Motion Picture News (Nov-Dec 1923)

Published Weekly Motion Picture News, Inc. William A. Johnston, President E. Kendall Gillett. Treasurer 729 7th Avenue, New York City 752 South Wabash Ave., Chicago Room 616 Security Bldg., Hollywood, Calif. Western Union Cable Address is "Pieknews," New York Entered as Second-Class Matter. October 13, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879 Motion Pictwre JVews Founded in September 1913 Copyright 1923 by Motion Picture News, Inc. in the United States and Great Britain. Title registered in the U. S. Patent Office and Foreign Countries ^filliam A. Johnston, Editor J. S. Dickerson, Managing Editor Fred J. Beecroft, Advertising Mgr. L. H. Mason, Chicago Representative ~Wm. McCormack, Los Angeles Representative Subscription price $3 per year, postpaid in United States, Mexico, Hawaii, Porto Rico, and Philippine Islands. Canada, 55. Foreign, $10. VOL. XXVIII NEW YORK, DECEMBER 24, 1923 No. 22 Why Not the THE season for published interviews seems about closed, and happily so. A few good and sensible things have been said ; but, mostly, it would be better to confine open admissions of business mistakes to the trade family circle. The public is only interested in pictures. As the matter stands today, after everyone has had his say, the public mind has probably grasped just two ideas: first, that something is wrong with the movies and secondly, that the men responsible don't know how to correct the errors. Which isn't good publicity. ***** How wise it would be if, occasionally, we just told the truth to the public. There are so many true and interesting things to tell about the industry. For instance, as one good and practical interview pointed out, the stars' and other players' salary budget is really a minor item in production cost. It runs from about, ten to about twenty-five percent, depending of course'upon the character of the picture. The major part of all the production millions goes into the pay envelope of those whom the politicians love to call the poor, lowly and horny handed toilers, etc. ; in other words to the carpenters, painters, plasterers, electricians, bricklayers, property men and other high wage earners. How wise it would be to let the politicians know this significant fact. And to add that the country is overbuilt with a billion dollars' worth of theatres, the construction cost of which also went largely into the payroll envelope of the building trade laborers. That is good publicity. ***** After all, the whole outcry simply means that we are in n period of retrenchment — a very necessary and salutary one for the entire industry. And it strikes us that the job of economy is up not merely to the producer but also to the exhibitor. It is an all-around duty. Whole Truth? It is true that a lot of over-expensive and some notoriously expensive pictures have been made by directors as monuments to themselves. But there are some monuments too in the exhibiting field — some over-expensive houses over-expensively run. In the high falutin' period several years back of us the larger theatres went into a competitive orgy of extravagant presentation. Retrenchment, it is true, set in some time ago. Prologues have been gradually disappearing and orchestras have generally been reduced in size. But there is room still with many a house management for sane economy in overhead and operating expense. It is impossible to be specific on this point; everywhere the theatre problem is a local one. And we have no thought whatever of telling the other fellow how to run his business. We do, however, wish to emphasize a general fact, a true and most important one, and that is this: this industry is sympathetically, even delicately tuned as to its different branches, all its branches. Consequently the producer's problem of retrenchment is not his alone; it is the distributor's and exhibitor's also. And the producer's heavy investment and earnest effort to produce box office pictures is not his responsibility alone. The exhibitor must encourage him or the producer will either cheapen his product or quit. The house today that's wasting money is not only unfair to its owner but also to the man who makes the goods that keeps its doors open to the public. Shortsightedness and greed have done this business more harm than any other factors. It may not be human to be otherwise but it is intelligent and in the long run it is good business, and true economy. And this industry has arrived at the time when true economy is ruling its destiny.