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PUBLIX THEATERS CORPORATION 523
criticism arises because managers believe that they are better judges as to the type of pictures to be shown in their particular communities than is any centralized authority. Doubtless, there is much to be said for such a decision. Assuming, however, first that someone closely in touch with local conditions has a real voice in the selection of the films originally purchased, and assuming that in the actual booking of films purchased real regard is had for varying local conditions, the criticism just indicated loses some of its strength. It may be noted, also, that in a theater chain which is very large, and particularly in one which is growing very rapidly, a great many of the local theater managers upon whom reliance must be placed, at least temporarily, are not such expert judges of film values as they sometimes believe. On the other hand, the opinion which prevails in certain quarters, particularly among those interested in production, that a picture which proves a success in one part of the country will of necessity prove a success in other parts of the country is not correct. Thus, it is sometimes believed that a picture which is a success on Broadway will always be a success elsewhere. This is not true. Curiously enough, it is also thought by some critics that the only persons qualified to judge of the drawing appeal or value of a picture are those who are in daily contact with Broadway. This is also quite incorrect.
A substantial measure of central control over advertising seems desirable. The Standard Exhibition Contract provided that any advertising material used by the local exhibitor, even of an independent theater, had to be confined to that provided by the distributor. In practice, this clause was not enforced. It suggests, however, that much advertising material provided by a distributor may be considerably better than most of the material provided by many local managers.
At the same time, however, it may be well to direct attention to what the commentator believes to be a distinctly unwise policy — that of charging the exhibitor prices for this advertising material that will give to the distributor a profit, as some motion picture companies do. The distributor's advertising department is not comparable in this respect to the independent advertising agency, for at least two reasons. One is that the service in the present instance is theoretically compulsory. In the second place, the real object in inducing the exhibitor to accept this service is to insure larger box office receipts, to the end that the independent exhibitor may be strengthened, through obtaining a larger profit on the distributor's picture. The larger profits to the distributor should come through the sale of his pictures, and through real cooperation with the exhibitor and not through the forced sale of an auxiliary service, important though it may be. In other fields, dealer helps are usually provided to a retailer at cost or less, and properly so. The same policy could well be applied here.