Harrison's Reports (1939)

Entered as second-class matter January 4, 1921, at the post office at New York, New Tork, under the act of March 3, 1879. Harrison's Reports Yearly Subscription Rates: 1270 SIXTH AVENUE Published Weekly by United States $15.00 p 1 Q1 0 Harrison's Reports, Inc., U. S. Insular Possessions. 16.50 ROOItl lOl^ 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 Australia, New Zealand,' Devoted Chiefly to the Interests of the Exhibitors Established July 1, 1919 India, Europe, Asia 17.50 n Pnnv Its Editorial Policy: No Problem Too Big for Its Editorial Circle 7-4622 PJ Columns, if It is to Benefit the Exhibitor. A REVIEWING SERVICE FREE FROM THE INFLUENCE OF FILM ADVERTISING Vol. XXI SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 1939 No. 2 AN OPEN LETTER TO THE ALLIED STATES BOARD OF DIRECTORS Gentlemen : You are about to convene in Washington to discuss the memorandum that has been submitted to your negotiating committee by the producers as a basis for settling the exhibitor-producer disputes that have kept the industry in a turmoil. Your responsibility is, indeed, heavy, particularly because your action may affect, (a) the Government suit, (b) the Neely Bill, and (c) the North Dakota Theatre Divorce Measure case. An analysis of the producer memorandum in the December 24 and 31, and in the January 7 issues of this paper lias disclosed that what has been offered to the exhibitors is so little that, in the opinion of many exhibitors, it is not worth even discussing. Some of the offers have been so framed as to make the memorandum seem to be a Magna Carta for the producers rather than a list of concessions for the exhibitors. For instance, Proposal No. 13 requires you to accept the principle that, regardless of what understanding you may reach with the producers, their right to build or acquire theatres shall in no way be either abridged or curtailed. This would, indeed, have a serious consequence were you to accept it on behalf of the exhibitors. It is hardly necessary for me to call your attention to how little is offered by the other proposals ; all that I wish to say is this : you have battled for more than ten years and you have finally arrived at a point where relief is in sight. The Federal Government has brought against the producers a suit intended to effect a divorcement of exhibition from production-distribution. The passage of the Neely Bill through the Senate, and the favorable sentiment of a majority of the members of the House of Representatives toward this measure, is proof that block booking can be eliminated by legislation. And the enactment of the North Dakota Theatre Divorce Law is an indication that, should the U. S. Supreme Court uphold this law, theatre divorcement can be brought about not only by Federal action, but also by state legislation. Consequently, unless the producers come forward, not with half-measures, but with real concessions, it will be your duty to reject them, letting matters take their natural course. Methods of doing business are undergoing great changes ; it is no longer a case of "proprietary rights," but one of "human rights." This is the slogan of the United States Government, and it must become the slogan of the motion picture industry. Very sincerely yours, P. S. Harrison. THREE CHEERS FOR MARTIN QUIGLEY Under the heading, "What the Industry Faces in 1939," Mr. Martin Quigley, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Motion Picture Herald, published in the December 17 issue of that paper of his an editorial which is so constructive that Harrison's Reports has felt obliged to call it to the attention of the readers of this publication, for it believes that the case of the exhibitor could not have been defended more effectively. Lack of space necessitates the reproduction of only the salient parts of that editorial. "Little doubt remains," says Mr. Quigley, "that the American picture industry will face a variety of thorough going changes during the coming year. Out of the changes that are in prospect there is hope of a better business. This is fortunately so because the recent trend has been almost evenly in the wrong direction. "Looming large on the horizon is the government suit, the outcome of which, despite the perverse or studied indifference of many in the industry, is almost certain to have a profound effect on the business and its future operation. There is naturally a devotion to the status quo on the part of its beneficiaries even though there must be few who are prepared to admit satisfaction over the present condition in industry affairs. It perhaps cannot be demonstrated in advance that extensive alteration in industry procedure will increase the general prosperity. But if the year 1938 may be taken as the fruition of existing policies, something in the way of experimentation for the future seems in order. "The product situation and the accompanying question of costs admits of almost innumerable explanations, but one that inevitably bids for attention is the iron-ring status, that condition under which new people and new ideas are not necessarily excluded. But their admission depends not upon what they may show in a competitive test, but, rather, upon their good fortune and right connections useful in penetrating the wall which has been created to keep the insiders in and the outsiders out. . . . "When the public stays away it is because of a particular poor picture which is presented currently. . . . Release date requirements, inability of the theatre to book a better attraction, a picture contracted for sight unseen—all these and others may serve to explain how the poor picture got into the theatre. But they afford little satisfaction to the public which after paying the admission price has not been entertained. . . . "There is, naturally enough, much speculation on the economic results of the condition of bureaucratic operation which has come to characterize various activities of the business. Distributors, in some instances, by virtue of their power to dictate time and conditions of exhibition undertake, in effect, to run theatres, frequently against the experienced judgment of the actual operators. If these many intricate and involved arrangements proved to be materially advantageous to the distributor, there would be that much, at least, to be said in their favor. But it becomes frequently the case that, while an advantage to the distributor is sought, none actually is gained. And the exhibitor, curbed and handicapped in taking the line his judgment dictates, finds his chance of sustaining profitable operation diminished week by week. This and similar conditions are not matters which half-way measures are likely to correct. A new concept as to what constitutes healthy and constructive trade practices is needed. "The disappearance of the old order of spirited merchandising of the motion picture to the public is well exemplified in certain of the large theatre circuits where the procedure has become as humdrum and routine as that of a railroad office. Here may be seen applied in its full bloom the adage — so beloved by banker and bookkeeper — that a dollar saved is a dollar earned. Advertising budgets have been pruned to the vanishing point, the process meanwhile pleasing highly its sponsors who are so rapturously immersed in expense curtailment tabulations that they fail to comprehend the import of the figures which trace the descending line in attendance. "The motion picture as a public attraction has lost many of its early, unique advantages. Radio is not an ally. It is a competitor of formidable proportions. What was once the magic of the motion picture has come to be commonplace.... {Continued on last page)