Motion Picture Herald (July-Aug 1935)

I July 2 7, 19 3 5 MOTION PICTURE HERALD 17 INDEPENDENTS REPORTED FAVORABLE Text of Clearance and Zoning System {Continued from precedinq page) est evening adult admission price charged, and the lowest matinee adult admission price charged, at any time, shall govern. Section II. Change of Classification (a) In order to avoid the "booking" confusion (both to distributors generally and to those exhibitors with theatres dating clearance from other theatres), necessarily resulting from "special" reductions in admission prices which may serve from time to time to place theatres resorting to such practices temporarily in a lower classification, it is hereby provided that : Every theatre in the Los Angeles Exchange territory which shall, at any time after the effective date of this schediJe, by reason of change in its admission prices, be placed in a lower price of admission classification than that in which such theatre previously occupied in accordance with the provisions of this schedule, shall be deemed to remain in such lower price of admission classification, for all purposes of this schedule, and shall be accorded the clearance herein permitted for theatres of such lower classification, for and during the entire period in which each such change of price shall continue in effect, and in all events for and during the period of four (4) weeks next following the week in which such theatre shall have been placed in such lower classification. (b) It is further provided that any theatre in the Los Angeles Exchange territory which shall at any time after the effective date of this schedule, by reason of an increase in its admission price, be entitled to be placed in a higher price of admission classification than that in which such theatre was previously placed, in accordance with the provisions of this schedule, shall remain in such prior price of admission classification for the pictures of such distributor who shall not have agreed in writing with such exhibitor for such higher price of admission classification. Nothing in the foregoing shall at any time prohibit an exhibitor from increasing his admission prices at the will of such exhibitor. (c) Nothing in this schedule shall deny the right to any exhibitor regardless of his admission price, to buy any run that he may be able to purchase from any distributor in his competitive zone, nor shall it deny the right of any distributor to sell his product to any theatre for any run in any competitive zone, regardless of the admission price charged by such theatre. (d) A subsequent run theatre charging the same or lower admission price than its competitor and buying a prior run, shall have a maximum of seven (7) days clearance over such competitor. Section 12. Prints Nothing contained in this schedule shall be construed as an obligation on the part of any distributor in the Los Angeles Exchange territory to have in his possession and available for exhibition, a greater number of positive prints of feature pictures than such distributor generally carried prior to the effective date of this schedule, pursuant to normal and generally accepted daily business practices of such distributor. All dates of availability in this schedule shall be subject to availability of positive prints and the allocation thereof to exhibitors -in the sole discretion of distributors. MUSIC LEADS RADIO PROGRAMS The National Broadcasting Company, as the result of a survey of network programs during the first half of 193 5, discovered that a larger part of broadcasting time is occupied by discussions of governmental matters than ever before, but that music still leads the parade of types of programs by a wide margin. The percentage analysis of NBC network programs for the half year is as follows: Type of PercentProgram age Music 63.4 Literature 13.5 Lectures 7.6 Outstanding Events 0.8 Current Topics 3.1 Women's 1-6 Cloildren's 3.3 Physical Training 0.9 Religion ' 1-3 Reports 0.5 Novelty ^ 4.0 100.0 Showings of Films of Mines Bureau Increase Motion pictures of the United States Bureau of Mines were shown on 61,002 occasions during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1935, according to figures just compiled. The total attendance at the bureau's films during the year was 4,970,000. The number of showings represents an increase of 23 per cent over last year and the attendance shows a gain of 22 per cent. The bureau has in its library 2,771 reels of film, according to M. F. Leopold, supervising engineer of" the motion picture production section of the bureau. Chicago Killing Laid To Local Union Fight Chicago police last week declared that the recent killing of Louis Alterie was a sequel to the murder of Tom Maloy, head of the local projectionists' union, and was the result of a quarrel for control of the operators' and janitors' unions. All other theories relative to the killing were discarded. Fish U. A. District Head Ben Fish, former representative for Samuel Goldwyn, has been appointed West Coast district manager by Al Lichtman, president of United Artists. He will supervise exchanges in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and Denver. Ricketson Signs Contract Rick Ricketson has signed a five-year contract in Denver as manager of the Fox Intermountain Corporation. Los Angeles Plan Of feredJs Model (Continued from page 15) and that the problem would not be solved until Loew's raises the scale at the Midland, the city's largest theatre. Mr. Flinn said this week that the Midland's scale of 15 cents for 1,400 balcony seats to 6 p. m. and 25 cents in the balcony after 6, is holding down tariffs at the other first-runs and is militating against price increases at the subsequent and neighborhood houses. The neighborhoods and subsequents, said Mr. Flinn, cannot be expected to charge more than 15 cents when pictures of a major caliber are exhibited at a theatre such as the Midland at a subnormal price. The Kansas City clearance and zoning board attempted to effect stabilization and adopted a provision to be incorporated in the schedule providing that any first-run showing below 25 cents was to lose its protection and that the protection was to be increased if the price was raised. Loew's objected to these terms, and the Code Authority subsequently vetoed the plan. • Neighborhoods Blame Midland The low tariff at Loew's Midland is blamed by the Kansas City neighborhoods for having to resort to extraneous box-office stimulators, such as bank nights, to hold their trade, and for the spread of 10-cent admissions. Loew's and other first-runs in turn justify their practices by the situation in the neighborhoods. A solution may be found in the fall when the circuits again may attempt to force up first-run tarifTs. New Orleans is considered another situation that requires attention. There, the firstruns have 60 days' clearance, and the drop next to the first-run top of 50 cents is the price of 15 cents uniformly in effect at all neighborhood theatres. Trouble began when the city was divided into zones, and United Theatres, an unaffiliated circuit having one or two theatres in every subsequent-run zone, obtained 50 days' clearance for its first-run in a zone and 60 days for its second-run. Individual operators are now forced to play as many as 250 daj's behind first-run in the city. The first-runs are not concerned, however, as they have no affiliated subsequent-run houses. Systems in 12 Territories In 12 of the 31 exchange territories in the field there are in effect by unanimous consent more or less uniform systems of run and clearance, whereby all theatres are subject to the same availabilities according to admission price. In Detroit such a plan was upset by the distributors after several years of operation, but the city today is regulated almost by the same system as a matter of custom. Chicago zones follow this method as a matter of informal acceptance but not by official adoption. Kansas City and Omaha are other places which base run and clearance on admission prices under the plan generally known as the "week of release" system. Operation of the local clearance and zoning boards had one effect admittedly beneficial to subsequent-runs. Through complaints filed by individual exhibitors and their later adjudication, clearance in many cities has been reduced to 7 or 14 days between neighborhood theatres. In a majority of ke\' cities 14 days has been established as the maximum period between runs subsequent to first city runs.