Harrison's Reports (1958)

Entered as second-class matter January 4, 1921, at the post office at New York, Nerw York, under the act of March 3, 1879. Harrison's Reports Yearly Subscription Rates: 1270 SIXTH AVENUE Published Weekly by _ _ ,,..„ Harrison's Reports, Inc., United States $15.00 New York 20, N. Y. Publisher U. S. Insular Possessions. 16.50 „ „. 1BP.n . ,_ ., _. . _ _, , _ . P. S. HARRISON, Editor Canada 16.50 A Motion Picture Reviewing Service j. ptcouLT Mexico, Cuba, Spain 16.50 Devoted Chiefly to the Interests of the Exhibitors Managing Editor Great Britain 17.50 Australia, New Zealand, Established July 1, 1919 India, Europe, Asia 17.50 its Editorial Policy: No Problem Too Big for Its Editorial 35c a Copy Columns, if It is to Benefit the Exhibitor. Circle 7-4622 A REVIEWING SERVICE FREE FROM THE INFLUENCE OF FILM ADVERTISING Vol. XL SATURDAY JULY 19, 1958 No. 29 NATIONAL ALLIED'S "WHITE PAPER" In a move to arouse public opinion against intolerable conditions that are forcing the smaller independent theatre owners out of business, the Emergency Defense Committee of Allied States Association of Motion Picture Exhibitors has compiled a potent 45-page pamphlet, a sort of "white paper," which charges that the principal blame for these conditions rests upon the major film companies whose grasping marketing policies and practices are violative of injunctions issued by the Courts under the antitrust laws, and upon the present U. S. Attorney General for failing to uphold and enforce these injunctions. Entitled "What the Motion Picture Theatres Mean to You and What You Can Do to Save Them," the blistering pamphlet contains a foreword that points out that it was published in the belief that it "will remind many Americans — merchants, property owners and members of commercial, civic and welfare organisations — of the importance to themselves and their communities of keeping the theatres open." "It is hoped," concludes the foreword, "that all readers who believe that 'equal justice under law' means something and is not a mere inscription on a public building in Washington, will do all they can to induce the Attorney General to perform his duty to uphold the integrity and validity of orders of the Courts. Throughout this publication Attorney General, Department of Justice and Antitrust Division are used interchangeably. The Attorney General, however, is the responsible official — the chief law officer of the Govern' ment — and if the decrees are to be upheld and enforced, he must act." Lucidly written and documented in language that readily can be understood by laymen, the opening section of the pamphlet describes the importance of the theatres to the community in that they not only afford relaxation and enjoyment to those who are dependent on them for motion picture entertainment, but also contribute importantly to the prosperity and stability of other business enterprises in the community. After pointing out that people in a community often fail to realize what their theatre means to them until it closes, and after outlining the "pall" that descends on an area when the theatre closes, the pamphlet observes that "the cause of the independent theatre owners is the common cause of all small business men." Moreover, it points out that, despite indications to the contrary, "the American people still are anxious to see first-class moving pictures while the pictures are still of current interest, and provided that admission prices are within their means." It further declares that "denying them the right to see pictures under such conditions is a serious deprivation that ought not to be tolerated under the law." The booklet then goes on to state that, though television has had a serious effect on theatre attendance, it is not the sole cause of the independent theatres' present distress and it cites the other principal reasons, as follows: "A. The film companies no longer deliver their 'A' pictures to theatres on general release, in the sequence of their runs, with only reasonable waiting periods or 'clearance' between runs. "B. Instead they are making such pictures available in the first instance to a limited number of favored theatres in certain large cities (to the exclusion of other cities which normally play pictures on national release) for extended runs at increased admission prices, such runs being termed 'special engagements' or 'roadshows.' During the continuance of such runs the pictures are not made available, often not even offered, to other exhibitors in the same city or in other cities not so favored. "C. At the conclusion of these roadshows the large cities frequently are arbitrarily divided into zones for distribution purposes, often without regard to the competitive position of the theatres located therein. Certain of the theatres are invited to bid for pictures on forms which require engagements longer than usual and at admission prices higher than those customarily charged, to which an exhibitor must involuntarily accede in order to secure the pictures. By the time the pictures have finished playing the first wave of zoned theatres, they have been bled white insofar as less fortunate competing theatres are concerned. "D. Other theatres in the meantime must piece out their playing time with inferior pictures and reissues to the disgust of their regular patrons and damage to their prestige and standing. Their patrons are compelled either to travel to the nearest big city (sometimes 50 miles or more) in order to see such fine films as 'The Ten Commandments,' 'Bridge on the River Kwai,' 'Around the World in 80 Days,' 'Gigi,' 'Old Man of the Sea,' 'South Pacific' and 'Windjammer,' or else abandon hope of seeing them in the foreseeable future and turn to other available forms of entertainment. "E. When and if a film company with a top picture ('blockbuster' is the word in current use) gets around to offering it to these smaller exhibitors, whose theatres are often quite fine, the picture has lost most of its boxoffice appeal by reason of age; the terms demanded are beyond reach of this class of exhibitors, and the required admission prices are too high for the patrons to pay. "F. An otherwise fine theatre suffers an irreparable loss in prestige and good will when regularly or for considerable periods it is denied the right to play the 'blockbusters' while they are new and fresh. It becomes associated in the public mind with second class theatre service and people are reluctant to attend it even if, on occasion, it is permitted to exhibit such a picture on an early availability." The pamphlet adds that there are millions who for a variety of reasons are dependent upon the subsequent-run, small-town and drive-in theatres for current motion picture entertainment and it decries as "tragic" in the present state of the business that so vast a segment of the population "is denied the privilege of seeing and enjoying the many fine pictures now being turned out by the studios." The booklet further observes that admission prices continue to rise while attendance falls, and it labels this present pattern of the motion picture business as the "antithesis of the public policy that underlines the antitrust laws," adding that "a less grasping attitude by the film companies and performance of his duties by the Attorney General could broaden the base of movie attendance to the benefit of all branches of the business." After pointing out that, under a previous Administration, the Government successfully brought an anti-trust suit against the major film companies and their controlled theatre circuits for monopilization of the motion picture business, and that the Courts handed down clearly-worded injunctions "designed to put an end to predatory and monopolistic practices calculated to exclude the independent exhibitors from the business," the pamphlet has this to say about the Attorney General's alleged refusal to enforce these decrees: "Only the Attorney General can enforce the provisions of the decrees. Only by adversary proceedings in Court can judicial interpretations of the decrees be obtained. During the past five and a half years exhibitors in various parts of the country have submitted many complaints of decree violations to the Department of Justice. Not once (Continued on bac\ page)