Harrison's Reports (1949)

Entered as second-cla.ss matter January 4, 1021, 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 I, »n M V Publisher Canada 16.50 Wew Iork zu> w* *• 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 Ug Editorjal p0ijcy: 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, JUNE 25, 1949 No. 26 A DEMORALIZING ATTITUDE "Over-emphasis on the limited falling off of attendance has created a false fear that is rapidly becoming a real fear," states Chick Lewis, editor and publisher of Showmen's Trade Review in his June 18 issue. "We've talked with theatremen in many parts of the country whose business has not been adversely affected but who, nevertheless, are getting real scared because of what they hear and read about how bad business is supposed to be elsewhere. "You cannot build confidence on false fears. It takes courage and real guts to keep hammering away to hold at' tendance at average levels and to attract new and more customers to theatres. . . . "The lack of confidence in current product of several companies stems directly from those companies' own attitudes toward advertising and promotion. They are letting many good pictures go into release without benefit of the push that is necessary so that the same measure of confidence and faith in our industry and our pictures can be channeled to the theatreman and through him to his entire community." Chick Lewis is right! Pick up any tradepaper nowadays and you will find very few advertisements in. it. Out of a policy of retrenchment, which has gone, in the opinion of this paper, too far, most of the distributors have cut down their trade paper advertising to a minimum, and in some cases they have eliminated such advertising altogether. When an exhibitor picks up his favorite trade paper and finds very little advertising in it, he naturally figures out that business must be bad and that the distributors have cut down their advertising for reasons of ecnomy. As a result of the distributors' lack of enthusiasm for their own product, the exhibitor loses courage and does not put his heart into the advertising and exploitation of the pictures he books. It is poor economy, indeed, when the distributors assume an attitude that is so demoralizing. By reducing their advertising to a trickle they not only harm themselves but they also break down the exhibitors' morale. What the exhibitors need is a tonic to encourage them to exert their best efforts in advertising and exploiting pictures. The distributors, by loosening up their purse strings and going in for more extensive trade paper advertising, can furnish that tonic. A SENSIBLE SUGGESTION FROM GEORGE DEMBOW Speaking at the recent Boston convention of the Independent Exhibitors of New England, George Dembow, vicepresident in charge of sales of National Screen Service, suggested that the exhibitors organize fan clubs as a means of establishing better relations between the theatres and the public. He offered to furnish gratis National Screen Service material for the purpose. Dcmbow's suggestion was supported by the Allied leaders, and one of them, Irving Dollingcr, of New Jersey Allied, suggested that the plan be put into a press book and sent to all theatre owners. In preparing the press hook for the use of the exhibitors at large, Mr. Dembow might work into his plan an angle whereby the younger generation from among the members of the clubs could be organized to assist the exhibitors in stamping out juvenile delinquency, and thus put an end to the destruction of theatre property. Prizes might be offered in the form of either annual or semi-annual passes to those who had been instrumental in stopping the slashing of seats or the scratching of walls, and in general preventing other mischievous acts of damage. The exhibitors should be grateful to Mr. Dembow for proposing and offering to cooperate on a plan that will eventually result in much good, not only for the theatres, but for the industry in general. ZANUCK HAILS ESSANESS AD AS CONSTRUCTIVE Referring to the editorial, "An Ad To Encourage Producers," which was published in the June 11 issue of Harrison's Reports, and in which was reproduced an advertisement taken in the Hollywood trade papers by the Essaness Theatres Corporation, of which Edwin Silverman, of Chicago, is president, Darryl F. Zanuck, Twentieth Century-Fox production head, has sent me the following letter under date of June 15 : "Dear Pete: "It is a pleasure to congratulate you for reproducing Eddie Silverman's advertisement and letter in your paper. I too have written Eddie Silverman. "This is one of the first and few constructive signs I have seen recently from exhibitors. Here we have indeed a very courageous exhibitor. He tells us not to worry about 'casts' if we have a worth while story upon which we have made a worth while film. "What a contrast this is to my usual mail from exhibitors. They continue to whine about 'boxoffice names.' What the hell is a boxoffice name? Clifton Webb is today probably the biggest boxoffice attraction in the world in his character role of Mr. Belvedere. It is the same Clifton Webb of preBelvedere days. He is a magnificent artist but it was the story and ingredients of SITTING PRETTY that skyrocketed him to fame. "I get so sick and tired of hearing the eternal question 'who's in it?' A good star never hurt a good story providing they are properly cast and fit the role but I have never yet known a big star to make a rotten story into a hit attraction, yet most exhibitors cannot get this through their heads. "Nobody will deny that Betty Grable is a great boxoffice attraction but even Betty Grable is not a great boxoffice attraction unless she has a fine picture backing her up. The same is true of Clark Gable and is even true of Bing Crosby. "I frankly believe in the past I have hurt some of our pictures or at least harmed them by sincerely endeavoring to cater to the constant requests from exhibitors for 'names.' It is my belief that audiences today are far more interested in the subject matter and the actual 'quality' of a film than they are in anything else. Wc will always have a very limited number of 'drawing attractions' who arc associated with some specific type of entertainment, but if our industry is to advance and go ahead as an industry wc have (Continued on bac\ page)