Harrison's Reports (1949)

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 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 v , M v Publisher Canada 16.50 Wew Iork £V> n' T« P. S. HARRISON, Editor Mexico, Cuba, Spain 16.50 A Motion Picture Reviewing Service Great Britain 17.50 Devoted Chiefly to the Interests of the Exhibitors Established July 1, 1919 Australia, New Zealand, India, Europe, Asia .... 17.50 I(.g EditoriaI Poiicy: No Problem Too Big for Its Editorial Circle 7-4622 35c a Copy Columns, if It is to Benefit the Exhibitor. A REVIEWING SERVICE FREE FROM THE INFLUENCE OF FILM ADVERTISING Vol. XXXI SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 1949 No. 17 PREMIERE OF "TULSA"— A FINE JOB OF PUBLIC RELATIONS The fanfare and pageantry that usually accom' panies the world premiere of a motion picture is, as a general rule, a cut-and-dried program of events in which the stars, preceding the opening, appear at some minor public functions, are heard on several radio broadcasts, and finally are seen arriving at the theatre in a blaze of glory, amid blaring band music and blinding flood lights. All this receives some publicity in the local press and usually attracts a fair-sized crowd to the theatre on the opening night. Throughout the years I have seen many of these world premieres and some of them have been outstanding, but I cannot recall any one that can be compared with the magnificent job done by the EagleLion publicity staff, under the direction of Max E. Youngstein, in connection with the world premiere of Walter Wanger's "Tulsa," held last week in the city of the same name, in Oklahoma. The enthusiasm with which the people of Tulsa heralded the event was remarkable. To begin with, Governor Roy J. Turner, of Oklahoma, proclaimed April 1 3 as "Tulsa Day," and called upon all citizens of the State who could possibly do so to be in Tulsa on that day to take part in the different civic functions, including a gigantic parade. And the Governor meant it, for he himself left his arduous duties in Oklahoma City, where the State Legislature was in session, to join the festivities. The school authorities declared a holiday for the children, and nearly every business firm in Tulsa and the surrounding towns either gave their employees a holiday or time off so as to see the parade. Limited space does not permit a recapitulation of the numerous events, but mention should be made of the giant parade staged by the civic authorities in collaboration with the petroleum industry. More than 125,000 Oklahomans packed the city's streets to watch the parade, which was more than five miles long and took at least four hours to pass the reviewing stand. While Army and Navy planes roared overhead and twenty-two bands blared forth with their music, the crowds were thrilled by the greatest display of mobile oil drilling equipment — more than $10,000,000 worth — ever assembled in one procession. Sandwiched in between the different floats were the bands, followed by the massed colors and guards of many military and civic organizations and, of course, the stars, the Governor, and other dignitaries. Following the parade, a square dance was held on the main street of the city in which everyone took part. Aside from the fact that the "Tulsa Day" celebration was bigger than anything ever heretofore done in connection with a world premiere, and will, no doubt, pay off in greater grosses for exhibitors who book the picture, the notable thing about the premiere is that it was handled in a way that brought great credit, not only to Eagle-Lion, but also to the motion picture industry as a whole. At a time when the motion picture industry is being maligned in many quarters, the active participation of the Governor, of city officials, and of leaders of the powerful petroleum industry in behalf of a motion picture cannot help bringing to the motion picture business much needed good will. And that good will was reflected in the genuineness of the warm reception accorded to the visiting movie people by the Oklahomans. During the celebration, which lasted from Monday to Thursday, the city of Tulsa figuratively turned itself upside down for the picture "Tulsa." And what is even more important, particularly in these days when many pictures are ballyhooed for more than they are worth as entertainment, is the fact that those who saw the picture were thrilled by it, for it is an exciting, colorful story of the rise of the oil industry and the growth of the city of Tulsa as the Oil Capital of the World. Max Youngstein and his alert publicity staff deserve great credit for having done an outstanding job — one that has brought honor to the motion picture industry. THE RIGHT ANSWER The editorial entitled, "The Facts Behind the Facts," which appeared in the March 26 issue of this paper, has brought forth the following comment in the April 12 organizational bulletin of the Associated Theatre Owners of Indiana, an Allied unit: "TWO ANSWERS FROM ONE SET OF FIGURES "In our bulletin of March 18 we did a little analyzing of the Paramount proxy statement to show that the circuit was paying approximately 19% feature film rental. In Motion Picture Herald of March 19, Red Kann used some figures from the RKO report to indicate that their theatres were paying 32.59% for film rental. "In spite of Mr. Kami's statement that 'many qualified observers, sufficiently disinterested to be accepted as reasonably impartial' agreed that the circuits were paying their proportionate share of film rentals we just couldn't come around in agreement until we had a chance to do a little double checking on these figures. But before we found an opportunity to do so Pete (Continued on bad{ page)