Harrison's Reports (1949)

24 HARRISON'S REPORTS February 5, 1949 necessary, and a lack of it is a definite handicap. What is needed is a forthright statement from any one of Republics responsible officials regarding the company's intentions to make good on its promises. Otherwise, the company will stand condemned by its silence, and whatever extra profits it may realize by withholding "Wake of the Red Witch" from those to whom it rightfully belongs will be a drop in the bucket compared to the future losses it may suffer as a result of exhibitor resistance to its sales policies. IMPRACTICAL AS WELL AS COSTLY In a recent Caravan bulletin of the Allied Independent Owners of Iowa and Nebraska, Mr. Charles Niles, chairman of the Caravan Committee, reported that he had received from a member a letter suggest' ing that two trailers be made for each picture. This is what Mr. Niles said, under the heading "TAILOR MADE TRAILERS": "An Iowa member suggested that all the film com' panies be urged to make two trailers on pictures that have appeal for both class and action houses. In other words, on a picture that has class music for instance, the trailer for the key runs should show this music, and for the action houses and small towns show scenes that appeal to that type of patronage, comedy angles, etc. It was further suggested that the trailers in many cases are too long." The exhibitor who made that suggestion did not seem to realize what he was suggesting. In producing two trailers for a picture many problems are involved, but three are outstanding: the problem of cost, of deciding how the two trailers should be made, and of distribution. Let us take up the three main problems in the order given : The problem of cost: Two trailers will cost ap' proximately twice as much as one trailer to produce, and the cost of handling them will be almost double. There are only two companies that make their own trailers; the others either prepare the trailers themselves and have them processed and distributed by National Screen Service, or hand all the rights to NSS to produce and distribute them. What would this exhibitor say if NSS, as a result of the extra cost entailed in the production and handling of two trailers, added a percentage of this cost to his bill? And what would the exhibitors who are satisfied with the single trailers now made say if NSS tacked on an extra charge to their bills for trailer service? After all, National Screen Service, like all other merchandisers, must pass the extra cost on to its customers; otherwise it will be compelled to shut up shop. Judging from the complaints that have been aired at several recent conventions, there is widespread dissatisfaction over the cost of trailers. Just imagine, then, the howl that would arise if NSS increased its charges as a result of carrying out the two-trailer idea; yet it would have no alternative. The problem of the shape of the second trailer: For the producers to make two trailers on each picture presents another difficult as well as expensive problem; they will have to increase their trailer-producing personnel because of the endless discussions as to what should be put into the second trailer, and many independent producers who release their pic tures through national distributors may object to what the distributor suggests on the making of the second trailer. At present, the trailers are made to fit the type of theatres for which the picture seems best suited. If it is, for example, a picture that has classical music and seems best suited for the keyruns, the trailer is designed to fit such situations but at the same time con' sideration is given to the fact that the picture will eventually play the subsequent'runs, including action houses, and thus it is made in a way that will interest also the patrons of those theatres. On such pictures, the Iowa exhibitor suggests that two trailers be made, one to play up the music for the key-runs, and the other to play up the action and comedy for the action houses. The problem presented by such an idea is that many exhibitors who are now satisfied with the present trailer arrangement may protest in the event they receive a trailer that plays up the action more than the music, or vice versa. The key-run exhibitors, because of their proximity to the exchange centers, would be in a position to view and select the trailer that best suits their situations, but the smaller exhibitors who are miles away from the exchanges would not be so fortunate, for they seldom know anything about a trailer until it is de' livered to their theatres, and if two trailers are made they will have no chance to see them so as to deter' mine which one they want. The problem of distribution: If two trailers are made for each picture, the shipping department of the trailer service will, of course, have the exhibitor's order as to what type of trailer he desires. Imagine the mixups that may take place in that department: in the rush of shipments, the shipping clerk will have to determine which type of trailer the exhibitor wants, and if the two trailers are approximately of the same length the chances of including the wrong trailer in the shipping box are manifold. One could go on enumerating a thousand and one problems involved in the making of two trailers for a picture, proving that it would be impractical to change the present system; but the one problem cited — that of the extra cost each exhibitor will have to pay, should be enough. A FAIR REQUEST Meeting in Washington last weekend, the board of directors of the Theatre Owners of America passed a resolution urging the producer-distributors to bear half the cost of the All-Industry Film Series, "The Movies and You," designed to sell the motion picture industry to the American public. Although highly enthusiastic about the quality of the short subjects and the good they will do, the board members felt that it was unfair to ask the exhibitors to book them at standard rental terms for single reels, for in that way the exhibitors would bear the entire production costs. The resolution urges that the rentals be cut in half, with the payments to be kept in a revolving fund for the production of future industry shorts. There is no question that the TOA resolution is fair and reasonable. Since the entire industry stands to benefit from the good will gained by these shorts, it is only right that the producer-distributors should bear half the cost.