Harrison's Reports (1950)

40 HARRISON'S REPORTS March 11, 1950 pay fifty per cent of the cost of inserting these ads in the exhibitor's local newspaper. The ads, entitled "Your Pleasure is Mine" and "I'm the Proudest Man in Town," are designed as a personal message from the exhibitor to his community. Copies of these ads are published in the Guide. Copies of the Showman's Guide to Better Business are available from your 20th Century-Fox representative. It contains a wealth of information that no exhibitor can af' ford to be without. On Thursday, too late for inclusion in this report, the meeting was to be devoted to an open forum discussion of showmanship based on the plan of action proposed by Twentieth Century-Fox, with Mitchell Wolfson, of Wometco Theatres, as moderator. A report of this open forum will be made in the next issue. Limited space does not permit comment on the fine talks made at the opening session by Al Lichtman, Andy Smith, Jr., Charles Einfeld and other Fox executives, as well as by Eric Johnston, MPA president, Bosley Crowther, motion picture critic of the N.eiu Tor\ Times, Sam Pinanski, head of TOA, and Trueman Rembusch, National Allied president. Suffice it to say that all lauded Spyros P. Skouras and his aides for taking the leadership in doing something positive, at great expense to their company, to combat the box-office slump, a view that was enthusiastically shared by all the exhibitors in attendance. A highlight of the meeting was the welcoming address of Mr. Skouras. Constructive and to the point, the speech made a deep impression on his listeners, and it should be read by every exhibitor for a better understanding of why he must exert greater showmanship efforts to restore our prestige and regain our former patronage. Mr. Skouras' speech follows : "I want to welcome all of you, from the bottom of my heart, and I am indeed very grateful that you have accepted our invitation to participate in this heart to heart talk. This meeting is in accordance with the democratic traditions that has characterized the American private enterprise system. "Today, this free competitive system of our country stands out as a beacon to a world whose freedom has been greatly impaired by the ravages of war and the threat of communism. All enterprise and all economies have been dislocated with fantastically rising costs. "I do not want to talk to you about politics, but these global changes, affecting the freedom of man, have a bearing upon this session. The reason this meeting has been created is because, as freemen of the greatest democratic nation of the world, we are affected just like other large industries in America which have been discussing the future success of their enterprises and have been retooling in order that our competitive system may thrive. "We are here to do what we can to help readjust our own industry to the changing modern world. "We have been fortunate in the exhibition field of motion picture entertainment because long ago we built up a strong and enviable edifice which has withstood many of the adverse economic developments of the times. As exhibitors, our showmanship helped to erect this mighty structure which we were inclined to think was a Gibraltar against any adverse conditions. "But during the war years, the attendance in our theatres was raised to abnormal levels because the public had no other form of entertainment so easily at hand. Pockets were bulging and people wanted relaxation from the strains of war; so our theatres were filled and our boxoffices were besieged. Those methods of showmanship, and those techniques which the exhibitors of the nation used to build up this great industry were put aside during these lush years. It was felt that no effort was needed to bring patrons into the theatres. "Now the boxoffice has returned to normalcy, and we all know that normalcy is not sufficient in view of the high costs of this dislocation I have mentioned which have made people more conscious of the purchasing power of their dollar, and especially of their entertainment dollar. "Our business is also faced with a competition by other forms of recreation, and we again must be on our toes. "This meeting is dedicated to the sole purpose of helping to inspire the theatremen of America to show the way to industrial prosperity in general, and motion picture prosperity in particular, by again creating methods and systems of showmanship. "Our imagination must be brought into play in order to set examples for the rest of the nation in the crisis that is facing all industries, including our own. "While the effects of this crisis has not yet been felt in the exhibiting branch, as much as in the other branches of motion picture entertainment, I feel, and have long felt, that it was my great obligation and duty to my former associates, the exhibitors, who have contributed so much to our industry, to face with them squarely a new challenge with a dynamic showmanship. "As men who have generated a vogue that has spread around the world by building great palaces for the amusement of the millions — monuments to showmanship — you demonstrate by your presence here that you recognize the momentous purposes of this rally. "I appeal to you today — to you exhibitors who have changed the ways of life, styles and habits of populations throughout the world, to begin here and now to create a renaissance of the showmanship spirit that has produced such miracles in the past. "You are the men who can do it. You represent a great tradition. By creating plans and ideas to capture the modern mood of entertainment-seekers, you can increase the patronage of your theatres and guarantee that our proud industry will flourish and continue to serve our communities and nation. "As hosts of this meeting, 20th Century-Fox has prepared suggestions and ideas which we are going to submit to you. We are going to ask you to propose your own, and we hope that our joint effort will represent an achievement of everlasting benefit to show business. "Showmanship, and showmanship alone, is the keynote of these proceedings. We are meeting here in the interests of every one of you, and our whole industry — not for 20th Century-Fox alone. "You are asked to participate as individuals, regardless of your particular affiliations or your geographical locations. Our prime and overwhelming purpose is to help create the habit of movie-going among a vastly larger segment of the American people. "Never was there a higher challenge to any group of men in all the annals of American business. We are asking you to sit down with us to a job of hard work, because you are the men who have made showmanship a by-word all over the world. You are the pioneers who have invented the art of exploitation, making the motion picture theatre a warm and inviting institution in every community. You are the pioneers who started out with the nickleodeon and with your vision developed methods which enabled your neighbors to learn to love and patronize motion pictures on a scale beyond any entertainment medium in all history. "You are the men who did not stop until your showmanship created audiences spanning the face of the earth; until a theatre stood at every cross-roads; until governments and whole peoples looked to the motion picture industry as an auxiliary to the peace and well being of humanity. "You are the men who have seen industry after industry, year after year, borrow and adapt to their own purposes the very techniques you devised as a means of exploiting their products. You are the men who have been attacked for using so-called methods of ballyhoo, but you also have had the satisfaction of seeing showmanship extend far beyond the confines of show business and earn the respect of all business men. "By your efforts, the American motion picture industry today represents a capital investment of two billion, six hundred and four million dollars. You are the men who have mortgaged your families and yourselves; you are the men who endorsed the bonds and sweated out the mortgages; you are the men who truly made the motion picture one of the largest industries of the world and one of the necessities of life. "For this great contribution we have called this meeting today simply to muster all the strength of our hearts and minds to preserve this magnificent institution your labors and talents have created. "As a theatreman, I take immense pride in standing before you to offer you the cooperation of 20th Century-Fox and to ask for your own toward the re-creation of the strong and irresistible showmanship that has made us great. "I am filled with emotion, because I feel, as you do, the magnificent opportunity that beckons to us here today. This opportunity calls for the highest courage and boldest imagination; it calls for hard work. "In the name of all those whose welfare depends on us, let us resolve to put every iota of strength and intelligence into this common cause."