Hollywood Motion Picture Review (1937-1940)

Page 2 HOLLYWOOD MOTION PICTURE REVIEW September 28, 1940 iofooU J MDTION PICTURE * * REVIEW Published weekly by Hollywood Motion Picture Review. Contents Copyrighted 1939 by Joe Blair. Agnes Blair, Associate Editor. • Executive and Editorial Offices 1040 North Martel Avenue, Phone: HE. 5982 Hollywood, (Los Angeles Station) Calif. Entered as second-class matter March 5, 1938, at the post office at Los Angeles. California, under the Act of March 3, 1879. JOE BLAIR, Editor Publisher Subscription rates Foreign $15.00 . $10.00 per year Single copies 25c Vol. XVI HOLLYWOOD. CALIFORNIA. SEPTEMBER 28, 1940 No. 5 Higher Admission Price Epidemic Bad For Box Office Future JOE BLAIR Right at a time when the motion picture industry needs aid, some of the major producers are adopting a policy which is detrimental to the future welfare of fhe business. There seems to be no question but that the theatre going public is pretty well fed up on the general run of producf many of fhe major plants have been turning out during the past four or five years. Granted there has been several outstanding hits throughout this period, but on the other hand there have been so many inferior picfures shown, exhibitors' box offices Indicafe thaf the average film patron is just about "off" of the movies as his main diet of entertainment. Instead of doing something to encourage fans fo flock back Into theatres and reform fheir habif of atfending fhe movies regularly, several of the majors are doing exactly the opposite. They are making It difficult for film patrons to see the best of the current releases by demanding that exhibitors raise their admission prices to a 75c scale. This shortsighted policy is not going to do the industry any ultimate good. While "BOOM TOWN", with Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Spencer Tracy, and fdedy Lamarr In the lead off sfar posifions, can be labelled an excepflonal picfure and entitled to a little extra fare boost. It wouldn't have hurt the MGM company any to have released It at regular prices. There are great numbers who would have flocked to the first showings of the picture at regular prices and come away praising the picture to the skies. How large a percentage of patrons that were lost by not following this procedure can never be determined but chain store selling methods have proven conclusively that volume business is much more profitable than the catering to an exclusive or a selective trade. Not to be outdone by M.G.M., one of the other big majors put one of fheir big pictures out at a 75c top admission price. This show has been one of fhe year's worst disappointments at the box-office and the main reason for ifs lack of popularity is the 75c admission price. In the first place, the picture isn't worth 75c at the box office. True, it cost close to two million dollars but the public isn't so concerned as to what a picture represents in costs as to what it presents In entertainment. Fans resent being gypped and go out of a theafre knocking. Already other major distributors have announced Increased admission prices for their big attractions and this policy undoubtedly will work against the best interests of the box office. Fans have a rather quick way of determining the worth of a picfure, and by simply elevafing fhe admission price does nof convince them of fhe relative merit of a film. Producers should immediafely forget the increased admission price hysteria. There is time enough to raise prices when attendance records are being shattered. Therefore, the logical thing to do is to bring about conditions which will contest box office records and that can be done by Improving the quality of fhe released product. The general outlook for combined product improvement by all of fhe studios does not look any too promising. Where Improvement is shown by one or two concerns, there is a like number going down grade faster than those that are coming up. * * * * Grover Jones, one of Hollywood's besf and mosf beloved writers, died Tuesday. The shock of Grover's deafh sfunned hundreds of his friends within the studios. His keen wit and friendly personalify will long be remembered. A subscriber and reader of this publication from fhe beginning, Jones must have paid close attention to our exhibitor comment because he was forever reminding us of something written or commented upon in Hollywood Review. And furthermore, he never lost an opportunity to inquire as to how the various films were faring af fhe box office. Thus through this and other contacts, Grover kept a close watch upon the theatre. The industry will miss Grover Jones. A glance at a few of his wrifing credits will prove this statement. He authored such screen plays as "Lives Of A Bengal Lancer," "The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine," "The Under Pup," "Capfain Cauflon," and scores of ofher equally as famous. Zi NEWS Fred MacMurray will have lovely Mary Martin as his leading lady in “New York Town,” a domestic comedy which producer Anthony Veiller places before the cameras early next month with Charles Vidor directing. John Howard, who recently signed a 7year term contract with Universal for three pictures yearly, has been assigned the romantic lead opposite Virginia Bruce in Universal’s “The Invisible Woman,” which will have John Barrymore in the cast. The picture is expected to go before the cameras next week. Patricia Morison has been resigned to a new term contract by Paramount. Miss Morison played the feminine lead in “Rangers Of Fortune,” current Paramount release, and also recently completed “The Round-Up,” opposite Richard Dix and Preston Foster, a Harry Sherman production directed by Leslie Selander for Paramount. Nick Musuraca, RKO cameraman, has been assigned to photograph “Debutante, Inc.,” a new RKO Radio picture with James Ellison in the male lead. The screen play is by Jerry Cady and Frank Woodruff is directing. James Brown Jr., is photographing Larry Darmour’s current production “John Braun’s Body,” the first of the Ellery Queen mystery detective pictures with Ralph Bellamy in the title role. Kurt Neumann is directing the picture which is for Columbia release. Producer Armand Schaefer places “Barnyard Follies” in production next week at the Republic Studios with Frank McDonald directing. The picture will be of the hillbilly variety and will feature a group of well known radio personalities. Sig Rumann, wbo recently completed an important assignment in “Victory,” for Paramount, has one of the featured roles in M.G.M.’s “Comrade X,” current Clark Gable-Hedy Lamarr production. Rumann has also been signed for “Flotsam,” the David Loew-Albert Lewin production now being filmed for United Artists release. James Burke, well-known screen character man and former vaudeville headliner, has been set for one of the featured roles at Paramount in “Reaching for the Sun,” the current William A. Wellman production in which Joel McCrea, Ellen Drew, Albert Dekker and Eddie Bracken top a big cast. Harriett Parsons has concluded a deal with Republic Pictures for the release of a series of 12 short subjects titled “Hollywood Highlights,” with the first subject ready for release November 15th. The featurettes, released one each month will be patterned along the lines of Columbia’s Screen Snapshots,” which Miss Parsons formerly made. 'This deal marks Republic’s entry into the short subjects field. Don Barry, Republic’s new western star, will have Julie Duncan as his new leading lady in a new western picture, “Two Gun Sheriff,” which goes into production immediately under the producer-directorship of George Sherman. Ted Reed, who produced and directed Paramount’s successful Henry Aldrich stories with Jackie Cooper in the title role, is now preparing an untitled story which will serve as a forthcoming picture on this Aldrich series.