Harrison's Reports (1946)

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A REVIEWING SERVICE FREE FROM THE INFLUENCE~OF FILM ADVERTISING Vol. XXVIII SATURDAY, APRIL 6, 1946 No. 14 THE NEW EXHIBITOR ASSOCIATION Meeting in St. Louis on Monday and Tuesday of this week, the proponents of the Theatre Activities Committee formally organized their new exhibitor organization under the name of the American Theatres Association. Elected as temporary officers for an indefinite period, pending regular elections at some future date, were the following : Ted R. Gamble, Portland, Ore., chairman of the board of directors; Si Fabian, New York City, president; Charles P. Skouras, Los Angeles, first vice-president; William Skirball, Cleveland, second vice-president; Sam Pinanski, Boston, treasurer; and William Crockett, Virginia, secretary. Elected also were fifteen regional vice-presidents. Under the approved constitution and by-laws, the board of directors will be composed of one director from each state having a population of less than one million, two from states having between one and two million population, and three from states having more than three million. In states having three directors not more than one shall be in some way associated with an affiliated circuit. The constitution requires that the president shall appoint, if necessary, suffi' cient directors at large so that the majority of the board shall at all times consist of independent exhibitors. Membership is open to all persons, firms, or corporations, including associations to which they belong, regularly exhibiting 35mm. films on a commercial basis. A $100,000 budget was approved for the first year of operation, with assessments to be made in accordance with established distributor percentage figures for each exchange area. The exhibitors in each area will decide for themselves the method by which the money will be raised. Dues are to be determined by the board of directors. Stating that the primary purpose of the association is to establish the theatres of the country as a national institution of dignity, influence and responsibility, Si Fabian, in his keynote address, placed the specific objectives within a framework of two categories — public relations and industry welfare. In the matter of public relations, he described this category as having two aspects, internal and external. Internally, he stated that the exhibitors cannot adequately present the true values of the theatres as a public institution "unless they are made conscious of the instrumentality for public good they hold in their hands and are militantly proud of their association with it and humbly aware of their great responsibility." He added that this phase of the program included consideration of a self-imposed code of ethics for theatres in their relations with the public, standards of safety, of sanitation, and of comfort; awards to industry members for outstanding achievement within the industry; plaques of recognition for compliance with the standards decided upon; an educational program to improve the knowledge of new members (and old) concerning good business methods, pitfalls, good and dangerous practices, and in a broader sense engender within the industry keener appreciation of the theatre, its products, its traditions and the great force it must be in the world community of the future; a social program to develop among the industry a sense of oneness, sympathy and fraternity; and a program for passing on the appropriateness and wisdom of public interest in screen subjects. Fabian suggested that the external phase of the public relations program should include participation in public charity projects, which would include determination of industry leadership, methods, goals, motivation, publicity, and general control; Government cooperation and the use of screens for Government subjects; use of theatres and facilities for public cooperation; public endorsement of in' dustry opposition to public matters not selfishly related to the industry but of such character as to recommend the industry's interest and strength in their determination, such as full employment, public health, housing, and other public matters in which leaders of other industries have been heard but concerning which the industry has been silent; donations to charity by the industry; establishment of scholarships by the industry; awards to citizens for outstanding contributions to peace, science and the arts; institutional advertising; institutional radio programs; awards to writers for outstand' ing stories; and awards to producers for outstanding productions. In the matter of industry welfare, Fabian said that it would be within the province of the association to "study and assert the advocacy in legislative, governmental and other matters affecting the industry and its operations," and he outlined these as including taxes, building codes, licensing, censorship, interstate commerce, public health and discriminatory legislation. Apparently motivated by the criticisms that have been hurled at the formation of this new association, Fabian gave a number of assurances for the record. He said that there is no intention or desire to deprive individual exhibitors of their independent right to operate their businesses in their own best interests without interference or coercion; to dominate intra-industry matters, clearance, distributofcxhibitor relations, or other internal trade practices; or to permit producer affiliated theatres to dominate or dictate policy or action. He added that it was not the intention of the association to be in disparagement of or in conflict with efficient national, state and city exhibitor organizations now functioning. Among the resolutions adopted was one limiting audience collections to one in any calendar year, with the proceeds to be divided among as many charitable organizations as are approved by a seven-man committee, comprised of not more than three affiliated exhibitors and not less than four independent exhibitors. This resolution is in keeping with the suggestion made recently by National Allied, which urged a single industry collection for all causes. A cursory view of the action taken in St. Louis leaves one with the impression that the stated objectives of the ATA are admirable, and that, under its constitution and by-laws, independent exhibitors, by reason of the majority status offered them on the board of directors as well as on the different committees, should have a strong voice in the decisions that will be made. But when one scrutinizes what has taken place one gets a feeling that molasses is being spread to catch some flies. As a matter of fact, one might well ponder the reasons why this new association, which is overwhelmingly comprised of theatremen who are either directly or indirectly connected with the affiliated interests, and who are footing the bills, has set itself up on a basis that seemingly permits domination by independent exhibitor members, of whom, at thi.> tune, there are probably not enough to fill the places on the hoard and the different committees. Such a set-up smacks of the unnatural. 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