Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1949)

24 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, December 24, 1949 Theatre Manaffement Guide to Modern Methods in the Administrative and Executive Phases of Theatre Operation FOB BRiaHTEB SHOWS Pomters «a ProfecJion t2n4 Soustd Not in 1949? Then Do It in 19S0! Thi^ being the day before Christmas, probably thj hot wi-h that thi,-, column can offer all its readers is that the starting lines cf that well-known nur>ery rhyme, "not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse," will never be an accurate description of attendance at your theatre. I sincerely hope — perhaps futilely — that you've been jamming 'em in all through December and that you've laid the kind of plans that predicate a pretty profit picture for 1950. Barring extreme and unforeseen happenings, the week ahead is practically profit-proof. The 7-day vacation from revenue worries offers an excellent opportunity to throw the error-illuminating spotlight of "hindsight" on business acts and procedures of 1949. And, in case you haven't given 1950 prospects a thorough scanning, to make use of the experience of past mis-, takes to fabricate a pattern for future success. What follows is, of necessity, speculative and not calculated as applicable to any particular individual authority or individual theatre. It is simply a resume in retrospect of 1949's general problems as related to theatre operation and general conditions as related to the industry. It is intended only to stimulate reflection and bring about examination of the reader's con>cience as to the good-and-bad or the right-andwrong of business decisions and actions during the past twelve months. Should it succeed in revealing instances of poor or improper anal" ysis, careless planning, unwarranted expense, lack of consideration for the problems of business adversaries, failure to meticulously calculate eventual effect or any of dozens of mental lapses that boomeranged good intentions to the discredit and failure areas, the purpose of chronicling will have been fully accomplished. Let's examine the hypothetical record. Have you actually ana!y.ccd the attendance of your theatre to deteruiiue the irry maximum rental you can afford to pay for tilm'f In view of the constant effort on the part of distributors to elevate revenue, this is extremely important. And, it is extremely important that you be very cautious yet very fair in arriving at your conclusions. You bear a double burden ; first, in responsibility to the patrons of your theatre to provide them the best entertainment available and, second, to the producer and distributor faced with the necessity of liquidanng extravagantly increased costs in a sizably reduced— because of foreign quotas, bans and restrictions — field of exhibition revenue. Every Picture Deserves Fair Share of Its Exhibition Earnings Understand that this is no argument for higher film rentals where they cannot be profitably absorbed. It is simply a matter of soliciting your acknowledgment of an existing condition that you, in the interest of industry welfare and the continuance of good film product, should give understanding consideration. If the quality of pictures should drop — and it must drop unless adequate revenue to assure the risk of high quality production is maintained — the attendance at your theatre also drops. It is imperative that you, as the public point of contact for this tri-cornered industry, shoulder yo ir full share of responsibility in maintaining the product standard on which patronage depends. Every picture — and the higher-budgeted ones in particular — deserves a fair share of its exhibition earnings. It is your duty, to the perpetuation of your theatre and the industry as a whole, to make certain that your local engagement is as profitable for all concerned as you can possibly make it. Hm'e you ahmys used the best possible judgment in arranging bookings? Here again is a place where you can do great good or great harm not only for the immediate receipts of the attraction but for the future business of your theatre. If you have allowed your mercenary streak to get the best of you on occasions where some local event promised the presence of large crowds, and booked some just so-so film at flat rental that guaranteed exorbitant profit, you've been amiss. Such practice, while returning immediate dollars, does long-range harm in that it gives the spectator the impression of having been "took" or the victim of an unfair practice. The normal reaction is not so good for the industry, as it accounts for the saying of a lot of uncomplimentary things about your theatre in particular and movies in .general. The wiser course is to use eveery occasion where unusual potential can be ex (Continued on Page 26) * This series copyrighted and must not be reproduced in part or whole without written permission from Showmen's Trade Review, Inc. Projectionists sometimes find a little difficulty in interpreting the "temperature rise" warnings found on the nameplates of some of their equipment. They know the warnings mean that the working temperature of the device in question must not be allowed to exceed the room temperature by more than the number of degrees specified. But manufacturers for some reason tend to inscribe these warnings in degrees Centigrade, whereas thermometers ordinarily available to projectionists in the U. S. are calibrated in degrees Fahrenheit. It may help to remember that 40 degrees Centigrade (the limit most often specified) equals 104 degrees Fahrenheit. To convert other C temperatures to F, first multiply the temperature by 9/5ths and then add 32 to the result. To convert F temperatures to C scale, first subtract 32 and then multiply the remainder by 5/9ths. All electrical meters in the projection room are subject to loss of accuracy with passage of time, and should be checked occasionally, either against a master meter or at least against one another. Particularly in need of watching are meters mounted on the larger arc lamps, because these may be harmed in time by the powerful magnetic field that accompanies the heavy arc amperage. • Large sound amplifiers are not always electrically safe because they have been switched off. Unless there are bleeders across the filter condensers, those condensers may keep in storage a charge powerful enough to throw a man off his feet. Before working on any such amplifiers, first make sure current is off, and then short-circuit all the larger condensers with a screwdriver that has an all-wood handle. To make sure of a good and permanent soldered connection, never use the soldering iron or other heat source to melt the solder. Use it to heat the surfaces to be joined, and let them melt the solder. If the soldering iron isn't large enough for that, it isn't large enough for projection room work. For many years, projectionists in the larger deluxe houses have been supplied with binoculars, to enable them to observe their screen results accurately in spite of the great length of "throw." Managers of drive-ins might well consider making the same provision for their projectionists, seeing that the distanse from lens to screen in a merely average drive-in is apt to be more than twice that of the largest indoor show place. • The old-fashioned slotted screw that took a simple screwdriver is becoming increasingly obsolete. If any of the newer apparatus in the projection room is put together with Phillips screws or other such devices, the projection room will also need a corresponding set of Phillips screwdrivers, etc., for proper maintenance and rapid repairs.