Motion Picture Herald (Jan-Feb 1939)

52 MOTION PICTURE HERALD January 14, 1939 BRITISH EXHIBITORS ASK NEW TRADE POLICIES TO RESTORE ATTENDANCES Blame Overseating, Double Bills, Circuit Power and Product Shortage for New Low Holiday Receipts by AUBREY FLANAGAN in London The adventures of British exhibitors over the recent holiday season, customarily the season in which, so to speak, they have paid the rent, has confirmed the long held belief that the new year's immediate need is for a new system of economics. What was put into the film stocking proved but a sorry kind of jest, but, bitter as it was, it came almost as a logical climax to a period which has seen trade consistently and mercilessly diminishing. Box office receipts for the festive season touched a new low, probably for all time. Since the September crisis an acute stage of the redundancy problem, the growing dominance of the circuits, and the grim shortage of product have been probably the governing factors in intensifying the situation. To these have been added the excessively mild opening of the winter and changing social habits of the paying proletariat. Gains by Circuits Outside economists, however, are not so gloomy. They last declare that for four or five years theatre attendances have been on the steady increase, and that there is still a vast untapped market, point to the high dividends declared and maintained by such groups as Associated British, refuse to believe the trade's own problems are insoluble and suggest that the film industry's financial record is no worse than that of most other groups of businesses involving commercial risks. It would seem, however, that the financial rosiness is found almost exclusively on the balance sheets of the circuits and larger film groups. The records of the independent exhibitors would not seem to justify over-much optimism. Two Houses' Business Compared Examination of the business registered in the past four months by two totally different types of houses reveal that the slump is not localized. Hall "A" is a modern 700-seat house in a leading seaside town, with a moneyed clientele and a choice of the best product available. Its average weekly takings over a long period were £250 ($1,250). From September to December inclusively, this year, the average dropped to £190 ($950). This figure includes a record low of £81 ($405) and six weeks in which the theatre was in the red. Hall "B" is an 850-seater in an industrial district with the poorest working class patronage, charging admission prices between fourpence and a shilling. Its average weekly takings over a long period were £220 ($1,100). Over the September-December 1938 period they dropped to £151 ($755), including a record low of £36 ($180). The house shows first-run pictures of the standard of "Hurricane" and "Test Pilot," yet had ten weeks in the red. In London's West End, where at the holiday season the salaried and the wage-earners no NO BENEFIT IN FILMS ACT, SAYS ROWSON Of 32,000,000 Britons viewing motion pictures, only eight million see British films, Simon Kowson declared, addressing the British Kinematograph Society Monday night in London. Mr. Kowson said there is no noticeable benefit from the new film legislation, with no increase either in the volume or value of British production. toriously have in previous years spent their festive pocket money, Metro's "The Citadel" was probably unique in the fact that it drew record crowds to the Empire, Leicester Square. Otherwise West End trade has continued between 20 and 33 per cent of normal. A fair and average example of takings comes from one "super" — not far removed from the Empire— which on Boxing Day, notedly the year's peak box office day, would have taken between £700 ($3,500) and £900 ($4,500) under normal conditions. This Boxing Day it did not reach £200 ($1,000). Ben Jay, independent with houses of normal caliber on the East Coast and in the Home Counties, declares that trade has dropped from over the £200 ($1,000) a week mark to below £150 ($750) in the average second or third run position, and still is dropping. Sees Habits Changing Mr. Jay sees in the condition a reflection of a changing habit of film patrons. They are, he declares, more discriminating, so that fixed patronage no longer obtains. The high standard set by the West End "supers" with their two "A" films in one program makes them intolerant of the conventional shows to which they have long been used locally. Kenneth Nyman, president of the Cinematograph Exhibitors Association, speaking as an independent, takes a keen view of the effect of the late 1938 weather, which by its initial mildness kept people away from the cinemas and then by a sharp drop in temperature diverted amusement money to the purchase of protective clothing and drugs and the payment of doctors' bills. On the wider field, however, Mr. Nyman contends, in non-redundant positions exhibitors might be able to carry on anyway. Thirty Million Adult Non-Patrons Outside economists, however, quote Simon Rowson, statistician, as authority for the statement that there are more than thirty million adults who do not go to cinemas regularly. Each million added to the ranks of weekly cinema-goers would bring in an extra two million pounds in grosses in a year without increased capital outlay. To this exhibitors baldly reply, "Where are the films to show them?" The 1938 total of films registered as available to the 5,000 cinemas was abnormally low at 644, or 152 less than the previous year. Other students of the industrial scene plead that the film industry should take a lesson from the brewers and the fruit trade, and launch a national advertising campaign, but no section is more apathetic to this plan than the exhibitors themselves. The number of regular patrons has been estimated by Mr. Rowson as 4,500,000, which in 5,000 theatres would average 900 seats capacity. Attendances by 15,000 patrons approximate 23,000,000 weekly, or 1,196,000,000 each year, the total paid by them reaching £46,000,000 ($230,000,000), an average of tenpence per seat. Of this nearly £7,000,000 ($35,000,000) goes in entertainment tax. Outside economists plead that the increase of trade is apparent by examining the figures for 1934, which were 957,000,000 admissions. Noted, too, is that in the autumn-winterspring season, when cinema-going normally would be at its highest, a minimum of £40,000,000 ($200,000,000) per annum is spent by the public on football pools. These figures, however, say the exhibitors, do not take toll of the intense redundancy race or of the fact that the reservoir of available films is lower than ever before, or of the internecine warfare between circuits and independents on the question of two "super" pictures on a program. Readjustment of values and policies, say exhibitors, is imperative for 1939. A closer coordination of building policies, a united trade platform on "super" programs and provision of a greater number of films, both American and British, are, they declare, essential for survival. A smaller, though no less active section is for complete overhauling of the film hire situation. New Capital for Odeon New capital approximating $25,000,000 is to be provided Odeon Theatres, Ltd. (Oscar Deutsch), to enable Odeon to proceed with its merger and expansion plans, it is understood, such as the deal with Gaumont-British and others, and construction of a number of theatres, possibly 25, it is understood. Odeon's move to build new houses ends rumors of a transaction similar to the discussed merger of several months ago between Paramount's Astoria chain and Odeon. V Action of Elizabeth Allen against Metro British charging breach of contract, loss of publicity and damage to her professional reputation arising from the filming of "The Citadel," has been tabled. Exhibitors To Meet The Independent Theatre Protective Association has scheduled January 24th and 25th as the dates for its annual meeting. Officers of the Association have received a draft of the distributors' trade practice proposals for study, but have withheld comment on it. Five regional meetings were convened by the Kansas-Missouri Theatres Association in Kansas starting last Monday to discuss legislative and other problems. The meetings were held at Topeka, Salina, Stockton, Pratt and Independence. Beginning next week four meetings will be held in Western Missouri, Kansas City, Joplin, Sedalia, and probably Marysville. Louis R. Lipstone, musical director and production head for Balaban and Katz Theatres, has been named head of the Paramount studio music department succeeding Boris Morros. Mr. Lipstone joined B & K in 1917 as first orchestra conductor and in 1926 he was made general musical director.