Hollywood Filmograph (Jan-Jul 1930)

HOLLYWOOD FILMOGRAPH 17 FILM PROSPECTS ARE BRIGHT FOR 1930 Color and Stereoscopic Elements Now in Advanced State of Experimentation— 1929 Receipts Large — Development of Sound Productions Expected to Promote Still Greater Interest and Consequent Increase in Earnings — Ratio of Stock Prices to Earnings Seems Low By IRVING FISHER Professor of Economics, Yale University The motion picture industry is beginning to find the road ahead. It is ready to settle down to yet more important work of development. According to the best consensus the financial renaissance of the industry will last for some years, at least. Admissions to film theatres, in gross, have reached about $800,000,000 annually, while film rentals have advanced to approximately $200,000,000. Heavy costs of supplying the studios with sound apparatus have been more than met by the sudden profits of a quick success. During the first nine months of 1929 the increase in net earnings of all companies ranged from 25 to 100 per cent. There is every reason to expect the new level of revenue to hold its own. NEW HAVEN, CONN. — The motion picture industry, torn between doubt and expectancy through the advent of sound accompaniments, is beginning to find the road ahead. To its officials the road looks like one of renewed prosperity — thanks to a spectacular advance in invention. Indeed, the first phase of the talking picture seems to be past. It is practicable, the public demands it. It is ready to settle down to yet more important work of development. MIL .IONS KJW t20L WEEKLY ATTENDANCE at y MOVING PICTURE THEATRES ^ 1922 1323 192-s 1925 1928 1927 1928 1925 IS30 Increased domestic consumption of motion ntetarfs is indicated by ranid increase in attendance during 10281929. The first success of the sound films was due mostly to the curiosity of the public over a new mechanical device. The experiment drew crowds in 1927 for this reason, but it is no longer an experiment. Despite the fun once poked at the new device, the "talkie" has become a standard form of entertainment more popular, even, than the old silent film. In fact, attendance had been almost static for several years before the new invention came in. According to the best consensus, the resultant financial renaissance of the industry will last for some years, at least. To be conservative, however, the unfavorable factors must be considered along with the favorable ones. Initial expenditure for equipment and experimentation in the new field has been, of course, tremendous. But this has been more than offset by increase in attendance. Admissions to film theatres, in gross, have reached about $800,000,000 annually, while film rentals have been advanced to approximately $200,000,000. The film theatres felt no decrease in attendance during the stock market slump. Export Trade Developing The "talkies" produced in the United States, of course, had no sale outside of English speaking countries. But income from film exports has not diminished, due to the use of silent pictures in non-English speaking countries. By January, 1930, twenty-two hundred European theatres had been equipped for the showing of "talkies," 1© frrrimg TSf A*. Wt . Itttt ""-O-r* FILM EXPORTS FEET cm NEGATIVE FH.MS 300 5T30 ISO 1922 1923 1924 1925 '820 1927 '926 <929 General increase in foreign oonsumpton of American motion pictures is indicated by the r.'imber of feet of film, negative and positive, with the number increasing almost daily. Appreciating this, American film manufacturers are meeting the situation. Several companies are making foreign-language versions of current productions on a simultaneous schedule, while others have established foreign subsidiaries for that purpose. One company has a plan to fit dialogue in foreign languages to pictures already made in English. How well such plans will work out nobody knows. All we are sure of is that the talkies thus far shown in England and on the continent have been quite as successful as those in America. Costs to be Noted To estimate the financial outlook, the increased cost of production must be considered. First, heavy costs of supplying the studios with sound apparatus have been more than met by the sudden profits of a quick success. But it will be necessary to spend a great deal more for further development. Strides have been made in the use of natural color. Both the Technicolor and Multicolor systems have been widely employed by producers, and other processes are being experimented with by different companies. Stereopticon and wide-screen effects are other future developments. The latter innovation has already been exhibited. Most of the leading producers have patents covering some method for achieving this end. The "Magnafilm" of Paramount, the "Grandeur Carthay Circle Theatre To Have Unique War Display During Run To permit patrons of "Happy Days," the current Grandeur Film play at the theatre an opportunity to know more about the succeeding attraction, "All Quiet On the Western Front." the Fox Carthay Circle theatre has opened a war museum displaying relics from the German trenches. The interesting exhibit of guns, trench enquipment and field equipment is under the direction of Lieutenant William Apetz, who spent three and a half years in the German trenches of the western front and who has been decorated with the Iron Cross, both first and second class, am unusual distinction, and the Hansaetic Cross of Merit, for gallantry. Before and after each matinee and evening performance Lieutenant Apetz explains the German battle plans, the art of building trenches and answers questions about the filming of "All Quiet On the Western Front." Apetz came to America directly following the war and is an Ameican citizen. i 1 1 OPENS DE LUXE STUDIOS A new music studio, the De Luxe Music Studios, Inc., which recently opened in Hollywood, has brought singing lessons within the reach of every person, for their charges are very reasonable. They are organizing classes now for sight reading, which is very important in studio singing, and they are also planning to form a choral and train it for studio work. Their teachers are exceptionally good, most of them having studied with the best voice teachers of both America and Europe. Persons desiring to have their voice tested may do so at the De Luxe Music Studios free of charge and without any obligation. FIST AMERICAN-MADE JAPANESE PICTURE TO BE SHOWN Filming of the first American-made Japanese talking picture for release in Japan and among the Japanese of the Pacific coast has been completed for Tom White Productions, Hollywood. James Howe, Chinese director and for many years cameraman for outstanding Hollywood directors, directed the picture, using an allJapanese cast, with whom he was forced to converse through an interpreter. Despite the difficulties under which the picture was made, however, Japanese business men of this city who have viewed it, as well as the great Japanese actor, Ito, have pronounced it a remarkable and beaaitiful portrayal of Japanese character and customs. The picture was filmed in and about Hollywood, but those viewing it for the first time have indicated that the sets are so remarkably Japanese in appearance that only an expert could say positively that it had not been filmed in Japan. Howe explains this by the care with which he chose his exterior shots — using for background certain Japanese gardens in this city and Pasadena and the dwarfed trees along the Palisades of Santa Monica — and by the interest the Japanese cast took in arranging each minute detail of the interior sets to conform to the best taste and tradition of their people. All leading roles are portrayed by actors who have never appeared before a camera, some of whom, however, are stage actors; the director preferring the method of the great Russian directors in choosing types, to that of the Americans, who cast pictures almost wholly around some personality or star. Pictures" of Fox, and the "SpoorBerggren Process" of Radio-KeithOrpheum all call for a much larger screen and afford a much greater chance for the inclusion of detail. Having made the leap from silence to sound, the film industry will not stop there. The total increase in costs runs about 30 per cent over the old silent films. This takes into consideration money spent for experimentation. During the first nine months of 1929 the increase in net earnings of all companies ranged from 25 to 100 per cent, according to the Standard Statistics Company. Thus far profits have greatly exceeded costs. It seems safe to expect the present rate of profits to continue through 1930, judging by attendance records. No Longer a Luxury It is an accepted fact that motion pictures are no longer a luxury, but a necessary form of recreation for the masses. The average family has been so accustomed to placing "movies" on its weekly budget that attendance receipts were almost stabilized before the advent of the "talkie." Since then motion pictures have sustained only a few desertions and gained a vast army of newfriends. This added revenue can be expected to defray further production and experimental costs. There is every reason — now that the talkies are proving to be no flash in the pan — to expect the new level of revenue at least to hold its own. This is a conservative view. But many of the more important executives expect larger and larger profits from the new medium and the developments that are sure to come. As the quality of the entertainment keeps improving, along with the advent of color perfection and the stereoscope, there is ample reason to look for even greater interest by the public, with a consequent rising increase in revenue. On this account common shares in the motion pictures group may rise in value. The February earnings bulletin of Standard Statistics shows a ratio of stock prices to earnings of less than 9 to l in this group. From a proper appraisal of the prospects of motion pictures, that seems a low ratio. The utilities have shared greatly in the prosperity of the past few years. A discussion of their prospects will appear in a forthcoming article by Professor Fisher, who contributes a weekly feature to this paper. (Copyright 1930, Irving Fisher Syndicate, Inc.)