Variety (Aug 1940)

12 PICTURES Wednesday, August 28« 1940 Where 69 of M'kees 72 Cinemas After 69 orthe 72 theatres hert had agreed, Jn -June to. eliminate double features, arid at an eiithusiastic meet- ■ irig orily . t.wo weeks ago. uriariimously reaffirmed their decision to go tb solo ijiclures in a body starting Sept; 3/the iwhoiei plan has gone haywire at the; nth hpur. The Independ- ent i'Theati-e Protective Association of Wisconsin and ^ U)E)per Michigan on Friday; (24). sent out notices to its membership that the deal was offy advising them to get busy arid book doubles as before,; : : While the notice to thie exhibs was, very birief arid said; riotriirig about the. riasdns for the sudden about-faice jBctiorii itvanridunced that a meeting •wouVI ijC: held later this week at V>hich the whole situation would be • threshed pver^ thoroughly, arid far- • xeaching repercussions are.; likely. All sorts pi accusatioris aire flying ! back aiid forth—dir double^ crossing; collusion/ exchiari^e aiid dis-^ triblitor jrifliience, arid what not. Up to lliur (iZ2), €yerytiling .was .all set; for biicfc td solo pictures:: Starting nekt week. Shows ."Were-'ali^^ exhibs had gorie. to i loi of troubre ' to bu ild up attractive. land well- rpunded; jprograms, aime^-'tb; service, Jhe public with a change :ijack to !the form of. entertaihriierit thot^gunds. had' . bieen (rlanioring for. ,Newsp.apiirs had , come out strorigly in editorials'.boQst- , ing the switcli and. praisirig the:e"y- hibs. foif their wisdbrii .in riiakjng it. Arid now it's all off. • ' .'. MiM.scih'S Bowr.Out ' Harold Mirisch, operator of the Oriental and Tower, .two.;de Itixe. habes situated in key locations, ujpOn his return to. Milwaukeie from a tirip to Chicago telephoried Harry Pefle- witz, busineiss manager of thie exhibsl organization, that so far as his houses' were concerned tte deal to oust the / duals was all' off. He said he had been given a legal opinion that to go through with" the proposed'. plan might make hini liable to lawsuits from' -Various sources, possible cori-^ spirapy charges, and ihvOlvem6rit,;jh ari action in restraint of trade. Wliile there is doubt, gerierally -. as to the actual ownershif) of the Oriental aiid :^o'wer, they werie' originally the. properties of M. .I,. Arinenberg, for- mer- Milwaukeean and publisher Of : the Philadelphia Inquirer, who rer centiy surrendered: to .authorities, in Chicago to begin a three-year prison isentence for evasion of, $1,217,296 in Inderal-incoriie taxes;; / , Mirisch's ' pronouncement : was a body' blow to the exhibs aS: well as a startlihg surprise, for. at the general ■ meeting in the Variety clubirooma in the Hotel Schroeder ~ a •couple . of weeks previously he had been one of the rijost outspoken and enthusiastic promoters, of the change . back • to - solos. With his ainnouncement that his Qriehtai arid Tower would re- main double feature houses, ; Al Kvool, : district manaiger . for ; the Warner-Saxe- houses,; also a strong: advocate :6f the. return to solos, said that his Garfield and, Uptown Aypuld have to follipw the lead of the other , de luxe, riabes, ; arid this threw- the -.whole situation wide open, and back .to. the: old policy of: every■ man■ for himself. ' Facing .this . sudden; last^minute f^iEthge iri plans, exhibs genierally are ; in a -riiiad soriamble today juggling bookings arid cussing the turrilofl that has bken caiused by the, deflection of the Mirisch (6t Aririeriberg> houses, as they are frequently desighated. Those who have been working hard ; for liionths to bririg about the charige •babk. td single features are. riot drily; mad; they're completely disgusted, ";,;' ■;;..-'• Aiiiiehberg. Ansle.---. ;•' Shpwriieri pripfess. to se6; the real ireasbn ; for the breakdown of .-this .town's widely heralded ;plan for \a: urianiriious switch back to solo pic- tures iri the filing Saturday (24) with; the Register of Deeds here of cnort^ gages for $8,000,006 on n ine proper- ties in .Milwaukee and others nearby :. own ed by Annienberg. The; mort- gages were by the M. L. A. Invest- ment Co. to the Uriited States of Ariierica and the documents were in- terpreted to be a (Government lien on Annenberg's extensive holdings,, to guarantee the payinent of the $8,- 000,000 he agreed to pay in settle- ment bf civil claims when he was convicted of evading taxes. Among the. properties involved in ., the mortgage documents are ; the Oriental and Tower theatre build- Precnutioit ings, both of which are large StfUCr tures housing many stores and of- fices ■ addition to the theatres themselves. /' . 'Moe Annenberg pwried all his Milwaukee holdings free iind clear,' explairied one showman, 'and now. wheii he has to -strain his resources to the utmost to get together the huge sum he must pay the Govern- merit he .simply could not . .risk the possibility bjf any litigation clouding title in these collateral mortgages to the Gpverrirtent. Such litigatiori would become a distinct possibility were the Oriental and Tower the- atres permitted to becbme part bf a combinatipri that might be construed as illegal, '. -v' - .-' 'It is thus Very easy to see why the Annenberg houses were bbliged to pull but ot an agreemerit that had npt yet become legally, binding. Moe Arinenberg is a;mari of great, wealth,, yet he is fighting for his financial life, so it readily be understood what course he, any other' main in a similar ppsitiori, would take'.' ■ FAM's "Toy In St, Louis . St. Louis, Aug. 27. Fanchbn .it Marco is testing this, biirg to deterriiine whether a single, feature' screen policy, with reserved seats at an upped scale, will make the grade.' Starting Friday (23) at the Ambassador, downtown deluxer, ■The Sea . Hawk' , inaugurated : the policy with one night show, starting at 8:30 o'clock; at al 75c scale for re- served orchestra chairs and 5bc up- stairs. Opening performance was largely an invitation affair. .: Other exhibs are watching the ex- perimient: closely., to ' determine whether ihe double iand.triple; fea- ture progfairis can be eliminatied^ in this burg. The house is maintaining a 35c-50c scale frpiri 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.' WHAT ONE FAN THINKS OF PIX TITLES AND ADS V Cr^ton Falls, N, Y., Au& ?2. ; Editor, Variety: ■;. . i have been reading your stories abotrt~\vhy people don't go. to pic- tures, and here is my two bits. ; Let's start with film titles, because the less said the, better, as they al- most: never; say anything themselves; Even 'Gorie With the W>nd' might have been a tale of the stock market, a hurricarie, a yacht race. Only the acres of publicity and the din of public comment about book arid film gave an idea what it was all about. Take 20 titles, and if more than one bf them so much as suggests whether it would be. worth two bits arid two hours, I'll eat the film, beginning with the rtrailer. Here I arii, sitting at home on Thursday night. There's no radio program worth listening to, I'm tired of the rieighbors, of Chinese check- ers, of books, of conversatiori. I look up the picture ads in the papers. What do I see? You know. A big display . of. film nanies afid starsV Sbmetiriies '"^'News arid. Interesting Shorts.' Few shorts aire, but skip it.' I go tb.bed early. But , the sarnie paper has ads for other things. Take Mumbles. * Are they advertised with the name in big fat typia, plus the fact' that they are made by Susie. Mumbles, Saimriiy Hairoil, Joe Glaap and Abe. Pencil- pusher ? No. That would leave prospects : wondering; if they were -supposed to .eat .Mumbles for breakr fast, feed them to the dog, rlib them in the hair, or dunk the false tiseth in theirii Sp .Mumbles • advertisirig tells what Mumbles will do for me arid you and you. , It may even tell how Mumbles do this, and more or less what's in them, It may seeiri; un- believable to. picture peoplie, but; the public actually buys stuff that's ad- vertised that way, buys it because bf the advertising. Pictures are-rriercharidise, like any- thing' else. : Profitable advertising is a skillful mixture of facts and ;shpw- manship, jUst like profitable mer- chandising.. Why do the 'World's greatest showmen use neither show- manship nor facts iri their advertis- ing, except sometimes in VAniETt? I don't know., But. until they do, I'll just sit home, eat Mumbles, and go tp bed early. Like tonight. . ' ■ Si y/ard Seeley. Week's most surprisirig answer to the query 'Why don't you go to the movies?' cbmes from Mrs. Dolores Keithlirie, 32-year-old. housewife of New Haven, Conn.: 'I'm not spending a penny on anything I don't absolutely need these days. When America is invaded, pur coast city will be; the first to feel it, do I'm saving my money to move my family inland When that time cOmes;' Hollywood, Aug. 27. Aiir debate bn double features Saturday (24) proved more a noise- fest than ariything else, with Karl Hoblitzelle, best logician among the participants, easily being out-shouted by Samuel Golowyn and others. Verbal battle was fought on CBS' 'People's Platform.* Hoblitzelle and Goldwyn, agairist. duals; were aided by Mrs. Leo B. Hedges, film chair- mari of the California Parerit-Teachr ers Assiociation. Crowding the mike.on the pro side were I. E. Chadwick and "Trerii^ Carr, indie . producers, . and Mrs. Arthur Beck, a California housewife.. Prof. Frederick Woeliner, bf the Univer- sity pf California, at Lbs ; Angeles,! chairman, fought vainly to hold the Pral clashes; down; to; a mere, three pr four voices shouting into the mike at one time. . . ■ , Hpblitzelle, Interstate Theatre exec, believes the future success pf the, film theatre biz requires the presen- tatibn of 'balanced programs of rear spnable.length.' He boiled the prob- [eni down to" one. p.f simple propor- tions—that of how the film theatre can best serve its individual com- munity entertainment intierests. His opinion was that this resblved itself into a bill corisisting of brie well- chosen feature supported by a wisely selected quota of short subjects.. He argued that people go .to the cinema to be 'refreshed.' ■ : Pleads for Quality - Quality, not quantity, should dic- tate the policy Of any exhib, he de- -.■ (Corttinued on page 18) *Not Interested* In Films .Continued front page 1. DECRIES MOTION PK THAT LACK IN MOTION Ottawa, Ont. Aug. 23. Editor, Variety: r\\ • I have read with much interest your recent article 'Why They Don't Go to Pix.' May I put in .my 5c worth, as a mere member of the public Does' it ever occur to 'your film producers that they spend far too much effort imitating their com- petitors—the radio and the stage— particularly in the producing of class A films. The point I want to make is that a movie is essentially a' pic- ture that moves, and the idea it has to tell should • be put over in the picture and not in the sound-track. The old-fashibned silent film, as you remeiriber, used to tell its story pictorially and captions were kept at a minimum. It appears to .mie that since the introduction of the talkies the producers try more and more to tell their story in the sound- track rather than the picture/ So that we are now getting around to illustrated sound-tracks rather than to pictures with sound. • On the other hand, cowboy films, to which I am hopelessly addicted, still move. People , do not talk, they do things. And these films still re- tairi their popularity with -small ;boyS and fools like riie. • Mr. Chaplin is of course ;the out-, standing example of what you can do iri. a movie arid still keep your mouth shut. ■ " •,;'. All this; talking in a movie mlakes it too much like a radio. Why'pay 35c to see Mr. Benny When you can lisfeh to hini ;fbr nothing?' - ■ ; ;This is ribti of course, , .specific explanatiori bf ' what is;^ wrpng with the iriovie, but I do think it to be One; of the things that is wrorig; At any rate it should be easy enough for some qualified person to check and find out which are the riiost con- sistent riioney makers^fllnis thdtrare almpst all action or films that are almost all talk. : O. C. Wilson^ ■ American public io find the reason why, Gallup disclosure was a side- light of his poll on double features, but is considered by the film indus- try orie of the most significant facts it has learned about itself in years. Large number of persons who gave Variety the Tm-just-not-inter- ested' reply are represieritatives of a s class which spells the difiference between profit arid lo.ss for the film industry. How to get them 'inter- ested' comes to the fore as the most importarit querjf before the indus. isy today. Is it bad pictures,. 'poor advertising and publicity,' as sug- gested by Giallup, something else again? 'Got Out of the Habit'. Typiical of the answers in this category is that of Frank Conrielly, 43-yieir-old salesman of Detroit: "I don't know why I quit going. I just got out of the habit, I guess. In the summer, I like, to get outdoors, golf and things like that, and win- ters I catch up on my reading. 1 just, don't carie abbut riipvies any more.' . \ ..--^ - ■■ P. O. Huse, 50, railroad . ticket seller bf Omaha,: is another. 'I go about - orice year,' he declared.; 'I'm just riot interested.' An inter- estirig iswitch on this, answer is that of Wallace Brown, 38, manager of a men's clothing store and owner of an apiartnient house in 'Calgary, Al- berta, the Only Canadian city in- cluded in tht! poll.Brown's reply:. 'I don't know why' I don't go to the riipvies; The last picture I saw was 'Gone With the Wind' arid it was darned good. It' just seems; nothing draws me to the theatre and instead I work iri njy garden in the suirimer and play bridge In the Winter.' [ Delving more., deeply : into the more-or-less general answer fpr most potential patrons, detpuring theatres, 'not enough good pictures,' reveals the actual reason just as frequently to be: 'not the right kind pf pictures,' '; Particularly ampng men of middle age and over there is a desire for more coriiedy. Another breakdown shows too much similarity in films, reflected in the opinion of a ,15-year-old schbpl girl, Helen Wells,; pf Lansing, Mich. , 1:00 Much Similarity ; v •Too many pictures,* she said, 'are the same Ones I've already , seen un- der a differerit title, I don't like to spend money to see something a sec- ond time. I. wouldn't read the same book twice, even if it Were good.' Another Lansingite, this time at the other end Of the age scale, de- clared: 'The thing that disgusts me most is War and shooting in movies. As if there Isn't eriough of that out- side. Give me light-entertainment.' That's from Mrs. Laura Cole, 60- year-old widow. . ■ Sports angle as a cause for slow- ness at theatre wickets—particularly during the summer—is well-evident from the situation in upstate New York in the Vicinity of Albany, Troy and Schenectady. Opposition to filiris there include professional ball games afternoon and evening, many of them aired; amateur and semi-pro- base- ball, twilight, night arid Sundays; bowling in air-conditioned alleys, polo on Sundays, jalopy and motPrr cycle .races, horse racing at Saratoga (with reduced admish this season), and other attractions. Surprising source of complaint be- cause of its frequency concerns * conditioning .' sumriier. . There seems to be wide agreemerit that, temperature and humidity; in houses is not Well-regulated and riiany peo- ple declare they stay, away frpm films in the warm, mpriths because of this reason; ! Other causes bf absence from the- atres are parjklng idifficultiesi; prices too high, -. all good , pictures are bunched during the same, weeks, loo much propagahdai and , top/ many trailers. -..'^ ■[ / ' . . l '-.: /-^ Additiorial answers, Chosen as be- ing representative: follow: : . ^ . Bored- ' ^ JerPme i*. Thompsori, 40, treasurer bf wholesale dry goods company. Eliriira, N. Y.i 'Most pictures . bore me. They lose their historical value because they are unfaithful to writ- ten versions. I favor a single show with reserved seats to. avoid rushing frohi diriiier and wpii'ld be willing to pay Whatever would be charged for that..' . ; ' •■; • ■■ Clifford DePuy, 50, publisher, Des Moines, la.: 'When I go to the movies I want to be entertained, I want to laugh, r go to New Ybrk several times', a, year and travel extensively the year 'round. I like the stage and night clubs arid. ariy diversion w.hich takes my mfnd oft business;;worries and the war, I like heavy stuff in reading—but not on the screen. - I abhor double features.' Jessie Thompsori, 28, secretary, Calgary, Can.: 'I don't get the same; kick out of movies I, used to "and my girl friends also think films ddn:t have • the same punch anymore, f- am also;spending part pf my iimc in war work and part in the girls' am* bulance class/ yida Burnette, 45, cashier, Larising,' Mich:: 'i don't like to go in the sum-i mer. because air coriditipning isn't perfected and always gives me cold; My friends complain of thd same thing.' rinbehle Lou Levinson,.45, riierchant; Chi., cago: 'Pinochle is mpie interesting. And two features are just about aii. cheap as two pairs of pants.': Gordon .Wilkins, 40, engineer, Chi. . cagp: 'You can shut off a radio, ;but you hate to walk" out of a 75c riiovie.' Peter Rom, 30, mail clerk, Lansing, Mich.: *I would go more often if picture publicity didn't let me down. They have a lot of high-powered ballyhoo about how many millions this or that filin cost to make, how jt lined thein up for blocks at Radio City, N. Y., and; then you go to siee it and it's spmie dumb thing, you wish to gpsh. wasn't so long.':; George D. Harisman, 45, depart, ment manager for public utility, St. Joseph, Mo.: 'I don't remember tha last'picture I saw, I'd rather play golf.' ■-;;...."■; Harriet LOvell, 23, steriog,; Cbicagoi 'There are only a few stars I want to see, such as Gable, Tracy, Power -: and Bing Crosby. I go to their pic* tures. Others don't interest me.' Sameness ;. Florence , Milne, 34, housewife, Bridgeport, Conn.: 'Holly wood, has ;. reached the saturation point. I used to be ai regular. customer,: but tht sameness of pictures bores me.. Np\y • I only go to pustanding ones,' : Arthur Hoffman, 23, newspaper- man, Anderson, Ind-: 'Twelve pic- tures a year is. about my iriaximurn, for two principal reasons: mipney and the fact I believe there aren't more than 10 or 15 worthwhile rnov* ies produced in that time,' Mrs.' - Rose Lehman, •.26,'. saleslady. Dallas; Tex.t *I: would rather gd dancing or watch a wrestling match.* • Games . ; ■ Mrs. A. R. Knight, 30, housewife, Philadelphia: 'It's mah jbng. Sinca the game .became popular .again lii bur neighborhood, most of us stir dom go to the movies. Particularly since they don't have. games ariy« more.- Mrs. May Reinke, 52, housewife, Detroit: 'I think I'd go oftener if I hadn't been disappointed so much* 1 always. seem- to be seeing last .week's picture over sigairi with dif- ferent people in it. It doesn't seem that they arie making pictures for people of my age.' - Parking Theodore Jorider, 48, altorriey, Pittsburgh: 'Parking is so difficult downtown my only :,chance of seeing a picture is ; in the neighborhood. These houses show double features and I'd father take a licking than: sit through, that.' Mrs. Anna Jawicki, 38;. housewife, Pittsburgh: 'I think the radio offers better entertainment. However, I go to the movies on b nk nights because if I don't like the picture i still have a chance of winning, money .' ;• Jack Armstrong, 26, .salesman, Portland, Ore: 'I only go tb movies when there's nothing else to do; at night. You; can have - better time at the dog races. Taking a girl ..to the movies and sitting there for three hours is a nice rest; btit riot much fun.' V- -.;:'- "' • -■■:.•.- ■•■-■■;.:.■■;-'^ ; Leon Padorowski, 25, attorney, Hartford: 'I'd rather stay home arid listen to the. radio. I can smoke a; pipe, stretch my feet and: b# . re- laxed. I get equal enjoyment with greater convenience.' For RKO s 'Girls' Hollywood, Aug. 27, Dor an Cox, who seryed .as aSF'st- ant director under George Abbolt on RKOs 'Too Many Girls,' .flid into the tbp chair for added scenes on lh« picture. Abbott, already back m New York, did not want to rctuiri here for the two-dayf stint; . Extra footage builds up th» lole of Desi Arnaz.