Moving Picture World (Jan-Feb 1925)

January 3, 1925 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 23 Charge Combines Using ^^Blackjack^^ Tactics to Absorb Timid Exhibitor Abe Warner Says Warner Bros. Has Received Many Complaints and Letters That Unless Showmen ^^Stand Paf^ Trusts Will Prevail Abe WARNER, of Warner Brothers, issued this week the following highly interesting statement: “For some time past numerous complaints have been received in our office from exhibitors finding fault with interests in almost every key city, who have been trying to frighten them, and others, into selling their houses or turning over their bookings under penalty of opening opposition theatres. ‘‘For the most part, these combines claim to have big producer affiliations in addition to the product they are interested in, and use this as a club to bulldoze timid exhibitors, with a further threat that if they do not agree to the demands, their source of picture supply will be cut off. Films Too Jazzy If Dean McCready of Christ Church Cathedral, Louisville, Ky., is right, the young men of today ought to rise up in their wrath and smite the motion picture one plunk in the solar plexus. You see, the films display lavish living, and the girls have their heads turned, and the young men, in trying to increase earnings rapidly to make a hit with the girls, undertake questionable business methods. These are the Dean’s views as expressed before the Kiwanians. Motion pictures of fast steppers get the girls to thinking too much about the glitter and tinsel of life, and make them dissatisfied with ice cream sodas at the comer dfug store, and lisle hosiery. "There is no such wealth and luxury in America, that I know of, as they show us in the picture shows,” declared the Dean. HARRY RATHNER’S WIFE SERIOUSLY INJURED BY AUTO Harry Rathner, special representative of Principal Pictures Corporation, was summoned this week to New York from Detroit to find that his wife had been seriously Injured as the result of being struck by an automobile at 141st street and Amsterdam avenue. Mrs. Rathner was taken to the Knickerbocker Hospital where it was found that twelve ribs were fractured and a shoulder blade broken. The police made every effort to locate the driver of the auto, without success. Selling ^our Seats How Harry Seel handles his local talent gold mine. Horning Bebe Daniels into an antomohile race. Manhattan shirts seil Manhattan picture. Another elaborate Sea Hawk campaign with a new style card. How Hyman surrounded Christine of the Hungry Heart at the Mark-Strand, Brooklyn. Fannce illuminates his show window compo board book titles. The flapper show hits Hngland. Hehoes “here, too,” on big city ads. You can get real semaphores for The Signal Tower. A two-piece idea for K — The Unknown. Gave ont half a million Navigator rotos on one stunt. Tod Browning uses cross word puzzles on his programs. What a good hook-up really is. Dallas manager gives special show for Community Chest. lioaves of bread form “eutout” letters for Bread. Good advertising examples on Classmates, The Signal Tower, The Fast Set, The Red Liiy, The Navigator, The Sea Hawk, The Reckless Age and This Woman. Study them, then show them to your printer. (All of these money making hints — and a lot more — can be found in Selling the Picture to the Public. 2' urn over a few pages and note them all down.) “Whenever visiting exhibitors have dropped into our office to talk over business, this game of bulldoze, threat and bluff, has been the main topic of conversation. We have also received numerous letters from various points expressing the fear that unless the exhibitors stand pat and refused to be intimidated, the next two or three years will find all the individual exhibitors gobbled up and the country split up into a series of combines which might eventually lead to the entire business being controlled by one or more big trusts. “It is easy to see what would happen to the independent producer, as well as to the exhibitor, if this should take place — which is not at all unlikely unless something is done about it. “One prominent exhibitor this week writes our firm as follows: “ ‘If every big producing or distributing company would issue a statement saying that exhibitors who have stood by them would be protected, it would put a little backbone into timid exhibitors, and prevent them from being bulldozed.’ “Speaking for our own company, I want it distinctly understood that Warner Bros, is the friend of every exhibitor who believes in the ‘live-and-let-live’ policy, and we are with them one hundred per cent. “I am aware of the various tactics being employed by these combines. It is like a game of poker. When big interests go to smaller exhibitors for the purpose of either obtaining their houses or bookings, the theatre owner does not know whether it is a bluff or not. Sometimes he sits tight, only to wake up some morning to find that the other chap’s threats have been carried out. “Warner Bros, is not, nor do we intend to become, part of any such manipulation. I want to go on record that Warner Bros, does not intend to build or lease theatres in any territory or locality where the exhibitor is showing our product, and that same applies to our franchise holders, because there are plenty of places to build where the exhibitors have combined not to play our pictures. “Furthermore, exhibitors throughout the United States can laugh at any person who comes along claiming to have affiliation with us, and using a threat to see that our product is discontinued, if certain demands are not complied with. We will stand by every exhibitor who stands by us until the last ditch, and we will not stand for any bulldozing tactics by anyone using our name, “To show that we mean business, a short time ago one of our franchise holders became affiliated with a combine that tried to promote a theatre through certain real estate agents in a town in opposition to an exhibitor who had long been our friend. This man immediately wrote us of what had happened and asked if we were going to stand for such action, as he had been told the only way the combine would consider him at all was to lease his house and give him a percentage proposition. In lieu of that, they were determined to go ahead and build right near the exhibitor. We immediately wrote our franchise holder as follows: “ ‘If you are lined up with this combine in such a way that the affiliation will injure your business — which is a part of ours — you had better decide quickly as to whether you want to do business with these interests or with Warner Bros.’ “The result of this was that our franchise holder saw the light and brought influence to bear on the combine so that our exhibitor was left undisturbed in his territory. “This is the kind of backing we are giving our exhibitor friends and intend to continue to do so. Our advice to any exhibitor using our product is not to be bluffed with a scarecrow proposition. We will see that you are protected, and no one can stop you from obtaining our product if you have been our friend.” OKLAHOMA EXHIBITORS NAME A CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE The Oklahoma Theatre Owners and Managers Association last week appointed a Congressional Committee, one exhibitor from each senatorial district to look after the interest of the organization at the State Capitol while the Legislature is in session. The duty of the committee will also include the launching of a campaign to reopen Sunday motion pictures in towns where they are now barred.