Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1944)

Octvhrr 7. n> l I S H O W M ]£ N • S TRADE REVIEW Theatres To Dwarf Hollywood As Postwar Buyer Backlog of Exhibitor Orders Tops MultiMillion Dollar Studio Improvement Program Theatre owners of America will spend an amount of money for postwar improvement that will dwarf Hollywood's announced mtention to expand studio facilities at a cost ot $14 000 000 to $15,000,000. Exhibitors will spend more than that for projection and sound equipment in existino theatres alone. And the lattei is but a part of the program of postwar improvement under which theatre owners will pour in through dealer agencies a huge volume of orders for special apparatus, heating and ventilating, seats, carpets, lighting fixtures and -ther equipment, as well as structural materials, to factories all over the country. One of the outstanding facts about the huge backlog of theatre orders is that, as compared with many other lines of business, the level ot ability to" pay as well as the desire to buy is extraordinarily hig'h in the theatre field gen "^That the buying potential of the theatre field mounts to staggering volume in terms of dollars and that an exceptionally high percentage _ ot theatre businesses are in the financial condition to make purchases for improvement of existing plants are two points that stand out m striking relief as initial factors are revealed by a survey of the national situation. Excluding from consideration the great amount of entirely new theatre projects that are certain to be initiated as soon as new building can be resumed, the amount of money earmarked for "rehabilitation" purchases by the theatre owners will combine with that which will be spent bv producers and distributors to make the inotion picture industry one of the most conspicuous contributors to the postwar manufacturing program that is expected _ to keep American factories humming and provide widespread employment for both skilled and iinskilled labor as soon as the conversion to civilian goods production gets under way. Important Factors Rerealed Some of the important factors revealed in the survey undertaken by this publication are the following: The entirely specialized equipbent of motion picture theatres (projectors, sound systems, and accessory units) will be in a demand never before known in this industry. Manufacturers of theatre seats will find themselves swamped with orders— for installations in existing theatres alone. Carpet mills can count on theatres now m business to take huge quantities of the product of their looms. Air conditioning concerns will find the theatre field a veritable bonanza of orders. Lighting fixtures, attraction boards and other marquee equipment will be bought in huge Quantities as fast as it can be delivered. Swelling the total of buying that theatres Wi.l do when civihan goods are again in production, will be the huge amount of structural material that will be consumed in carrying out remodeling operations for purposes of expansion of theatre capacities to some extent but more commonly for improvement of such facilities as lobbies, foyers and retiring rooms. That there will be a large amount of new building for theatres that will compete with many now in existence is a certainty, but there is no accurate measure of this factor at this particular time. However, there will be a big new building program to efifect the entire replacement, plans for which are in many cases now ready, of theatres now operating. In connection with this latter move, our survey shows that the vast majority of theatremen are keenly aware that one of the postwar devel npnH'nt> will be a surge of keener competition. This is a natural consequence of the big business tlieatres as a general class of commercial enter])rise have done during the war in comparison with many other lines. While it is abundantly clear from information ■iathered on the matter that there will be a large amount of new building for expansion of established theatre organizations, conditions in most centers of the country are such that there is adequate seating capacity at the present time. Only in those areas where population shifts during the war have been exceptional is there a need for more theatres. In the main, however, theatremen who have kept their eye on changing conditions are convinced that any great amount of purely new theatre enterprise will oversharpen the competitive situation and result in either the old or the new operation, but not both, making a substantial go of it over a period of years. To avoid any such future complication, progressive theatre owners are definitely committed to a program of improvement of their plants, even entire replacement of badly outmoded theatres by entirely new structures. Indeed, the evidences of great interest in theatre business by individuals and organizations not previously associated with it ( because of the business showing the picture theatres have made during the war) have not been lost on men in the theatre business. Consequently, there is a self-preservation motive in the widespread determination of theatre owners to spruce up their properties, their show presentations, their accommodations and the appearance of their establishments on a scale unprecedented in this business. One of the things that have retarded specific plans, and an element responsible for the fact that there are not, right at this time, thousands of detailed drawings as well as order lists pre pared by theatre owners, is the fact that only limited information is available as to what, when and where the needed materials can be bought. Had manufacturers been in a position to give more indication as to those three points, there would be a far more precise gauge at the moment as to how much, where and what kind of theatre equipment orders are ready to be liicked up by dealers and manufacturers sales representatives. Even so, authentic evidence is sufficiently clear at this time to know that manufacturers of the articles detailed above have never known the time when the theatre field was ready, willing, eager and able to pay for such a volume of their products as soon as the seller is ready to talk prices and deliveries. It is a reasonable assumption that with the swing back to civilian goods manufacture the motion picture theatre, to a degree even greater than in the past, will prove to be the country's greatest "show window" for everything that's new and "postwar." For just as air conditioning' in the comfort field was given its great stimulus and appeal to other business establishments, as well as homes and offices (because people "sampled" air conditioning when they went to the picture shows) new designs in a wide variety of commodities are expected to receive their most favorable introduction to the public via the picture theatre. This factor is supported by statements of merchandising men recently queried on the subject. Perhaps no one thing has done more to bring the theatre into the spotlight in this respect than the importance with which government agencies regarded picture theatres in connection with reaching the public in a visual way through cooperation of motion picture houses all over the country in war loan and other campaigns. This angle was mentioned repeatedly by merchandising men contacted by this publication. T E D PA Meet Spotlishts Film Industry s Interest In Postwar Theatre Equipment The equipment side of the motion picture business this week took its place as the "A" feature when the Theatre Equipment Dealers Protective Association opened its annual convention on Friday at the Bismark Hotel, Chicago. With many matters of interest up for discussion — ■ including" the all-important one of reconversion — the meeting was assured of capacity attendance, with more than 200 dealers, manufacturers, and industry leaders already registered. The association itself, of which Ray G. Colvin is president-secretary, now has 41 equipment manufacturers and dealers^^as active members. "Looking ahead" might be said to be the keynote of the convention. During the sessions, which run through Sunday, round table discussions were planned to cover the problems that confront members, not only at the present time, but in relation to possible conditions after the European phase of the war is completed. In these discussions the spotlight was expected to be turned on Allen G. Smith, theatre expert for the WPB, and Nathan D. Golden, head of the film department of the Department of Commerce. (Smith has been fighting to remove priorities on various items of vital booth equipment.) Equipment manufacturers have set up displays that indicate new things to come when materials are available. order L-325 to permit purchase without priority ratings of booth accessories such as reels, changeovers, rewinders, film tables, and film cabinets. A second amendment to the same order provides that manufacturers may take advantage of Donald Nelson's order, PR-25, which allows extra quota production of booth equipment in areas where manpower can be used without interfering with the war effort and where existing stocks of materials are at hand. Allen G. Smith, head of the theatre equipment division of the WPB, was responsible for the easement. His argument before the clearance committee : that the old system involved much paper work that could be eliminated. Exhibitors should take note that the amendment provides for a change of form in the filing under L-32S. A new form, 1319, will be used from now on, which allows applicants to leave blank many of the questions not needed for information by the theatre equipment section. Both old and new forms may be used this month, however. WPB Lifts Priorities On Booth Accessories The equipment supply problem was further eased when the War Production Board amended U. S. to Survey World Market The post-war market in Europe for Americanmade equipment, about which manufacturers have been completely in the dark, is soon to be revealed through a detailed questionnaire sent to all embassies. It was learned this week that the Department of Commerce has authorized such a questionnaire and placed its preparation in the hands of Nathan D. Golden, D of C film expert.