Publix Opinion (Jun 13, 1930)

10 COMPANY NOW EVERYBODY'S ENTERPRISE (Continued from Page Nine) company is bigger than any individual in it and he said he realized, further, that nothing should prevail in’ the company that wouldn’t automatically say to every last man flung throughout the entire world that this company is no longer a private enterprise, but everybody’s enterprise. First, it is owned by the _ public; second, every fellow in it has a right to look to that ‘top. That’s a pretty fair thing, fellows—pretty big. And Tollowing that, you will note in the new pictures coming to you in the next sixty days that the name of Adolph Zukor and Jesse Lasky is entirely off the film. Your new pictures will read ‘‘Paramount presents.”’ | : Human Spirit And Mr. Zukor, after all these -years, did the same thing Lasky had done, and after he had done it Ben Schulberg caught the spirit of the times and took his name off and then Manny Cohen took his name off the news weekly, so that today your company has grown in mental stature so that it rightfully has a place in the greatest industries of the world and your leaders _have grown, not only from an industrial standpoint, but in that fine human realization that I just pointed out to you. It wasn’t an easy task to take the name of Finkelstein and Ruben or Balaban and Katz off the signs, and it was not an easy task for Mr. Zukor and Mr. Lasky. About ten days ago, in Atlantic City, we had our first convention of the Paramount Publix Corporation and it was an extremely interesting convention; not only interesting from the standpoint of product that was read off but when Mr. Lasky got up to talk nobody in the room, and we were amply represented with the theatre fellows, could. tell from his speech whether he was making a theatre operation or production speech, because every second, third or fourth sentence was ‘‘our theatres’ and ‘‘we must do this for our theatres’ and ‘“‘this progress was the result of our theatres.’’ And when Mr. Kent spoke he might just as well have been Katz, because he said that for this coming year and from now on there ~ would be a new system—a new method of cataloguing would be done, a new method of measuring. They would be measured in terms of classifications and by the: good will that they, in their travels around the United States, establish, and by the partnerships that they brought to us,—not with sledge hammers or threats or any of that old-fashioned nonsense, but by fair play. And frankly, when it came my turn to talk at the Convention I just felt a little bit ill at ease, and I think before I got through I was talking distribution, because it was a new spirit—something different. . | Ue Has Happened | I hoped for it to happen. I wasn’t sure I would live long enough to see it, but it has happened. ’ Everybody realizes that we are working for the same net dollar and the same net results, and everybody has a place in the company and everybody can, fulfill his greatest ambition in the company, whether he happens to be in the theatre end, the distribution end, or the production end. I don’t mind confessing to you that it hasn’t always been so within our own company. I’m not going to stand up here and tell you we have been brothers and got along fine all the time. That isn’t so. We fought like blazes. We came close to civil wars many \ PUBLIX OPINION, WEEK OF JUNE 13rn, 1930 times, and were it not for our great respect and worship for Mr. Zukor, we would have been cut apart long ago.. It apparently took all of these years to have the understanding of the other fellow’s problems and bring about the condition we now have. Personally, I didn’t give in because I had made up my mind early in New York that I would never sacrifice any of our boys to satisfy a producing or distributing viewpoint, and while I don’t want to go into it, I know some -of you know it wasn’t always the easiest chair to sit in. I wouldn’t go through it again and I wouldn’t have missed it, because out of it I have obtained something pretty fine. Moreover, I know that Mr. Kent with the great ability he has, is going to be a great champion for us, because now he will have more time on his hands for circuit development and we can enlist his ability for our use. Out of the convention came this situation. It was the first time in the history of Paramount that the theatre department sat in on a discussion, of every picture that we are going | to run this year, and no picture, with the exception of one in the book, was really contracted for by previous contract without an okay from a theatre standpoint. The studio and theatre departments are co-operating wonderfully. You will notice all the young stars. The studio is doing the ‘same thing Lasky did—they are determined that this business is not going to rest on any one or two executives any more than its Read It All Aloud To All Your Staff! The department head, or theatre manager for whom Mr. Katz sees greatest ad-vancement, is the one who will immediately call a meeting of his entire personnel— and read aloud ‘‘The Story of Publix’ as contained in Mr. Katz’ addresses in this issue. If you do this—you’ll find an instant heightening of understanding, morale, and co-operation in your operation. —SAM DEMBOW, Jr. Se every Paramount picture that comes along should have it on it. I pity the bird who leaves Paramount off and he should feel sorry for himself, In my opening statement I re ferred to expansion. Now, that money has to come from some where to do that kind of a job. At the present time your company does not owe a single dollar—banks, current accounts or anything. Your company is very, very independent. It has a small bond issue and then its common stock. Your company, further, has the confidence of its investors, and that confidence shall never be shaken, and that is the biggest trusteeship, in the first instance. And second, this should be as im-. portant a trusteeship to you as it is to us. Boys, when they buy our securities here is what they are entitled to. First, to have confidence in our integrity and our character. Second, to get a return on that investment, and third, the realization and full appreciation of that investment. : Realize Your Trust | You, who are in the theatre and know that the name of the company is Paramount Publix, are the closest contact with those investors. By your conduct, by your character, will they judge these securities, and when you loaf and when you cheat, remember you are cheating others besides yourselves. There are thousands of people who believe you are on the level and studio is going to rest on any one When you read the list of writers and directors in this book you will be learning the You will go through this book and get a tremendous kick out of the number of young people that are on or two stars. “whos who” of the theatre. the payroll. The Same Group We may not make as much money as some of the other companies may make, but we will make it when all pass out of the parade and we will be content to make a little less when we know that five or ten years from now we will be talking to the same group in the same business. Now that Paramount is selling on percentage, we in the theatre department, sales department and production department want something definitely done and that is this: We operate in most of the key centers around the United States and by our exploitation we radiate the producer, and every adjacent community must know that every Paramount pic ture playing our theatres is a Paramount picture. We don’t mean by that a lot of expensive campaigns. We have to have: the revenue flow in. We have to have better pictures. We, in the theatre department, have to find something to bring in that increased revenue, which will, in turn, give us better product so when you are writing your copy, made an investment in you. When the company was Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation, they didn’t know whether these theatres were a part of it or not, but with Paramount Publix they know it and I tell you, as I have told everybody around the country in my swing, we have an obligation. ; We have an obligation to those security holders because that is the only way we will get additional funds to carry on and I hope none of our boys, anywhere, will be the reason why we have to stop or halt our progress. It’s not a privately owned enterprise belonging to Mr. Zukor or Mr. Lasky. It belongs to everybody—it belongs to you, and all outside people who have their money in. it, and they are entitled to a really honest return for their money. Now it was with great, great pleasure that I came here and learned of the very splendid cooperation that you extended to Mr. Mullin during his stay in Minneapolis. The boys told me that a really fine something was developed between Mullin and you boys —that you were all for him and I know by your performance this was SO. Mullin was just one of those Irishmen who ingratiate them-. selves in your system, which is fine, and by that support and welding of this organization, it was possible to lift Mullin out of here and take him on to Boston where he succeeded a thoroughly capable man—Mr. Fitzgibbons, who step ped out and took even a bigger lead than he had welding the seven New England States together. Naturally when the question of having somebody take up the work here where Mullin left off it wasn’t an easy decision to make. I cannot make a_ decision single-handed. I made a suggestion as to the man for the position and we then came to a conclusion. That was how we picked Marty Mullin to take up the job where Fitzgibbons left off. When we canvassed twelve or fifteen boys in the office as to who should come out here, the answer was unanimous—‘“L. J.’’, as the boys call him in the office. | Another Promotion Now it has been my pleasure to work alongside Mr. Ludwig for about six and a half or seven years. He came to us quite unheralded—a bookkeeper—modest, quiet fellow, and after those six or seven years he finished quite a modest, unheralded and unpublicized individual, but those of us who had intimate contact with him knew a really fine fellow underneath that skin and felt that things would be safe in Ludwig’s hands wherever he might be. We feel sure that the same affection that you had grown to have for Mr. Mullin you will have for Ludwig. His approach is different. He doesn’t have the effervescent something that God gave to the Trish, but he has all of the other fine things—a really upright, upstanding man, and he has the best wishes of everybody in the organization. Throughout my _ entire trip all that everybody said to me along the road was, “‘Give all my best to L. J., all my best to L. J.” That’s the way he sets with the gang which has known him for sometime and I know this same thing will be the report to me after he has been here for a while. I don’t mind telling you that when I sent for him and told him to go pack his bag and go to Minneapolis, he said, ‘‘This is my first venture in theatre operation. I don’t know whether I will make the grade. I'll try and give the best I have and if I don’t think I like a he-man, stood up on his two pins, and the questions I asked him were not easy—there were some very personal ones, but they necessarily had to be so. have known him for a long time, but I called everything what it should be called. I was glad I talked with him. I am tickled to death about it and I know that Harold is going to do a great job here or any other place, and I know he is going to be successful © —and by merit. Now in conclusion I want to say this to you. The best. friends that you — have anywhere in the world, including your family, are your associates, and all you fellows in this company. I say that fully realizing the statement I make, because your family, in its most selfish interest in you, hasn’t any greater interest than we have in you in our desire _to see you develop and grow and make something of your_ Selves and be dependent upon you. That is a very selfish reason for us to be your best friends. : Complete Confidence | pi et ea ANE So 2 AS ee I want to tell you that the fellows in the home office have great confidence in you. They respect you. They have great tolerance, and patience as a good family ought to have for you and with you. They think you are the finest lot of fellows in the world. They wouldn’t give thirty cents for anybody outside of this organization and in return, on behalf of all than that you have that same confidence in us. I ask that you hold for us the same respect that we hold for you. I ask that you believe we are the greatest lot of fellows that you know of anywhere. I beseech your tolerance with us and I ask your patience with us, and believe me I mean this. We are a great big enterprise. We are growing rapidly. We are not perfect. We are not 100% efficient. I think we are running about 70% can make the grade I will be the first to tell you—then let me take the pen and go back to the books again.” But with the same support you have given Mullin, I think L. J. can throw the books away: Eddie has given us a fine job. Bringing Eddie Ruben, the son of a previous owner, to New York and welding him into a gang, of whom there were no other sons of former owners, wasn’t an easy spot to fit a fellow into. He went about his job patiently. He got the spirit of the organization into his system and we are very happy with him. He has been a great champion of you boys. Not once does he come back from a trip that he doesn’t bolt into my office and tell me about the progress of you fellows and tell me we have the manpower out there, and that he is ready to furnish me with the manpower we need. | A Tribute | I had a delightful meeting with Harold Finkelstein about two weeks ago. I turned all the cards straight up, told Harold exactly what I thought and I’m pretty sure I left nothing to his imagination. I asked him a few pointed questions, and he banged them out _ ANNIVERSARY AHEAD? Within the next few weeks, ' celebrate their anniversaries. If it is, start thinking NOW how you can turn that event into Exploitation stunts? Also, don’t forget the Home Office special money at your box office. stories and tieups? anniversary trailer you may get THEATRE TOWN OPENING DATE | Paris . Durham, N. C., June 28, 1920 Carolina Greenville, S. C. June 29, 1925 Lyric Jackson, Tenn. July, 19138 Harvard North Cambridge, Mass. July 1 efficient nationally, and if, at the snap of your finger, you ~ ask for this, that or the other thing and it doesn’t come, it isn’t because your organization is so big it’s full of red tape. No such thing—but every time you are asking for a thing, maybe 1560 others are asking for the same thing, and the Federal Reserve bank wouldn't be big enough to take care of it. Even if we did have all the money, the man power to judiciously and intelligently spend it hasn’t come into being, and I repeat again, we are not perfect —not by a’ long shot, but we are trying to be and our ambition is to be perfect and with ‘your patience with us this will come at the proper time. As I said to you before, and I repeat it again, we will make mistakes as regards some of you men, but I promise you they will be mistakes of judgment and not intent. So I repeat again, just ex| tend to us all the fine, wholesome feeling that we have for all of you and, fellows, if you do all of that, the next time I come around we will all be a better organization and .a bigger organization, | and! we will all be the happier for it and in one, two or three years” from now, you will walk with your chest out, because you are working for a fine, fine enterprise. the theatres listed below will Is your theatre among them? Newspaper | by writing to L. L. Edwards. ; I grew . up with his father in business and those boys, I ask no more, no less, ©