Harrison's Reports (1938)

180 HARRISON'S REPORTS November 5, 1938 ity of the pictures, for the producers have been put on their mettle as a result of it. There is no question that mistakes have been made. The "Movie Quiz" is, in my opinion, one of them. Personally I feel that, if the $250,000 that have been appropriated for the prizes of this contest had been spent in newspaper advertisements, the industry would have benefited to a much greater extent. But even these deductions are a matter of opinion; the results of this contest will not be known until after the prizes have been handed out. If mistakes have been made, the exhibitor must remember that the need for starting this campaign was so pressing that no time could be lost in discussing all phases of it thoroughly. I am sure that those who are in charge of it will profit by these mistakes and will avoid them in future campaigns of this kind. Next year it will be fifty years since the motion picture was invented, and Harrison's Reports hopes that the industry will not overlook the opportunity this occasion offers for gaining still more public good will and for helping the box offices to a still greater degree. The industry leaders should, therefore, begin laying down plans for a celebration right now. In this manner they will give a chance to those whom they will place in charge of the campaign to avoid errors and to obtain much better results. PHILADELPHIA BREAKS THE SHACKLES On Friday last week more than one hundred independent theatre owners, representing between one hundred and fifty and one hundred and sixty theatres of the Philadelphia zone, met in Philadelphia to hear Col. A. H. Cole, of Texas, member of the Allied States Association board of directors, speak on organization. The arrangement for hearing Col. Cole was made by a few Philadelphia zone exhibitors at Atlantic City two weeks ago. while attending the New Jersey exhibitors' annual convention. For a long time United Motion Picture Theatre Owners of Eastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey & Delaware has been disorganized on account of a personal feud between Lewen Pizor, its President, and Dave Milgram, an exhibitor, member of that organization, engendered by competitive acts. Many exhibitors, friends of Mr. Pizor, advised him to resign the Presidency for the good of the organization, but he would not take their advice. As a result, the influence of that body, powerful once, has sunk to the lowest level that it could possibly sink. Many exhibitors felt that Mr. Pizor was trying to perpetuate himself in office, and this idea brought further resentment. Since the organization there ceased functioning, many exhibitors felt that a new organization should be formed to bar as officers all those who might prove a detriment to it. It was while they were looking around for a start that these exhibitors approached Col. Cole for guidance. Col. Cole advised the Philadelphia gathering that two things are needed to make an organization successful, loyal membership and the unfailing payment of dues. Every one of the exhibitors present assured him that they will do both. A committee was appointed to apply for an Allied charter and to effect the organization. It was only a few weeks ago that this paper, having been informed of conditions there, urged Allied States to send a representative to Philadelphia to organize the exhibitors under its banner. * * * Since we are talking about the benefits of a well conducted exhibitor organization, it might not lie amiss for us to talk about those exhibitor units that are not affiliated with a national organization. The present producer-exhibitor conferences have proved conclusively that units of this kind do more harm to the exhibitor cause than good, by reason of the fact that, first, they do not add their own strength to that of the national body, and the producers are using them as a means to discourage the national organization for obtaining the most concessions possible. Besides, the problems taken up at these conferences were national in nature. And no local unit, unaffiliated with a national body, could undertake the solution of national problems successfully. It is too commonplace to cite to them the Aesopean parable about the farmer who pointed out to his sons, by means of a bundle of sticks, that the sticks could be broken one at a time but not as a bundle, and by inference how much stronger these units would be were they to join a national organization. The only question they should decide should be, which national organization to join. That should not be so difficult a problem for them to solve : let them find out how each organization subsists. If it subsists with producer money, it must comply with the wishes of the producers, for if it does not do so the monthly or yearly allowance would naturally cease. Let each exhibitor remember that the person who pays the check every Saturday is the boss. Since Allied is the only national organization that does not accept a bounty from the producers, then each unaffiliated unit should join that organization. If it has defects, let them point them out and fight for their correction from within the ranks. Harrison's Reports hopes that every member of an unattached exhibitor organization unit will urge the officers of his organization to apply for an Allied charter without delay. ABOUT UNITED ARTISTS PICTURES Some exhibitors have complained to this office that United Artists is not delivering to them "Algiers," which features Charles Boyer, although they have under their contract "The Illusionist," which was promised to them with Charles Boyer. Morally they are right ; they bought a Charles Boyer picture and United Artists now refuses to deliver it to them. But from the legal point of view, they cannot compel it to deliver "Algiers," by reason of the fact that, first, it is not described in their contract, and secondly the synopsis in the work sheet, which the distributor considers as no part of the contract, is entirely different from the story of the picture ; there is no relation between the two. In reference to "Blockade," the story bears a greit similarity to the description in "A Kiss in Paris." Consequently, no exhibitor can legally refuse to accept "Blockade." "Drums" and "Mutiny in the Mountains" seem to be the same story.