Hollywood Spectator (February 29, 1936)

Page Two February 29, 1936 Excuse Us, Please: You are invited to the SPECTATOR’s Tenth Birthday Party. But there's a catch in it. You can’t come unless you bring a gift. And to keep Mrs. Doakes from sneering at Mrs. Doe’s gift, we're making it uniform, the same gift from all who attend. For no reason other than their need for money, film trade papers seize upon any kind of an anniversary as an excuse for holding up the film personnel. The habit has become so fixed that the personnel responds to no appeal based on a better reason for advertising. Next month the SPECTATOR will be ten years old. That offers us a rare excuse for plundering the coffers of film people. But to make it as painless as possible we will refuse to sell more than one-quarter page of space to any one victim. That—price, $35—is as far as our elastic conscience will stretch. And that is a pretty good stretch because the advertising won't do a bit of good to those who buy it. We hope there will be a whole lot of quarter pages, but they will look so much alike they will attract no individual attention. Of course, they will attract our attention, but even that will not do the party guests any good, for during ten years the SPECTATOR has said only what it thinks, and revenue from advertising cannot affect its thoughts. So, while we hope you will buy a place at one of the tables set for four, for the life of us we can’t see why you should—unless, of course, you think the SPECTATOR serves a useful purpose and feel like giving it support. Come to think of it, that is not such a bad reason. Don’t send any money. We will mail you a bill after publication. Merely telephone—GLadstone 5213—and we will reserve a place for you. This is your invitation. i wa he eS