Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1947)

MARCH ARBITRATION OA THE JT~\ OR years a dime was enough to get any ri kid by the doorman at most theatres. In many, a nickel did it. In the general upsurge of rising prices, climaxed during the war and maintained at large since, this traditional practice changed lrke lots of others. In the change may be the answer to why kid patronage has fallen off. It is not easy to back this up with the overwhelming proof. On as sprawling a scene as exhibition in this vast industry experience is apt to vary with the case at hand. The case of Eddie Grainger and the .Shea circuit, given air in On the March last week, is not necessarily the condition confronting all other showmen, although it is safe enough to assume he has considerable company. It may be remembered he was wondering, and worrying, about the decline in children's patronage in most of the theatres his circuit operates in 23 cities scattered throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York and New Hampshire. His inclination was to place the shrinkage at the door of the producer on the ground Hollywood was doing little or nothing to keep sharpened the interest of juveniles with series such as the Shirley Temples, the Jane Withers and the Freddie Bartholomews or whoever their 1947 counterpart may be. He may have a point there, but it was not the only one. The point that glared was the acknowledgement of his situation in Cambridge, Ohio. This is the only city of the 23 where prices were not advanced but where Federal tax merely was added. This is the only city where kid patronage had not fallen off. This narrows the surmises and the speculations to the conclusion inescapable that the answer, in this instance at least, resides in the price structure. It looks like a cinch deduction. But Grainger is getting hep. He is beginning to think hard now that the solitary holdout cannot be explained conveniently as an accident ; that he will come closer to the answer if he recognizes price is the determining factor. Therefore, he is giving much thought to a return to the traditional — 10 cents for kids at all times, plus two cents for Uncle S. on the ground the public is completely taxconscious and no objections will be encountered on this score. He is emphatic in his conviction kids are vital to his future. He recognizes the value of getting more of them to attend his houses on a more regular basis and now is talking in equations of the slight sacrifice to his profit line in order to do this. The fact is his reoriented approach is a nice thing to behold. We wish there were more of it elsewhere. With other sectors yet to report, this whole problem is being submitted to keen by RED KANN attention over the Warner circuit, too. The reasons for the sluff remain to be finalized, but the conclusion is in no doubt — juvenile attendance in that nationwide operation is off as well. That matter has been aired with some regularity whenever the zone managers meet. They swap experiences with the Children's Library programs set up by the various producers via the Johnston office and report success with them. Cartoon shows have brought encouraging response at the box office. But there is concern over "a drying up of source material and a feeling that the wholesale swing of the distributors toward reissues is cutting down the sustained flow of suitable product for juvenile interest and attention. At this juncture, there is no conviction about price. It has been considered, of course. Where it was once generally a dime, the average Warner admission for children is now in the neighborhood of 17 cents. This differential is more major than minor with children who are confronted with the requirement of anothei dime for popcorn or its equivalent. It is certainly more major than minor with the parents who have to cough up a quarter, or better, when it used to average 15 cents. The present final on this, insofar as the Warner circuit figures it, is indeterminate. But there, too, the interesting point takes shape in the realization something wrong calls for adjustment. A good sign, and progressive. • The impressionables, the malleables of today are the cornerstone of tomorrow. It is essential, as well as an obvious fundamental in clear business judgment, to build on ground which is fertile and susceptible. Tomorrow is always around the next corner. Financial Note: Twentieth CenturyFox estimates a 1946 net of $22,600,000, the forecast allowing for taxes and including operations of National Theatres as well as the Roxy, New York. This is on an estimated total gross income [film rentals and theatre receipts included] of $190,300,000. The anticipated profit would be $9,853,533 better than 1945's, when it was $12,746,467, or an increase of 77.30 per cent last year over the year before. This is on a jump in gross revenue of $12,088,111 in '46 over '45 when it ran to $178,211,889. Another way of approaching it : Anticipated net gain of 77.30 per cent develops out of a 6.78 per cent gain in gross. Elimination of the excess profit tax, reducing the company's assessment by a cool $7,000,000, of course is a factor. But so, too, was the corporation's dealings with, and in, theatres. Things are bad, are they? {Continued from preceding page) ment that it would oppose all stay requests the Department of Justice on Wednesday filed notice with the Supreme Court that it considers the major distributors' stay appeal, which seeks to prevent dissolution of the arbitration system, as "re-writing the judgment" — in other words, reversing the District Court's decision. The Department, according to the document, opposes the requests for a stay of competitive bidding asked by United Artists, Columbia and Universal because competitive bidding is a preliminary and "essential" step towards adequate relief. Justice Stanley Reed was to hold closed chamber hearings on all the stay petitions Friday. Reiterating in their request for a stay what they said when they appealed the arbitration provisions of the decree, the five majors stated: "The reason for the lower court not continuing arbitration was its holding that 'because of the unwillingness of some of the parties to consent to its continuance' it lacked the power to do so. These appellants believe that the lower court was in error in this regard and that it had power to continue its decree of November 20, 1940." "The continuation of this system pending an appeal,'' they concluded, "can harm no one. It can result in great savings of time and money." Under the decree, the tribunals can accept new cases until April 1 and continue in operation long enough to settle them. MPA Anniversary Dinner In New York May 8 The twenty-fifth anniversary dinner of the Motion Picture Association of America, and its predecessor organization the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, will be held at the WaldorfAstoria Hotel in New York May 8, Eric Johnston, president, has announced. The dinner is sponsored by a committee consisting of Spyros Skouras, Ned E. Depinet, Jack Cohn, Joseph R. Vogel, Claude Lee, John J. O'Connor, Harry Goldberg and Herman Robbins. Francis S. Harmon, MPA vice-president, is chairman of the staff committee on arrangements. J. Arthur Rank will be guest of honor. Voluntary Censorship Bill Adopted by Indiana House A bill asking voluntary censorship of films, radio and newspapers was adopted by the Indiana House last Tuesday, as a substitute for a bill that would have set up a censor board in every county. The resolution stated that the legislature "is not desirous of passing restrictive legislation if agencies can be made to see the gravity of the problem and voluntarily cooperate in meeting it." In the Senate last Tuesday, the socalled Anti-ASCAP bill hit a snag when the chamber refused an attempt to recall a conference report. M MOTION PICTURE HERALD, MARCH 29, 1947