Harrison's Reports (1939)

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: 1270 SIXTH AVENUE Published Weakly by United States $15.00 m ,019 Harrison's Reports, Inc.. U. S. Insular Possessions. 16.50 ROOm 10" Publisher Canada 16.50 New York, N. Y. P. S. HARRISON, Editor Mexico, Cuba, Spain 16.50 . ,, , _ . . Great Britain 15.75 A Motion Picture Reviewing Service F_H„hf, , Australia, New Zealand, Devoted Chiefly to the Interests of the Exhibitors Established July 1, 191J India, Europe, Asia .... 17.50 n r^rw Its Editorial Policy: No Problem Too Big for Its Editorial Circle 7-4622 60c a. copy Columns, if It is to Benefit the Exhibitor. A REVIEWING SERVICE FREE FROM THE INFLUENCE OF FILM ADVERTISING Vol. XXI SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 1939 No. 1 The Television Problem in Motion Picture Theatres — No. 5 Q. 10 : How near is television reception in the home ? A. Television reception in the home is practically here. In England, a television broadcasting service has been offered for almost two years, and is beginning to receive serious public notice. In the United States, such a service is scheduled to start in New York either in April or May, 1939, when two, (and possibly three), stations will have been completed in the New York City area and will be ready to begin sending out programs, although on a limited scale for the time being. Each of the two larger stations will have a sending apparatus of about 7,500 watts. A similar station is planned for a point between Albany and Schenectady. The pictures in the home are fairly bright and clear, even though they possess some of the limitations mentioned elsewhere in this series of articles. At present the size of the picture is between three by four inches, and seven and one-half by ten inches. For general home use, the larger sizes of the commercially acceptable receivers are desirable. The cost of the sets range anywhere between $150 and $400, or more, the price depending on how large is the picture and what extra features are included in the receiver. Up to the present the programs have been largely experimental, the purpose being to determine the reaction in the home. It is certain that, if the present broadcasting setup in this country continues, the programs will have, in the main, advertising sponsors. Such programs will, therefore, contain advertisements, both in the sound and in the picture. But these programs will in no way be competitive to the theatre film entertainments, by reason of the fact that only short subjects will, as said, be broadcast, of a duration probably anywhere from fifteen to twenty minutes, and of inferior quality as compared with good picture entertainment in the theatres. Television is a challenge to the motion picture industry; but whether it will injure it or benefit it lies entirely in the hands of exhibitors as well as of the producers. Wise story selection, improved production methods, honest distribution systems, perfect projection, efficiency as well as economy — these are a definite and satisfying answer to the television threat. But if the industry neglects to keep up with the times, it may be injured by this new art. Let it learn a lesson from the experience the railroads have had : if the railroads, instead of disregarding, and even insulting, the public, had made the improvements that they are now making, they would not be exerting frantic efforts now to lure the public back to railroad travel. They disregarded tlie automobile, minimized the competition from the bus, and laughed at the passenger plane; but when they woke up, they found themselves on the verge of bankruptcy. The motion picture industry may, despite its advantages, suffer the same fate, unless new blood with new ideas are poured into, not only exhibition, but also distribution, as well as production. Let the motion picture industry beware ! THE PRODUCER MEMORANDUM —LAST ARTICLE "2. Trade Announcement." This is, of course, nothing but blind-selling in disguise. "Each distributor," the memorandum says, "will make general announcement at or prior to the beginning of each of its seasons, containing such information as it may be practicable to give of all pictures completed or actually in production then intended for release during such season, and of any other pictures then intended for release during such season, it being understood that the completion of such pictures actually in production and the making of such other pictures which it is intended to produce are subject to the hazards and uncertainties of the business and they may not be completed or produced, as planned." The proposal offers nothing. It is a reiteration of what the producers are doing now and have been doing for several years. It is no cure for the obnoxious blind-selling system. Allied asked that the number of pictures to be cancelled by small exhibitors be raised to thirty per cent when such pictures are not identified in the contract, but the producers have not granted it. "3. Exhibitor's Limited Playing Time : When a number of pictures is offered for license to an exhibitor by a distributor and the exhibitor refuses to license such number on the sole ground that by reason of the minimum number of pictures agreed to be exhibited under the license agreements theretofore entered into by such exhibitor it is impossible under such exhibitor's operating policy to play the entire number offered, then such distributor will offer to such exhibitor such lesser number of pictures as may be agreed upon or determined by arbitration as the maximum number of pictures that could be played by such exhibitor, provided that distributor shall always have the right at any time before or after making such offer to such exhibitor to solicit or license all or any of its pictures to any other exhibitor." Whoever framed this clause had better go back to school for additional lessons in composition. The provisions in the contracts and in any other documents that the producers' legal talents composed when it concerned exhibitors have always been either ambiguous, or obscure, or both, but this proposal transcends anything that I have ever read. The best meaning that I can extract out of it is this : when an exhibitor cannot buy a producer's entire product because he has no room for it, then the distributor will offer to the exhibitor as fewer pictures from his entire group as the exhibitor and he may agree upon. It it understood, however, that the distributor retains the right at all times to license his entire group, if he can, to some other exhibit »r. The exhibitor demand for the right to buy some pictures from a distributor's entire group has arisen from the fact that, under the system whereby an exhibitor has to buy a producer's entire group or be without them, that is. under the block-booking system, the exhibitor often found himself in an embarrassing position, because the public could not understand why he could not show certain meritorious pictures. But this proposal docs not help him at all. Suppose he {Continued on last pane)