Harrison's Reports (1950)

IN TWO SECTIONS— SECTION ONE Entered as second-class matter January 4, 19ZI, at the post office at New York, New York, under the act of March 3, 1879. Harrison's Report 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 L. on M v Publisher Canada 16.50 Wew York w* Y 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 Itg Editorial p0iicy: 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. XXXII SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1950 No. 46 IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON SERVICE CONTRACTS Most all of the organization bulletins issued in recent weeks by the different Allied regional units warn the exhibitors that current service contracts being offered by the RCA Service Company and by the Altec Service Corporation have a new automatic renewal clause. The bulletins cite the case of one exhibitor who, having learned of a new service company in his territory and desiring to make a change, notified his present service company of his intentions to cancel their service only to learn that the contract he had signed for one year had automatically renewed itself, thereby precluding his ability to make a change that would have been to his advantage. Ray Feeley, business manager of the Independent Exhibitors, the Allied unit in New England, who brought this condition to the attention of the exhibitors, reminds them of the automatic renewal clauses that used to be hidden in the newsreel contracts but have since been removed. He recommends that the exhibitors, before signing a service contract, demand that the automatic renewal clause be stricken out so that they will be in a position to make a change if and when they so desire. Incidentally, Feeley, commenting on the effect of a new sound service company operating in New England, conveyed the following important information in a recent letter to Charles Niles, exhibitor leader of the Iowa-Nebraska Allied unit: "I should like at this time to point out to the leaders of the various Allied units that with the inception of the third sound service company, namely, Image and Sound Service, Inc., RCA and Altec are willing to give the exhibitor reductions on his present and current contract now in force to help the business, but only if they are forced into the situation. "This is surprising in view of pay raises being granted in other fields of engineering endeavors, and we in New England feel that it is definitely a result of this third company being in the field. "I write this letter with the knowledge that this sound service will, in the near future, come into your territory and suggest that in the event of proposed raises in rates by either one of the two now currently operating service companies in your territory that you use this knowledge to combat the proposed increases. We have found in New England, as I have above stated, that either RCA or Altec will reduce to the extent of 25 per cent of a now valid contract and I am sure that had we not had the experience of the new company coming into the field, increases would have been in order. "As you know, Allied has always fought for and sponsored clean competition in our business and I am sure that a third service company in our business can do nothing but bring about more competition and better rates for the individual exhibitor who has been heretofore hog-tied with the situation of having only two companies to deal with on sound service. "... I again wish to impress you with the fact that this is not an idle threat and in the near future your territory will be served by a new sound service company." Based on what Ray Feeley has to say, the exhibitor will do well to check his present service contract to see if it has an automatic renewal clause and to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent that clause from taking effect so that he will be in a position to take advantage of a new service offering better terms if and when it is established in his territory. EXPLOITING FEATURE PICTURES IN NEWSREELS CONDEMNED At a recent meeting, the board of directors of the Allied Independent Theatre Owners of Kansas and Missouri unanimously passed a resolution condemning the practice of certain unnamed film companies of inserting in their newsreels scenes of premiere showings of their feature pictures to the extent that such scenes are tantamount to coming attraction trailers. The resolution states that exhibitors, in purchasing newsreels, are entitled to current news scenes and not exploitation matter for a company's product, and that such exploitation scenes serve to create a demand for the exhibition of a particular picture, which the exhibitor either cannot purchase or has not been given an opportunity to purchase. The resolution "respectfully requests" all the film companies releasing newsreels to discontinue the practice. The stand taken by Kansas-Missouri Allied is fully justified, for the practice is unmoral on at least three grounds: It uses the exhibitor's property — his screen — without his consent to exploit a company's product; it places the exhibitor in the position of helping to exploit pictures that he may not be able to buy and that may be shown by a competitor; and, if the exhibitor is in a position to buy the picture, it creates a demand for its exhibition, hurting the exhibitor's bargaining position at the time he tries to make a deal. Whether or not the film companies will heed the request made by this exhibitor organization remains to be seen. In any case, the exhibitor who resents the practice can always use his scissors.