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exceedingly difficult task upon the production department, and hence it was not reasonable to expect it to produce successes consistently. Following this line of reasoning to a conclusion, the company should have expected several films of inferior quality during the 1929-1930 theatrical year. Obviously it would be neither practicable nor possible financially to withhold release on all of them.
The executives favoring release were of the opinion that the public was not particularly interested in motion-picture trade names; hence the exhibition of a poor Radio film would adversely affect the company's name only in the minds of the exhibitors. The latter, they argued, were more or less accustomed to an occasional decidedly inferior picture from each producer, and therefore they would not put much credence in the company's advertised emphasis on quality. They believed, furthermore, that the Radio Pictures trademark had not been established long enough to convey any real meaning to either the public or the exhibitors. This contention obviously shows poor reasoning.
The fact that the picture was booked to play in more than 2,400 theaters with aggregate rentals of $250,000 was another reason advanced in favor of its release. While it was possible for these theaters to secure substitute spot bookings, the rentals required for such bookings might be higher than those charged for this particular picture. Furthermore, substitute pictures might prove even less desirable; hence exhibitors would prefer to book the picture. From a financial standpoint, some of the executives believed that the film in question might actually earn a net profit for the parent company. Should a reasonable number of the 2,400 theaters show the picture, the revenue derived therefrom might offset the possible losses resulting from its exhibition in Radio-Keith-Orpheum theaters. Over 60% of the total bookings of this picture, including those of the company's affiliated theaters, were on a flat rental basis.
Should the company decide to withhold release, it was quite probable that some of the chains and independent