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396 Moving Picture World January, 30,
WHAT DO
OF THIS
(No. 469 Straight from the Shoulder Talk by Carl Laemmle, President Universal Pictures Corporation*)
I'VE JUST HAD A SHOCK. AN EXHIBITOR SAID TO ME, "THE trouble with you Universal folks is that you are too modest. As a matter of fact you have beaten every other company in the world every year for the last five years in the high percentage of consistently good hox'office pictures. But you have let some of the other fellows out-yell you. They have been making claims while you have been making good pictures. You're too darned modest."
WELL, HEAVENS AND EARTH, I NEVER SUSPECTED UNIversal was unduly modest. I knew mighty well we had a higher batting average than anyone, but I thought we had been yelling about it in rather loud and immodest tones.
IT'S SOMETHING OF A SHOCK FOR ANYONE TO BE Accused of modesty in the picture business .... so I've had a shock.
NOW, ON LOOKING BACK OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS, IT is not only gratifying but it is really surprising to see how far behind we have left everybody else on the percentage of pictures that have made fat profits for exhibitors,
OTHERS HAVE SPENT AS MUCH MONEY AS WE HAVE. SOME have spent more. Some have spent less. Some have made a terrific noise about the awful prices they have paid for stories, plays and well-known books. But when the actual pictures were delivered, most of them proved to be artistic successes and commercial flops.
DURING THESE FIVE YEARS, SOME COMPANIES HAVE HAD one or two or even three good years as far as product is concerned, but not a single one had hit the mark regularly for five successive years as Universal has.