. But being forced to grant the same percentage to the other distributors is not the worst feature ; next year you will be made to pay a still higher percentage, to all the distributors. At this time I desire to warn you also about something else — putting up deposits. Four of the companies are in a deplorable financial condition and one, and possibly two, of them may crash at any time. I know that no exhibitor is putting up deposits nowadays but some salesman, on instructions of his hard-pressed home office, may insist that you put up a deposit and you, feeling that there is no other way out, may weaken. If you do so, you may lose your money. The New York State exhibitors are, of course, protected by the deposit law, which requires that all deposit money be put in a separate account and be left unused, a violation of it being a misdemeanor ; but I do not know of the existence of such a law in any other State. Tiffany For an X-Ray analysis of this company’s product see the analysis of “World Wide.” United Artists (Possibly 12 Pictures) United Artists Corporation has not yet announced how many pictures it will release during the 1932-33 season. It has not yet made any announcement and efforts to obtain the information from the Home Office have proved unsuccessful. From time to time this company announced the acquisition of books and plays. Among these were "The Way of a Lancer,” the novel by Richard Bolesslavski ; “Love Goes Past,” the novel by Ursula Parrot ; “Brothers Karamazov,” the novel by Fyodore Dostoevsky ; “The Barretts of W'impole Street,” the play by Rudolph Besier ; “Whistling in the Dark,” the play by Lawrence Gross and Edward Childs Carpenter ; “Dodsworth,” the novel by Sinclair Lewis; “Rain,” the play by John Colton and Clemence Randolph, who took it from Somerset Maugham’s story “Miss Thompson” ; “Cynara,” the play by H. M. Harwood and R. F. Gore-Browne ; and “The Masquerader,” the play by John Hunter Booth. Production of “The W'ay of a Lancer” and of “Brothers Karamazov” has been abandoned, evidently because of the fact that the material of the former is too sexy and unsympathetic, and of the latter too horrible in addition to being too sexy. The picture rights to “The Barretts of Wimpole Street” and to “Whistling in the Dark” have been sold to Mctro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Nothing more has been said of “Love Goes Past” ; therefore it is not certain that they will produce it. This leaves “Rain,” “Dodsworth,” “Cynara,” and “The Masquerader.” “Rain” : According to the Forecaster review, the material of this play is hardly suitable for a good talking picture. The picture has been already produced but it has not yet been shown in this city. According to the Hollywood papers, however, it has turned out just as the Forecaster predicted — poor. In addition to the material’s unsuitability, it is a remake, for it was put into a silent picture in 1928, with Gloria Swanson in the leading role ; it was released as “Sadie Thompson.” The present version would not have gone very far even if it were not a remake ; but the fact that it is a remake makes matters worse, for it is unlikely that of the millions of people who have seen it many will want to see it again. “Dodsworth” : The material is sexy and the characters unsympathetic. It is unlikely that the picture will interest very many. It is tabu for small towns and for neighborhoods in the big cities. “Cynara’’ : Since this is a problem play by reason of the fact that the hero, a married man, is shown living with a young woman while his wife is away, it becomes unsuitable for the small towns and for neighborhood houses in the big cities. The fact that the young woman kills herself in the end makes matters worse. Not a good bet. “The Masquerader” : This is a strong dual role drama, in the one role the character being a drug fiend. First National produced it in 1922, with Guy Bates Post. Nothing pleasant about the picture but it is a powerful drama. The objection many persons may find is the repulsive acts of the drug fiend. Only for adults. Among these books or plays announced for production by this company, there isn’t one that could be called a good bet ; they are all fair or mediocre. The only two good pieces of story property they had were “Whistling in the Dark” and “The Barretts of Wimpole Street” ; but they have disposed of them to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Harsh Contract Provisions I have been informed that this year United Artists is going to use the same contract form it used last year. There are in it not as harsh provisions as are in the contracts of the other distributors. The harshest may be considered those in the schedule. One of them provides for blank spaces for the insertion of admission prices. This provision should be resisted by all exhibitors, in all contracts. Let me call your attention to the fact that one of the provisions in the schedule has three methods of contracting for pictures : percentage with guarantee, straight percentage, and flat rental. The fact that the contract contains three methods is an indication that some exhibitors will not buy United Artists pictures on percentage, and that some others may play them on percentage but will not give a guarantee. The method that the salesman will use will naturally depend on the kind of exhibitor he will come across. If the exhibitor is a regular business man, he will not sign percentage with a guarantee; if he is a wise exhibitor and hasn’t much competition, he will not buy these pictures on any other than flat rental terms. Only if he is up against it will he accept the harsh terms of percentage with a guarantee. In reference to percentage with a guarantee, let me say that in all the years that I have been in business I have been trying in vain to find a justification for it. The excuse the distributors give is that the exhibitor, when he gives a minimum guarantee, will fight harder for business, whereas if there is no guarantee in the contract, he will go to sleep on the job. The collateral meaning of this argument is that the distributors or their representatives could show the exhibitor cards and spades in exploiting that particular picture if they owned his theatre, but they cannot do it because they do not own it, and that the guarantee method is the best way for them to protect their interests. If any salesman should give you such an argument tell him that the producers have wrecked the moving picture industry trying to conduct theatres. The Paramount-Publix recent financial statement showed that they lost about five million dollars in three months. How much the Fox theatre circuit has lost will be known only to the banks which own the bulk of the Fox theatre stock and to the gullible public. As far as Warner Bros, is concerned, its theatre circuit lost so much that Harry Warner, in {Continued on last page)