Harrison's Reports (1938)

Entered as second-class matter January 4, 1921, at the post office at New York, New York, under the act of March 3, 187&. "114 it Yearly Subscription Rates: 1270 SIXTH AVENUE Published Weekly by United States $15.00 c w TO 1019 Harrison's Reports, Inc.. U. S. Insular Possessions. 16.50 KOOm Publisher Canada ic.no New York, N. Y. P. s. Harrison, Editor Mexico, Cuba, Spain IB. 50 , „ ,. _, ' _ Great Britain 15.75 MotIon r'ctur" Reviewing Serv.ce Fw-hH*^ lulv 1 isiq Australia, New Zealand, Devoted Chiefly to the Interests of the Exhibitors Established July 1, 131J India, Europe, A:.ia .... 17.50 «r„ n ('m,v Its Editorial Policy: No Problem Too Big tor Its Editorial Circle 7-4622 *>oc a ^°1>y Columns, if It is to Benefit the Exhibitor. A REVIEWING SERVICE FREE FROM THE INFLUENCE OF FILM ADVERTISING Voi. XX SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1938 No. 46 CRUDE! Donahue & Co., Inc., which is an advertising agency with headquarters at Rockefeller Center, is handling the advertising for the "Motion Pictures Are Your Best Entertainment" campaign. It is this agency that selects the newspapers to advertise in, communicates with them, and hands out the advertising. About the end of September, an official of this company wrote to the advertising manager of a small-town newspaper the following letter: "This week we are releasing additional advertising in connection with the Motion Picture Industry campaign. Proofs of typical current ads are attached. "Unfortunately, our client has instructed us not to run any further advertising in your paper because of the fact that there is no local theatre in your community cooperating with the campaign. "Consequently there is no way in which any of the readers of your paper can obtain Movie Quiz Booklets locally. Accordingly, it must be obvious to you that the advertising which we released for publication in September in your community was, to a substantial degree, wasted. "It has occurred to us that you might be able to influence one or more of your local theatres to cooperate with the industry campaign, in order that Movie Quiz booklets might be available locally, thus making it possible for us to continue that campaign in your paper. "All local theatres can obtain complete details regarding the Industry advertising campaign from whatever Film exchange they normally do business with." This letter does not seem to be the only one sent out by Donahue & Co., Inc. ; there must have been many others, if I am to judge by the fact that I have received information to the effect that also a newspaper in another state has received a similar letter. When the producers approached the Postmaster General for an approval of the Movie Quiz Contest, the approval was given, as I have been informed, upon the understanding that every theatre owner, irrespective of whether he subscribed to the campaign or not, would receive the Movie Quiz pamphlets. It was only thus that the campaign could be considered as not offending the post office regulations regarding lotteries. But this smart "client" seems to have overlooked this part of the arrangement. I don't know who this "client" the Donahue & Co., Inc., official refers to is, but if this official had started out to enrage the newspaper publishers he could not have done it more effectively, for they are a proud class of people and, although for the time being they may capitulate so as not to lose advertising, they don't forget so easily. Those who have received such "threatening" letters are not the only ones who will bear resentment against the motion picture industry for this crude method of compelling newspaper publishers and advertising managers to become salesmen for the •'Motion Pictures Are Your Best Entertainment" campaign ; most others will feel the same resentment, for they will be informed of this high-handed method through the confidential organs that circulate only among newspaper employers and important employees. The newspaper people are organized very closely, and an offense to one is usually an offense to all the others. Harrison's Reports calls upon the producers to find out who this "client" is so as to compel him to stop sending to the newspapers letters of this kind. A LOSS BY THE ALLIED EXHIBITORS It was announced last week that Mr. H. M. Richey, formerly business manager of Allied Theatre Owners of Michigan, and for the last few months connected with Cooperative Theatres, of Detroit, Michigan, has been appointed by Mr. George Schaefer, President of RKO, as director of exhibitor relations for that company. His duties will be. no doubt, to smooth out and adjust any differences that might arise between exhibitors and RKO. It is too bad that Allied States let Mr. Richey get away from it, for he is one of the finest organizers the exhibitors have ever had. Without meaning to deprecate the hard work the business managers, secretaries, presidents and the officers of other exhibitor organizations have done to build up their organizations, I can say that the work Mr. Richey did for the organized exhibitors of Michigan will stand as a monument. It was said by Col. Cole at the recent gathering of the Philadelphia exhibitors that a successful organization needs for success loyal membership and unfailing payment of dues. Mr. Richey. while in charge of the Michigan organization, was able to attain both: not only was his membership the greatest ever known in the history of that state, but also the treasury of the organization hat! the most money. At no time did the treasury run short of funds. Mr. Richey always was an asset to national Allied, particularly in the first years after its birth. Whenever money was needed to carry on some {Continued on lost /w/r)