The Moving picture world (January 1922)

38 MOVING PICTURE WORLD January 7, 1922 can see the necessity of reducing prices to exhibitors, I cannot see any relief for us." "A financial publication that came to my desk a few weeks ago seems to have hit the nail on the head with the following headline: 'It isn't hard times coming, just soft times passing,'" said Bruce Fowler, manager of tlie Elmwood Thea- tre, one of the big West Side neighbor- hood theatres. "Business is what you make it—the individual exhibitor must rely upon his own judgment in the many angles of this business to show a successful business year or a losing one. All the beautiful hand-colored postal cards sent us by good friends conveying their sincere wish for a prosperous New Year won't amount to much unless we realize that 'It is not hard times coming, just soft times passing,' and settle down to brass tacks. "The outlook for 1922 is work! The fellow who works the hardest and uses several ounces of intelligence in connec- tion with his work will have a happy, prosperous New Year." Keep Faith, Says Beckerich Al Beckerich, manager of the new Loew State Theatre, can see no hard times ahead. He declares that with consistent advertising and policy and the backing up of all publicity with the "goods," always brings home the well known bacon. Al- ways keep faith with the public is Mr. Beckerich's motto. "You can't splash one week with a big picture and 'cheat' the following week," he said. "Business at our house has been nothing short of phenomenal. Much of this, of course, we attribute to the new- ness of the house, its elaborate furnish- ings and polite employes. Service is a most important thing in attracting and holding patrons. We drill all our em- ployes until they dream about service. Our programs have been consistent. We have been maintaining the same high standard every week since opening. I see no hard times ahead for the hard worker. I feel that the day of the picture with a star and no story is gone. The people want stories, not stars." No Early Relief — Smith Howard J. Smith, manager of the Pal- ace Theatre and president of the Western New York unit of the M.P.T.O.A., de- clares that nothing is more certain than a return to prosperity, but thinks it is quite a long way off. He said: "The business in our territory since last March has been not over 70 per cent, of normal. This loss of 30 per cent, has been due to general business conditions which still continue. Every week or two some pen driver in Washington gets pub- licity on the statement that three more men out of 3,000,000 have found jobs, but the real condition has not yet changed. "It is not possible to predict the future of the picture business without, at the same time, predicting the course of gen- eral business. That is a large order. Noth- ing is more certain than the return of prosperity, sometime, but the when is what interests us all right now. "I fail to see any signs sufficiently clear to indicate real prosperity. The winter season or the months of January and February are the heart of the best season and with those ahead of us we should look forward to a slight temporary improve- ment, to be succeeded by the usual de- clines during Lent and the summer. It looks to me as if the best we can expect is an improvement by next fall. In the meantime lower film prices are the only possible salvation of the business." Kansas City Conditions Bad Now But Early Improvement f^xpected BUSINESS conditions in general have been very unsatisfactory the past year, and in particular the mov- ing picture trade, at least here, has felt a decided change from the previous years. The first six months of 1921, were very good, exhibitors say, and indications were that the trade would experience one of the best years since its opening year; but the past six months, exhibitors agree, have been extremely dull. Kansas City has had several conditions that other cities have not felt, one of these being the mild weather during the entire winter. Only a few days have been regu- lar winter days and this is certain to re- tard trade in this line, as in others. People seem to be rather hesitant about spend- ing money for anything, and in the way of amusements, it is said that people who are not economizing in other lines have foregone their usual number of shows, which, in itself, has hurt business. Also, this winter, Kansas City has had an incipent smallpox epidemic, which handicapped practically every business, and the theatres were among the first to feel this. This, however, is now entirely over and people are again resuming their habits, so that exhibitors think that the harm this has done in the past will not be a factor in business after the first of the year. There was no quarantine. Another reason for the present serious conditions is that Kansas City has an oversupply of seats and cannot supply business for the number of theatres now doing business here. In regard to this. Milton Field, general manager of the Newman, remarked: Added 5,600 Seats in Year "During the past three months Kansas City has had an addition of 5,600 seats, without a corresponding increase in the population. This has been verv detri- mental to our business, and has, in fact, proved to be one of the biggest factors in making present conditions as serious as they are. We are very hopeful of the new year, and are expecting a definite improvement in business after January 1. Conditions are at this time very bad, and without a change for the better with the New Year, it is evident that they will become even more serious. The first six months of 1921 were good, and though the past six months have not been so good as the early part of 1921, or 1920, we are hoping for business alter the first to improve, so that the first months of 1922 can be compared favorably with other and better years." This seems to be a feature of business that has affected all the exhibitors, as other opinions expressed were to the same effect. The general opinion among exhibitors seems to be that business conditions can- not continue as during the last few months. With the new year it is be- lieved that a change will he noticed by the different houses, and optimistic managers believe it will be for the better, as several of the detrimental factors of 1921 are past, and at least as seen from now, the New Year appears to be free of any fea- tures harmful to business interests. Philadelphia Stanley Company Finds Busi- ness "Looking Up" AMONG the many exhibitors inter- viewed regarding the prospects for a prosperous New Year during 1922, there seems to be the prevailing spirit of optimism everywhere in Phila- delphia. It was difficult however to secure an analytical forecast concerning the motion picture business, excepting from two men, Jules E. Mastbaum and George Kline. However, there seems to be an underlying current of opinion that there are better times in store for exhibitors. One thing is certain and it is thaf the improvement lieing looked for will certainly be here (luring the spring. Indications which seem to point this way are the fact that the textile mills are nearly all working full time while the metal trade shows signs of a general ac- tivity. Another encouraging fact was the announcement made in one of Philadel- phia's leading newspapers that department store managers claim that this year they sold more merchandise than any other time during the holidays. Jules E. Mastbaum, president of the Stanley Company of America, predicts a much brighter outlook. He said: "I am convinced that the amusement loving public has been falsely imbued with the idea that motion picture and amusement enterprises as a whole are struggling in a morass of difficulties. True, as in all business conducted on a large scale, the industry has been beset with hardships from time to time. The war made no exception in its dire effects on this national enterprise, nor again has it been free from the even more serious inroads of the unsettled conditions and general unemployment subsequent to the armistice. And yet the producers and theatre managers have survived, and in their daily battle not once have they sub-