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358 ^ ^ ^> The Motion Picture Industry
managers were given greater latitude than ever before in the selection of product.
The mechanics of the selection of product required that each division manager, with the assistance of the district managers within his division, make up the product requirements both of feature pictures and of short subjects for the division for one year. In making their selections the district and division managers would call upon the exchange managers of the Paramount Publix Corporation for assistance in obtaining a better understanding of local conditions. Also, the unit theater manager would be relied upon for many of the data in regard to local holidays and occasions, local ordinances, the assets which determined civic pride in particular localities, facts about competition from various types of amusement, information about competitive theaters, and many other factors.9 The division managers turned in their requirement lists to the home office, which did the actual buying for all their theaters in the country, taking advantage of the buying power gained through the purchase of large quantities. All persons concerned with selection of product were asked to consider first Paramont pictures and then the films produced or contemplated by competitors.
Harry Arthur, general manager of the Fox Theaters Corporation, was of the opinion that the circuits no longer needed to divest themselves of their small theater holdings. He recognized that in certain isolated cases independent exhibitors might pay less for films and at times less for help; they also were in a position to obtain spot bookings of which the big circuits, for reasons of policy, were unable to take advantage. On the other hand, he believed that the circuits had discovered the defects in their system. They no longer had bebuttoned ushers and imported elaborate surroundings in the strictly local theaters; instead, both the atmosphere and the dress of the attendants in such theaters had been
9 See the Community Analysis made by the Publix Theaters Corporation, Motion Picture Herald, March 28, 1931, p. 19.