Harrison's Reports (1950)

Entered as second-class matter January 4, lUiil, 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 _ _ , Publisher Canada 16.50 New York 20, N. Y. P. S. HARRISON, Editor Mexico, Cuba. Spain 16.50 A Motion Picture Reviewing Service Australia! New' ' Zealand,' ""6° Devoted Chiefly to the Interests of the Exhibitors Established July 1, 1919 India, Europe, Asia 17.50 Us Editoria] p0ijcy: n0 problem Too Big for Its Editorial Circle 7-4622 tfoc a i-opy Columns, if It is to Benefit the Exhibitor. A REVIEWING SERVICE FREE FROM THE INFLUENCE OF FILM ADVERTISING Vol. XXXII SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1950 No. 44 THE TOA MID-CENTURY CONVENTION Samuel Pinanski, of Boston, was reelected as president of the Theatre Owners of America at the organization's mid' century convention, held this week at the Shamrock Hotel, in Houston, Texas. Mitchell Wolfson, of Miami, was elected chairman of the board, succeeding Arthur Lockwood, of Boston. The fout-day meeting, probably the largest gathering of theatremen ever held, was highlighted by the "Products Day" sessions on Tuesday, during which the assembled delegates were addressed by top film company executives, ineluding William F. Rodgers, Spyros P. Skouras, Al Lichtman, Andy W. Smith, Jr., Charles Einfeld, Robert Mochrie, David Lipton, Abe Montague, Steve Broidy and Robert L. Lippert. Rodgers, MGM's vice-president in charge of sales, whose speech was along the lines of the one he delivered at the recent National Allied convention in Pittsburgh, reiterated the statements he had made there on the subject of competitive bidding to the effect that his company had not invited the procedure but was following it because it knows of no other method to satisfy competing exhibitors who are seeking the same positions as to product and its availability. He did, however, add the following statements of policy in his talk before the TOA: "Insofar as the law permits, we intend to confine our future competitive bidding activities to theatres that are adequate to exhibit our product on the run desired. "We are going to do our level best to administer this phase of our business intelligently, always bearing in mind that the law governing our business must be respected. "As to divulging to the losing bidder the terms under which a picture was awarded after competitive bidding, we are agreeable hereafter to such a procedure, providing each and every one of the interested parties so indicates his willingness in writing at the time the bid is submitted." By offering to reveal the terms of the successful bid to the losing bidders, Bill Rodgers has taken an important step forward to help remove one of the most vexatious exhibitor objections to competitive bidding as practiced in the motion picture industry. In view of the fact, however, that Rodgers' offer to disclose the terms of the winning bid hinges on "each and every one of the interested parties" agreeing to the disclosures, many competing exhibitors may not obtain the desired information because of the refusal of one of the interested parties, for reasons best known to himself, to have the terms of his bid disclosed. In a further statement of policy, Rodgers castigated exhibitors who "short-change" the distributors on percentage engagements, stating that their cheating "can only result in harm to the reputation of the vast majority of honorable exhibitors." Warning that his company will continue to prosecute offenders, Rodgers said that, hereafter, MGM will no longer solicit business from exhibitors who have been caught falsifying their records to the company. Spyros P. Skouras, president of 20th Century-Fox, devoted the major part of his effective address to ways and means of meeting competition from television, which he termed "our supreme problem today," the "toughest competition we have ever had to meet." In addition to urging the exhibitors to devote themselves to greater showmanship efforts, Skouras told them that he personally believes, despite the misgivings of many of his friends, that the future of the motion picture theatres will be insured if the exhibitors have the courage to embrace theatre television. He envisaged theatre television as offering the exhibitors an opportunity to provide theatre entertainment of a quality never dreamt of before, through the production of special televised shows to be shown on the same program with a motion picture. "In simultaneous programs in hundreds or thousands of theatres," said Mr. Skouras, "you can bring to your audiences programs dwarfing anything we know, because your screens can present great artists of the motion pictures, of the theatre, the concert stage, and of radio. . . . Many times, together with a great motion picture, you can present such great hits as 'South Pacific' and 'Call Me Madam,' as well as operas." Yet, in the face of this opportunity, Skouras stated, "we seem to be incredibly helpless" in that the industry is still without television channels. "Is it possible," he queried, "that we do not demand enough respect from an agency of our Government to protect our business, our investments, and to serve the public best? I believe that we have failed to persuade the FCC to license us with the channels we deserve because we are too inarticulate. Because we have not a common clear understanding of the value of this new medium for our theatres, and because we lack harmony and coordination." Elsewhere in his talk Skouras recommended one or two charity collections a year in theatres for outstanding national charities; urged every one in the industry to avoid criticizing Hollywood and their fellow industryites, stating that "this self destructive criticism has done more to hurt us than all outside criticism"; and suggested a schedule of outstanding film festivals in ten or twelve important cities annually as a means of creating public interest in our business. Referring to the avalanche of lawsuits that are being brought by exhibitors against the distributors, Skouras said : "It has come to pass that we are virtually damned if we do and damned if we don't. Obviously, we can't satisfy conflicting demands from exhibitors whom we believe are in competition for identical runs. If we use our best judgment and do what we think is right, we often get a lawsuit for trying." "These suits have become so numerous and the amounts involved so vast," he added, "that if something constructive is not done by each branch of the industry, working in cooperation with each other branch, to solve this problem, there is not going to be anything left for any of us." Mr. Skouras made it clear that, in his opinion, competitive bid* ding is not a constructive policy. In his closing remarks, Mr. Skouras urged the industry to unite to build up the interests of every producing company, distributor and exhibitor, so that all will prosper and succeed. "We must fight together," he declared. "None of us can survive if the industry does not survive." Limited space does not permit more than a brief summary of the interesting talks made by the other speakers. Al Lichtman, 20th Century-Fox vice-president, reviewed the rise of the motion picture to the greatest entertainment medium in the world but warned that the unequal competition of television, because it is free and convenient to the public, challenges the very existence of the industry. He voiced alarm that home television may reduce the industry to "only a business of hits," in which case, he said, we may become the "picuayne business that the legitimate show business has been reduced to." He urged the exhibitors to realize the danger and expressed confidence that, through united efforts, the industry can overcome its problems and rise to even greater heights. Andy W. Smith Jr., 20th Century-Fox vice-president in (Continued on bac\ page)