Motion Picture News (Oct-Dec 1930)

November 1 , 19 3 0 M o t i o n P i c I it r (■ N e w 119 MANAGERS' ROUND TABLE CLUB Charles E. Lewis Qhaitmcui and /c/itot. Of cwilconaiOfj.fociaiion. cfcJnofVmen. czsrfeetina . MOTION PICTURE NEWS <j)&tu Oi/eeA -~/ot o\(ulua/ $ene/fc and ^Ptaert&tfs in a Conducted By At* Exhibitor For Exhibitors THE HIGH COST OF NEGLECT! WHEN some member of your staff calls your attention to needed repairs around the theatre do you investigate and make those repairs immediately? From close observation we are rather afraid that many managers are inclined to let these "little" things go until it is too late for repairs and replacements (sometimes very expensive) are necessary. And often such neglect results in accidents or breakdowns. Those who stop to analyze the many responsibilities of a house manager soon learn that maintenance of the equipment represents an important part of the job. Yet we have thousands of showmen who cannot seem to realize that the cheapest way to maintain that equipment is to keep it in a good state of repair at all time. They try to avoid immediate expenditures and then pay plenty for replacements later. A manager who is placed in charge of a theatre with its many items of equipment must show that he understands and appreciates the responsibility placed on his shoulders by keeping a careful check on each and every detail. This can only be accomplished by frequent inspections. We doubt whether any chain or individual theatre owner would criticize an expenditure Table of Contents ' Vending Machines Discussed r Sound Interference A Problem, Says Hall ' Cohen Gave Away Ad Mats II Thompson's Trailer Prologue I Meet the Meyers' II Mrs. Kane Writes In 1 Stearn Discusses Angles H Hruby Crashed Dealers Windows !' Lee On the Qui Vive f Couche's Gas Station Tie-Up I Soffer Cashed In On Kids r Carlson's Silence Slants II Wight Says "Silence Is Art" H "Kids— Kids— Kids" r "Amos 'n' Andy" '* Osborne's Opinions r Marchand Tied Up Laundry r Miller Gives Advice II Stroud Clicked On Stunt ^1 Delis Discusses Drills r Moore's Putting Gag 1 Wadkin's Shorthand Stunt I7 Brown's Throwaway Was Clever 1 Meet Ben. J. Javellano U Amos Tied Up Courses H Fountain Talks On Cleaning and Ventilating 1 Wm. R. Fisher Joins Club !1 Abelson Deserves a Hand I Dollinger Hitting Them Out r Peters Overcame Animosity i McNeill's Display Great I Drachman LTsed Plane as Plug ' Bill Levey Talks U Morris Talks On Loyalty r Orlove Gives Some Pointers r Ed. Stone Tells of Kid Stunts II Jay H. Guthrie Joins Club 1! Nininger Watches Stock Room 1i Blanchard's Good-Will Scoop 1 Bickert's Street Float !' Murphy Spiels on Good-Will I Buse's Ballyhoo Had 'Em Talking II Hill Received Full Page Ad T Co-Operation Necessary, Says Egan If Butterfield's Kid Biz. Comments V Binstock's Roulette Wheel V Bovim Constructs Good Fronts ' Bickert Used Spinning Wheel ' Johnson On Art Work ' Charles' Campaign Went Over r Kunze Discusses Equipment H Ewing Clicked with Prosperity Week ' Kenimer Utilized Some Good Ones for repairing some necessary part of the theatre's equipment. Those who used to take such an attitude soon learned, that it was a pennywise and pound foolish policy. Therefore every theatre owner is now in favor of keeping the house in tip-top shape at all times and glad to pay for minor repairs rather than for expensive new equipment. They need not worry about accidents, breakdowns of shows and dissatisfied patrons. Why not inaugurate a new system of house inspection checkup starting this week? Make up a series of charts according to the various members of your staff who are responsible for certain parts of the theatre. Let them handle their own portions in a systematic way and then you take that chart and go over the entire house, starting with the roofs, hanging ceiling, booth, seats, floor and floor coverings, rest rooms, toilets, mezzanine, orchestra, lobbies, foyer, front, marquee and marquee roof, closets, ushers' rooms, porter closets, sinks, cellars, boiler rooms, heating equipment, ventilating equipment, stage, stage gridiron, etc., etc., right down the line not overlooking a single detail. You'll soon learn a lot more about your theatre than you ever knew before, and you'll be able to check waste and make necessary repairs while they are still small items. "Chick"