Showmen's Trade Review (Jan-Mar 1945)

February 24, 1945 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW Let's Face It That sage, resourceful and forward-looking showman, Charles Skouras, pointed to some writing on the wall when, addressing key executives of the circuit he heads at a recent gathering in Los Angeles, he declared: "when the battle is over the theatres will be looked to for similar, if not greater efforts," than have been carried on with such efficiency and results for war-connected activities — Bond sales drives, informational service to the public via government-sponsored films, etc. There is little doubt that the industry, by reason of its own demonstrated influence and willingness to serve, has cast itself for a role of paramount importance in that field which is broadly classified under the term "communications"— which takes in newspapers, radio and the public forum at which official statement and debate of government policy is enunciated. And that means this industry must face the issue of such great responsibility as attaches to a medium of recognized influence and utilization in the field of national and international affairs. It is to be hoped that the motion picture will be left free from all and any outside pressures (government-, social or religious-inspired) to carry on in the democratic way under which the art and informational form has been developed chiefly by the industry in this country. But eternal vigilance toward that end is indicated — a factor in itself which should call for far more harmonious relations between the exhibitor and distributor branches than have existed in the industry these many years. It need not be pointed out that all branches of the industry must hang together — or, surely, they will be hanged separately. What the coming development will mean to the individual theatre owner and manager, cannot be even guessed in detail now. There are some obvious conclusions, of course. Theatres will need the same energetic showmanship to keep them in the public favor and command the large audiences which have made the screen so potent a force for the dissemination of information. They can do that only by continuing to give the public the kind of entertainment that will please the masses. It is to be hoped that producers never will overlook that factor. And since it is the exhibitor who comes into personal contact with the theatregoing public (and not the producer and distributor) it is further to be hoped that the production branch will consult, in the future more than has been the practice in the past, the majority opinion of the exhibitor as to themes, types of stories and production treatment that will be developed for entertainment in the theatre. The theatre owner can be sure that in the "after the battle" era to which Charles Skouras referred, he will be called upon for a high standard, consistently maintained, of presentation and service to the public. Theatres which do not come up to the highest standards that will develop in rapid-fire fashion, once the world returns to normal, are going to fall by the wayside at a business mortality rate such as this industry has never seen. Other obvious conclusions are equally simple — and essentially fundamental. But since the story in complete outline must await a time when all business can revert to peacetime operation, there is little to be gained by detailed consideration now. Now is the time to recognize that a new day will dawn, a day that will call for great readjustment from stem to stern in this industry. Once that is recognized, accepted and thinking is attuned to a realization that only by cooperation, among all branches of the business, can those individuals and firms now in the field prosper in future as at present, the changes to come will find ready adjustment for the greater good of the greatest numbers inside and outside the motion picture industry. Noted in Passing National headquarters of the industry's Red Cross drive reports pledges for theatre cooperation are ahead of last year's figures at this stage of the campaign. There can be improvement — that is to say, increase in the number of exhibitor pledges — and nothing on the showman's calendar could be more important. Please, if you have not already done so, sign that pledge, mail it to headquarters, and get ready for a good job of keeping the Red Cross at the side of your fighting men in all theatres of war. * s: * Unless several things now cooking are moved off the front burner, you'll be reading — and soon — about some very interesting developments in the front offices of some production and distribution outfits. One of our exhibitor friends gives this definition of a re-issue: "An old-fashioned picture completely modernized by new-fashioned rental demands." * * Our own Dick Kirschbaum — pardon, Major Rirschbaum — shows some of the influence of the China environment in which he served (and all of his old-time adroitness and wit in cartooning) as you'll notice in his cartoon printed elsewhere in this issue. Dick, whom war correspondents say did a swell job in his public relations assignments in the CBI, is also doing a good job of recuperating from ailments which caused his orders to return to the U. S. on sick leave.