Report regarding investigation directed to be made by the President in his Executive Order of November 27, 1933, approving the Code of Fair Competition for the motion picture industry (July 1934)

8 Section G. Analysis of all other compensation. — Individuals receiving other than cash compensation are reported in this section. Individual Ranking First the individuals were ranked by departments with producing-distributing companies in first position, producing companies in second position, distributing companies in third position, and exhibiting companies in fourth position. The individual receiving the greatest amount of compensation in the producing-distributing companies was ranked as number one with the rank decreasing as each individual was recorded and tabulated. In other words, the first individual number in the report received the greatest amount of compensation during 1933, while the last-numbered individual received the smallest amount of compensation during the same period. IndividualCompany Relations In addition to the compensation history of each individual who is listed separately in these findings, an operations history of the employing company is set up adjacent to it. This reveals at a glance the relationship of individual compensation to other factors in the employing company's operations. Such a set-up gives adequate coverage to individual-company relations and permits logical analyses and conclusions. Relatives An attempt was made, during this investigation, to obtain information from all related individuals in the motion picture industry. Inasmuch as the facts were gathered from the employing companies and not from the individuals themselves, such facts were, in a great many instances, not available, and, therefore, not consistent or comparable. Because of this, no attempt was made to tabulate the results where obtained, as an incomplete picture would not substantiate true conditions, nor serve as a basis for fair and equitable conclusions. "All Other" Employees and Regular Pay Roll The individuals designated as "all other" in section "A" of the report include all persons not designated under a separate occupation classification. In other words, a total of all individuals listed by occupation plus "all other" individuals indicates the total individuals employed by the reporting companies. Individuals classified as "regular pay roll" employees are, as the classification indicates, the regular employees of the reporting companies. In other words, part-time employees such as extras, musicians, and other individuals not regularly employed are omitted from these totals. Income Tax It will be borne in mind that by the operation of the income-tax laws the net compensation will be less than the gross compensation as disclosed in the tabulated figures. Weekly Wage Rate and Annual Compensation It is quite generally believed that the weekly wage rate of employees in this industry is a barometer of their annual earnings. The findings of this investigation disprove this, however, and reveal that as a general thing the annual earnings are not 52 times greater than the weekly earnings. In other words, the weekly earnings and annual earnings are extremely disproportionate in many instances, with the weekly earnings holding the advantage as far as compensation is concerned. For example: Individual designated as number 102, an actress, received $75,000 during 1933, while her weekly wage rate, $10,000, would indicate earnings of $520,000 for the same period. A more glaring example of the fallacy of estimating annual earnings from weekly wage-rate figures is found in the following: Individual 98, an actor, received $25,000 a week during 1933, but his annual earnings totalled only $76,666.66. In other words, he was employed for approximately 3 weeks during the year, while a full year's employment at that rate would have amounted to $1,300,000. The lower salary brackets indicate the existence of similar conditions. For instance, individual No. 3044, an actor on a $1,200 a week salary basis, earned $400 during the year. Salary Ratios in Producing-Distributing Companies During 1933 compensation to all individuals represented 41.3 percent of the gross receipts of producingdistributing companies. Actors and actresses combined, not including extra players, ranked first, representing 8.6 percent of the gross receipts; clerical and office employees held second place, representing 8.4 percent; studio mechanics, third, representing 4.6 percent; while supervisors ranked fourth, with a representation of 4.4 percent of the gross receipts. If executives, supervisors, and clerical and office employees are eliminated from the ratios, the remaining individuals, who might be classed as direct production employees, represent 26.7 percent of the gross receipts. Total compensation represented 41.3 percent of the gross receipts of producing-distributing companies during 1933, 41.6 percent during 1932, and 37.7 percent during 1931. Salary Ratios in Producing Companies In producing companies, during 1933, total compensation to all individuals accounted for 52.8 percent of the reporting companies' gross receipts, with actors and actresses holding first place and representing 10.8 percent; executives in second position and accounting for 7.2 percent; studio mechanics ranking third and representing 4.4 percent; and artists and sculptors in fourth position, accounting for 4 percent of the gross receipts.