Screenland ((Jan–Jun 1947))

first theater and kept the two houses he had bought from his competitors. Two houses — a chain. His future began. The years went on. Gradually Lou Ansell bought up other theaters. In 1933 his brother, Joseph, joined him in the business, to be a partner in every venture from that day forward. Their theater chain grew. By 1946, the Ansell brothers owned thirty theaters in Missouri. Everything was running smoothly. Too smoothly, for Lou was beginning to get bored. The theaters almost ran themselves. Brother Joseph looked after all matters financial. Lou could no longer run after the film, or lug ice down the street. He began to talk about getting into the producing end of the business. He talked so long and so hard that both his wife and his brother said either to produce a picture or shut up. Lou didn't shut up. He wanted to test out a few of his theories. One was that the bobby-sox contingent, reportedly the backbone of the box office, did not buy the majority of tickets. His survey showed that less than ten percent of the admissions from his thirty Missouri theaters came from bobby-soxers. Rather, it was the middleaged group who spent their evenings "going to the movies." Another theory of his was that star "names" were not necessarily box office dynamite. He had been checking box office receipts for years. He knew whereof he spoke, and he had found that most star "names" had no box office draw at all. If the picture was bad, even biggies had lost money for him. Furthermore, rather than "names," Ansell believed that exploitation was the answer to the exhibitors' prayer. With intelligent, provocative, conversation-making exploitation, a picture with only featured players could make money. "When you sit in the office and count up your receipts," says Ansell, "you learn the facts of the picture business. And the facts are: that most of the movie going public are over thirty-five; that many of the so-called big names don't mean a thing on the marquee. I learned that the best advertising in the world is by wordof-mouth. When one person tells another that a picture is good, the exhibitor makes money. I found that the thing that makes people talk about a picture in a way to get others to buy tickets was not the name of the star, nor a plot aimed at adolescents, but a good, solid story. There are a lot of good actors and actresses in Hollywood who are not big stars. They can do as good a job as names. If they have a good story to back them up, the picture is a hit." These are revolutionary thoughts. We've heard of the bobby sox group. We've heard of the "star system." We've almost come to believe it. But an exhibitor isn't fooled by press agentry, by fads, nor ballyhoo. He looks at just one thing: the box office receipts at the end of the day. Lou Ansell, with thirty-five years experience of counting such receipts, should be in a position to know what kind of pictures make money. That's why "Women in the Night" is a test case, so to speak. For not only did he use his good common sense in circumventing production costs, he gambled on his convictions. As a result, his picture is definitely adult; it is not slanted just for young people. It deals with an exciting, shocking, dramatic story, a real story — a true one. But it is not sweet sixteen-ish. Also, lie has gambled his money, $800,000 of it, on the fact that if a story is good, you don't need top star names. His players are excellent; but they aren't biggies. Virginia Christine, Bill Henry, Tala Birell are not the Gables, the Turners, or the Garsons. But Lou Ansell is gambling that good acting in a good story will ring the register. Years ago, when Lou Ansell saw that first flickering picture on the bakery wall, it must have seemed a long way to success and fame. As for his ever being a Hollywood movie producer, well, that wasn't even in the script. So today, as the curtain goes up on the most exciting chapter of his life, he must feel a certain satisfaction. If "Women in the Night" is a success, Lou's $800,000 will grow into a gargantuan golden ball. He'll take that money and make another picture. If that succeeds, he'll make still another. But, even if it fails, the worst that can ever happen to Lou is to return to his chain of theaters and count his profits at the end of the day. For, although this time he and his brother could lose considerably more than $300, Lou will never have to work as a stenographer again. You see, it's a wonderful life we have here in these United States, where yesterday's Lou Ansell, stenographer, is today's Lou Ansell, producer. It's a wonderful life because of a very precious American heritage: the right to dream. SCREENLAND NOREEN NASH For Lovely, Lustrous Hair NOREEN NASH'S bewitching hair charmingly illustrates the exquisite beauty possible in hair of her shade. 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TITLE HODGE-PODGE The Best Years of Our Lives; The Shocking Miss Pilgrim; Blaze of Noon; Stairway to Heaven; Till the Clouds Roll By; The Sea of Grass; Suddenly It's Spring; That Way With Women; I've Always Loved You; The Walls Came Tumbling Down. OH, SAY, CAN YOU SEE? 1. Gable; 2. Loy; 3. Tracy; 4. Garland; 5. Cooper; 6. Wright; 7. Conway; 8. Garson; 9. Bowman; 10. Allyson.