Showmen's Trade Review (Apr-Jun 1945)

May 12, 1945 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW 7 Look Ahead With one-half of the war won our country's resources are now turned full blast on the Pacific battle area. Until that mess is finished we are still, very definitely, fighting a hell of a tough war. And don't let's lose sight of that for a moment. Currently, you are involved in the Seventh War Loan Campaign and now, more than ever, bond sales are vitally important. Don't kid yourselves that because half the war is over you can relax fifty per cent on your bond selling efforts. On the contrary, it would be our guess that this is the ideal time to double up on your efforts and push the Showmen's Seventh to a result beyond all expectations. The present, also, is a good time to start analyzing your theatre's operation and how it may be affected by reconversion. Will this shift from total war to at least partial civilian production result in a larger attendance at your theatre? Or will the effect be an adverse one? These and other possible future problems can best be met through advance analysis and planning. If you wait for the problems to arise, your thinking apparatus at that time may be under too much pressure for successful or common sense reasoning out of the solutions. There are excellent possibilities that certain badly needed equipment may, within a reasonable length of time, again become available. Have you contacted your supply dealer to make sure your theatre will be among the first to get the much needed equipment? The demand for theatre chairs, carpets, booth and sound equipment, is certain to overtax the capacities of both the manufacturers and supply dealers. Of necessity, both manufacturers and dealers will have to fill requests in the order of their receipt. You have no right to expect preferential treatment over many others who exercised foresight and placed their orders in advance. More elaborate rehabilitation, such as remodeling, redecorating, etc., especially where some structural changes are necessary, should be well advanced on the planning boards. In fact, the plans should be approved by local building authorities so you can get moving the moment the materials and labor restrictions are relaxed. It is anyone's guess as to what victory in Europe or eventual total victory may do to the movie theatre business. But it is certain that you have to keep both feet firmly on the ground and watch closely any and all developments. Many theatres today are operating on greatly inflated costs that leave little or no cushion against any falling off of average business. Operators of such theatres, particularly, should check all items of cost to find where they can trim ship if conditions dictate such a move, even though well informed sources within the industry maintain that there will be no depression, temporary or otherwise, following partial or complete victory. Be that as it may, we think it a good idea to be prepared for anything that may come along. Independent exhibitors are probably paying a lot more for pictures than they did prior to the consent decree and each year the distributors' demands increase. (Will there ever be a time when distributors won't ask for more?). Many theatres have benefited by boom conditions but we must remember that it is in the smaller situations where the danger lurks most. Any slump, even a temporary setback, can plunge them deep in the red. In the line of show selling there has been a deplorable falling off in almost every department except newspaper advertising. That is too bad because the spirit and letter of showmanship is the ingenuity the individual theatreman puts into his show-selling campaigns, and, after so long a lapse, many theatremen may find it tough to get back into stride. This business of opening the doors and jumping out of the way of the crowds, even if true, can't last forever, and, comes the time when you have to convince a skeptic community that a turkey is really filet mignon, you may find your joints squeaky as hell. So, we suggest you dig up your old scrap books, brush off your copy of the Encyclopedia (free ad) of Exploitation, and start figuring out how you would entice some extra customers into your emporium of joy and relaxation. (You hope.) All in all, we feel that this is as good a time as any to take stock of every phase of your theatre's operation, particularly the items touched upon in this discussion. It is good for your business and good for you. It may serve to indicate, by comparison with pre-war figures, just how your theatre overhead and receipts have changed, for better or worse, since then and on down to the present day. We hope this "sermon" doesn't bore you too much but it's the best we could do this week when bedlam burst loose two days in a row on account of V-E Day — unofficial and official. Next week, "East Lynne." —"CHICK" LEWIS