The Exhibitor (1959)

41 Years of Service to the Theatre Industry Founded in 1918. Published weekly by Jay Emanuel Publications, Incorporated. Publishing office: 248-248 North Clarion Street, Philadelphia 7, Pennsylvania. New York field office: 8 East 52nd Street, New York 22. West Coast field office: Paul Manning, 8141 Blackburn Avenue, Los Angeles 48, Calif. London Bureau: Jock MacGregor, 16 Leinster Mews, London, W. 2, England. Jay Emanuel, publisher; Paul J. Greenhalgh, general manager; Albert Erlick, editor; M. R. (Mrs. "Chick") lewis, associate editor; George Frees Nonamaker, feature editor; Mel Konecoff, New York editor; Tom Wemer, Physical Theatre and Extra Profits departmental editor; Albert J. Martin, advertising manager; Max Cades, business manager. Subscriptions: S2 per year (50 issues); and outside of the United States, Canada, and Pan-American countries, S5 per year (50 issues). Special rates for two and three years on application. Second class postage paid at Phila¬ delphia, Pennsylvania. Address all official communications to the Philadelphia publishing office. VOLUME 62 • NO. 16 AUGUST 26, 1959 A THINK-PIECE FOR HOLLYWOOD On the letters page of this issue, under a New Orleans dateline, readers will find a communication from Mr. Brunet of the Famous Theatre. The following is the Sim Myers column in The Times Picayune to which he referred. “Samuel Goldywn is a big man in the motion picture busi¬ ness, and when he talks, he usually makes sense. But some¬ times, the things he chooses to say hurt quite a bit. “At a press conference concerned with his latest movie, “ Porgty and Bess,” which he says will open in only five cities before November, and New Orleans is not one of the five, Goldwyn made a severe prediction about Hollywood pro¬ duction. The reason it was a harsh prediction is that it already seems to be coming true. “Big Sam said that in another year or so, Hollywood will be filming no more than a hundred pictures a year, compared to approximately 250 that were made last year. “What does this mean to the average man in a city like New Orleans P Take a look. There are six regidar first-run theatres in downtown New Orleans, of which five show predominantly American-made movies. If you assume that these theatres will get an even split on 100 films a year, each movie place will get 20 attractions. This would mean that if the theatres play firstruns all the year, each picture will have to run about three weeks. “If each of the hundred films teas a blockbuster at the box office, this might be possible, and there would be nothing to worry about downtown, but downtown is not all. In addition to the first-run theatres, there are maybe 40 or 50 other movie houses in New Orleans. “How often does the average person go to a neighborhood theatre to catch a film he missed downtown? Quite often, I suspect. The pattern over the years has been for this type of theatre to change pictures twice or three times each week. This policy has been a hard one to maintain even with 250 pictures a year, and it looks as though it woidd be darned nigh impossible with only 100 films each 12 months. Goldwyn predicted that a good many theatres will have to close, and if his prediction holds true, they undoubtedly will. By this time, one arrives at the heart of the problem. The film companies, now divorced from their theatre chains, no doubt could achieve a better temporary profit margin if they cut out all production except the few block¬ buster pictures each year. And since they have no financial interest in the theatres, the fate of the neighborhood theatre doesn’t have to mean much to them. “Out in a little suburb, there lives a fellow named Jones. For years, he has been taking his family to a little neighbor¬ hood theatre once or twice a week. When a big “Ten Com¬ mandments” type picture comes along, he may even make the trip to Canal St. and see it. But more or less, Jones’ film-going habits are tied to that neighborhood theatre. “So, this theatre meets hard times; it can’t get enough pic¬ tures and finally closes. Jones looks around for another means of entertaining himself and his family, and though some movie people may not like to believe it, he does manage to find other things to do. “Pretty soon, it’s been a year since he saw a picture^jffien two or three. He loses touch, and doesn’t even bother to go downtown to the big theatres anymore. There are enough people like Jones to suggest that if Hollyivood does not stop the downward trend in production it may not be long before there is not even a public for those hundred blockbusters a year. “Oh, Hollywood can let the neighborhood theatres go to seed, all right, but each time a neighborhood theatre closes, Hollywood loses a little contact with the public. I have a notion that Hollywood isn’t going to mean much without a public.” There is nothing we can add to Mr. Myers’ views! He might have read our minds. A REALLY IMPORTANT QUOTE We see by the papers that Senator Kefauver, in discussing his proposed Constitutional amendment, giving states more authority over film censorship, has explained that he is aiming at “hard-core pornography,” and didn’t expect his efforts to give the states any new powers over the types of films which have figured in the recent Supreme Court decisions. The Senator added that the people of America “depire and expect there will be some effective control over those lowest members of society who make their living by purveying filth to the immature members of our society.” We are certain that all responsible members of the motion picture industry are in hearty accord that “those lowest members” should be controlled, or even given major fines and maximum jail sentences, whether the medium of their “purveyed filth” is motion picture film or something else. What all resent is having legitimately produced commercial motion pictures classified with pornography and subjected to special bureaucratic censorship because we use the same mediummotion picture film. We think we can promise Senator Kefauver that 99 99/100 per cent of our industry heartily endorse his thinking. We hope the states involved think similarly.