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30 Universal Weekly July 6, 1929
Universal Will Not Merge, Says R. E.
I.aemmle Organization, Turning a Deaf Ear to Merger Offers, Will Stick To Jts Guns and Do Some Big Shooting On Its Own Account, He States.
“Mr. Laemmle and I have turned down every offer that has been made to buy our company,” R. H. Cochrane, vice-president of the Universal Pictures Corporation, announced to the assembled Universal salesmen and sales managers at Universal’s Eastern Sales Convention at Atlantic City last week-end. His words brought the “U” field force to their feet with a cheer.
“We have turned down every offer to merge, and they were darn good offers, too,” he continued. “But Universal is now in such a beautiful position that we intend to stick to our guns and do some big shooting ourselves.
“The merging of other companies, instead of hurting us, has been a godsend to us in more ways than one. The more they merge, the more they need Universal, not alone on account of our pictures, but because they want to be able to say to the authorities in Washington, ‘We are not a monopoly. Look at Universal, a thoroughly independent company which is one of the of the most successful in the industry.’
“When you deal with independent theatres I think it is perfectly legitimate and honest to make capital out of the fact that they cannot sell mergers at their box-office. More and more they are looking to Universal to protect them.”
UNIVERSAL'S ACE EXCHANGE MANAGER
S. Wittman of the Philadelphia Exchange was awarded the Carl Laemmle Medal of Honor as Universal’s most valuble manager for the selling season of 1928-29.
The Universal vice-president paid a glowing tribute to Carl Laemmle, Jr., the new studio head; to Lou B. Metzger, general manager of Universal, and to M. Van Praag, general sales manager, and his assistant, Ted Schlanger.
“There is one thing I would like to get over to you with a bang,” Cochrane continued. “For the first time in the history of Universal we have a studio manager at Universal City who not only is qualified to give us quality pictures, but who has the determination and authority to see that we get them. This fact should give you the same anticipation of victory that we, in the New Yoi-k office, have. From the very first day that Junior Laemmle took the job, we have had such intelligent and sympathetic cooperation on sales problems as we never had from any manager in our whole career. This young man has dreamed, breathed and lived among pictures since the very day he was born. So, while he is young in years, and thank God for that, he is old in showmanship wisdom. He knows what you need as well as you do. His very first act an assuming charge of the studio was to scrap half a dozen stories that he did not consider good box office stuff,— stuff that would have been mighty hard for you to sell. He wants nothing but red hot sales mate
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