Harrison's Reports (1946)

Entered as second-class matter January 4, 1921, at the post office at New York, New York, under the act of March 3, 1879. son's Reports Yearly Subscription Rates: 1270 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS Published "Weekly by United States $15.00 (Formerly Sixth Avenue) Harrison's Reports, Inc., U. S. Insular Possessions. 16.50 M „ . M Publisher Canada 16.50 Ne™ York 20, N. Y. p g HARRISON, Editor Mexico, Cuba, Spain 16.50 A Motion Picture Reviewing Service Great Britain ............ 15.75 Devoted Chiefly to the Interests of the Exhibitors Established July 1. 1919 Australia, New Zealand, J India, Europe, Asia .... 17.50 Jtg Editorial Poiicy. No problem Too Big for Its Editorial circle 7-4622 S5c a Copy Columns, if It is to Benefit the Exhibitor. A REVIEWING SERVICE FREE FROM THE INFLUENCE OF FILM ADVERTISING Vol. XXVIII SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1946 No. 50 BOOKING PICTURES INTELLIGENTLY Have you ever booked a high-priced picture only to find that, on the days you showed it, adverse weather conditions ruined your box-office take? Of course you have! — There is hardly a single exhibitor but has had such an experience. Either it rained heavily, or snowed, or there was a blizzard, or the weather was so warm that people preferred to stay where they were rather than move. Suppose you had some one to warn you in advance of the fact that there would be a storm on those days. Naturally, you would have changed the bookings and would have shown some weak pictures instead, reserving the money-making pictures for days when there would be no danger of weather conditions that would keep patrons away from your theatre. Would that benefit you? Of course it would! Well, there is such a service, and strange to say it is offered to the exhibitors free of charge. It is furnished by Hal Roach, the veteran producer. When I first heard of Mr. Roach's offer I wondered whether there was any "catch" or "gimmick" in it, and in order for me to find out I called on Mr. Roach and asked him to explain his motives. Mr. Roach assured me that his offer is prompted by no motive other than to build good will between the exhibitors and his company. He feels that the cost to him will be worth the good will he will gain. Mr. Roach has arranged for this service to be furnished by the Krick Weather Service, which is headed by Prof. Irving P. Krick. Most of you know who Prof. Krick is. He is the one whose knowledge was put into use by the Allied armies during the war, the man who told General Eisenhower on what day it would be best to land his armies in France. Hence the successful invasion. According to Prof. Krick, long-range weather techniques have been perfected to sufficient scientific exactness to make weather forecasting practical and within 87% accuracy. The benefit an exhibitor will get from asking Mr. Roach to put his name on the list of free subscribers is not alone in being enabled to know when the weather conditions will be unfavorable for booking a top picture, but also in being able to regulate the atmospheric conditions in his theatre. This is accomplished by the Degree-Day Chart, which predicts the number of heating units required to heat theatres as compared to the same month in previous years. Suppose, for example, the weather is fair and the exhibitor regulates his heating equipment in accordance with the prevailing temperature. But suppose that very night the temperature drops by so many degrees that some of his pipes freeze. You may imagine the cost required for repairs. Suppose, on the other hand, the temperature is freezing, but during the night it rises by several degrees and reaches above the freezing point. If the exhibitor had known about it in advance he could have saved considerable fuel. The DegreeChart furnishes this type of information, enabling one to regulate his heating apparatus accordingly. The Krick Weather Service furnishes weather forecasts to farmers, banks, roofers, contractors, airlines, railroads, public utilities and sports enterprises. For years the motion picture studios have been regulating their production schedules and sending out companies on location based on information furnished by Prof. Krick s weather service. I have estimated that if Mr. Roach were to charge a fee to every exhibitor in the country for the service, it would have cost the exhibitors approximately $750,000. It is my opinion that every exhibitor can benefit greatly if he were to ask Mr. Roach to send him the monthly bulletin put out by Krick Weather Service. The information in it will enable him to book pictures on days that would bring him the greatest returns possible. Write to Mr. Roach at the Hal Roach Studios, 8822 Washington Blvd., Culver City, Calif. A DUTY YOU OWE TO THE PUBLIC— AND TO YOURSELF The December 1 issue of This *Wee\ Magazine has an article entitled, "We Can Kill the Common Cold Now!," written by J. D. Ratcliff, who is well known for his books and articles on scientific subjects. Though the article has been written mainly for the education of the general public, owners of motion picture theatres will do well to study it carefully and to apply its suggestions to their theatres to their eventual benefit. "Colds spread from person to person," Mr. Ratcliff says, "via the air we breathe. A sneeze launches 20,000 moisture droplets which evaporate, and leave cold microbes floating in the atmosphere. The point of attack is the air. Clean it up and colds disappear. . . ." After revealing the three different methods by which air may be made germ free, Mr. Ratcliff says: "An important thing to remember is that we won't have to have these elaborate protections in our homes — for the reason that colds don't start in homes. They are always brought in from somewhere else. This has been demonstrated time and again. Spitzbergen, the world's northernmost permanent settlement, has no colds while it is ice-locked in the winter. But an epi(ConUnued on last page)