Showmen's Trade Review (Jan-Mar 1947)

SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW. March 1, 1947 Peace.. ..Its Wonderful After all the charges, counter-charges, accusations and what not which built up a very definite impression that Selznick and United Artists were going to stage the court battle of the century, they buried the hatchet, kissed and settled all their difficulties. While it may have brought disappointment to many who expected an old-fashioned display of dirty linen, the industry can be thankful that the court fight was avoided. If only the exhibition and distribution branches of our industry could sit down and settle their differences as easily as did these two, life in the movie business would indeed be a path of roses. Ah . . . Peace . . . It's wonderful . . . Help the Little G uy Not long before the boom days of the war era set in, this page discussed the independent exhibitor and some suggested methods of helping him on film rentals. By "independent" we specifically had in mind the exhibitor with the small theatre operating under conditions that precluded doing a landslide business because of population, seating capacity, booking conditions, etc. At that time we figured that if all of the picture companies would sell such exhibitors on a reasonable flat rental basis, the net reduction in their domestic gross would be so small, dollar-wise and percentage-wise, that the distributors would hardly notice it. And in the meantime, they would still be getting the greatest returns from the first runs throughout the country. It was a lovely dream and, as usual, nothing came of it, although we must confess several sales executives with whom we discussed it thought it an excellent idea. In the intervening years, business, generally, has been pretty good all the way down the line but at the same time film costs mounted out of all proportion for these little exhibitors. More percentage pictures were demanded and higher flat rentals on the balance of the product. It seems that we are rapidly getting back to the same old conditions and once again it becomes increasingly evident that these little exhibitors are deserving of a better break on their picture costs. Inasmuch as the first runs are still delivering the highest percentage of returns to the distributor, the same arguments that obtained before, exist now. They can well afford to make the lot of the little man a great deal easier and give him the much needed opportunity to make a decent profit out of his work and investment. By comparison with the profits of the bigger theatres, the circuits and the distributors, his potential is only a drop in the bucket. Should he experience any drop-off in receipts his present small margin is apt to dwindle to little or nothing at all. Let's protect the exhibitors who are the backbone of this business. They are deserving of our support and encouragement. Their little theatres of today are the ones that will grow into the larger theatres of tomorrow. They have every right to grow and prosper. Precision Equipment International Projector Corporation's new plant in Bloomfield, New Jersey, is typical of the magnificent strides the whole equipment division of the industry is making. Here, in this new plant, every advance in the science and technique of equipment manufacturing is brought to peak efficiency. Undoubtedly, the quality of the products they make must reflect the care and detail that goes into each operation. Although the manufacturers are still far from caught up on all equipment orders, plants of this kind will accelerate the tempo and soon make it possible to fill orders in a comparatively short time. According to Walter Green, head of National Theatre Supply, his organization is now in a position to fill all orders with three exceptions. They are: sound equipment, seats and carpets. We predict that before the year is out practically all equipment will again be available for quick deliver}' as heretofore war-time restrictions made the going so tough for all concerned. Nobody s Happy From the wide variety of appeals by practically all the defendants and the department of justice, too, it appears as though none of the litigants is happy over the decision and all of them are asking the Supreme Court to do something about it. — frCH/CK" LEWIS