The Exhibitor (1966)

The Trade Paper Read by Choke— Not by Chance Founded in 1918. Published weekly except first issue in January and first issue in September by Jay Emanuel Publications, Incorporated. General offices at 317 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107. Publishing office at 10 McGovern Ave., Lancaster, Pa. 17604. New York field office: 1600 Broadway, Suite 604, New York 10019, West Coast field office: William M. Schary, 818 S. Curson Ave., Los Angeles, Calif., 90036, London Bureau: Jock MacGregor, 16 Leinster Mews, London, W. 2, England. Jay Emanuel, publisher and gen. mgr.; Edward Emanuel, vice-pres.; Albert Erlick, editor; Mel Konecoff, New York editor; Albert J. Martin, advertising manager; Max Cades, business manager. Subscriptions: $2 per year (50 issues); and outside of the United States, Canada and Pan-American countries, $5 per year (50 issues). Special rates for two and three years on application. Single copy 25 if.. Second class postage paid at Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Address all official communications to the Philadelphia offices. Telephone: Area Code 215, WAInut 2-1860. CHANGING ADDRESS? Please send old and new address. If possible include address portion of old mailing wrapper. Volume 76 • No. 22 January 18, 1967 Our 49th Year ANOTHER SWORD OF DAMOCLES There is a running commentary from film distributors and producers to the effect that responsibility for the evils of the motion picture industry and its economic ills can be laid at exhibition's doorstep. Exhibitors, so this line of reasoning goes, are lazy, do not advertise motion pictures properly, do nothing designed to build theatre grosses, and generally behave like un¬ businesslike clods. This approach is always a good way to capture trade paper headlines, but the facts indicate that it is a fiction — and a dan¬ gerous one. There are seven him companies which are the ma¬ jor suppliers of quality product to theatres — Columbia, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Paramount, 20th-Fox, United Artists, Uni¬ versal, and Warner Bros. Let’s examine the cold, hard facts relating to their use of advertising in the trade press in recent years. In 1962, a total of 1992 pages of advertising were placed by the major companies in the nine trade papers serving the mo¬ tion picture industry; in 1963, 1767 pages; 1964, 1914 pages; 1965, 2099 pages; and 1966, 1900 pages. Contrast this with the following figures: 1956, 4596 pages; 1957, 4012 pages; 1958, 2471 pages; 1959, 2906 pages; 1960, 2586 pages; and 1961, 2212 pages. The change in these figures can be compared to the change in the industry's manner of conducting its affairs during this time period. For instance, in the earlier period, a him rental of 25 per cent was normal, and adjustments were made for poor engagements. Today, of course, him rentals of 50, 60, 70, and 90 per cent are common, and no adjustments are permitted. In case some observers feel that the decline in trade paper advertising represents a corresponding decline in him produc¬ tion, let us note that more than half the product of the major him companies is not advertised at all in any trade paper — not so much as a single page. Some time ago, MOTION PICTURE EXHIBIIOR heeded distributor complaints that there were simply too many trade papers competing for the limited advertising needs of the industry. In November, 1957, we purchased Showmen’s Trade Review, eliminating one major trade paper and saving all dis¬ tributors thounsands of dollars per year thereafter. What fol¬ lowed was the rapid and continuing decline in trade paper support noted above. The importance of the trade press to the industry has never been questioned, not even by the same gentlemen who have slashed away at their advertising revenues. Exhibitors indicate over and over again how much the trade press means to them. After all, they can’t get to screenings all the time, especially if the screenings are held in out-of-the-way spots or at odd work¬ time hours. The trade press review becomes their only informa¬ tion about unadvertised product. Distributors seek all the free space they can get for their press releases because they recog¬ nize the trade press as their most effective bridge to the nation’s theatres. Currently, there is a controversy over the practice of forcing trade papers to withhold reviews from their readers until firstrun bids are in. This is another indication that the power of the trade press is well recognized. In a time of a serious prod¬ uct shortage and a time of quiet desperation for theatre oper¬ ators, some distributors no doubt benefit from forcing bids by uninformed theatremen. It is ironic that the trade press is not shown films that have been shown to representatives of church groups, clubwomen, and national magazines of general circulation. The industry's own press is treated as a stepchild, and there must be a reason. Exhibitors, of course, realize full well that organizations and the lay press have their own axes to grind when reviewing films and that they can’t get the real story of a film's value to the trade until the trade press reviews are published. The trade press is a natural link between the buyer and seller of film. Utilized properly, it can interest, inform, and inspire. It can create a want-to-play on the part of the trade that can be translated into a want-to-see on the part of the public. Ig¬ nored or mishandled by the trade, it can do only half its job. The result is an industry rampant with suspicion and distrust, where films are bought and sold behind a veil of secrecy that must create an atmosphere of ill-will. The decline in trade paper support is accompanied by a de¬ cline in sales effort at all levels. Cooperative campaigns on motion pictures are eliminated or cut to the bone in another glaring example of false economy. Exhibitors are forced to carry the load themselves, and the result is a “boom or bust” philosophy that turns every motion picture into a gamble with loaded dice. There are some 700 theatre circuits in operation, and many of them have their own full-time publicity staffs. They are able to do a fine selling job, but only if the tools are there. One of these tools is the trade press, which years ago contained trade ads and campaigns designed to stimulate the¬ atre enthusiasm and confidence. It might well be true that exhibitors are forced today to play whatever becomes available whether they know anything about it or not. That is the result of a serious product shortage. How¬ ever, it can not be denied that they could do a far better selling job to the public if they themselves had first been sold on what they are playing. If the exhibitor has the tools and refuses to use them, he is ( Continued on next page )