Boxoffice-May.15.1949

No Future in
Editor's Note— The following article written
by C. A. Matthews of Charlotte, N. C.
was received on March 21. 1949. Some of
it, therefore, has become accurate prophecy.
The "New Palace" has been definitely announced:
vaudeville is being revived elsewhere
around the country; new sales plans
are being formulated. One, in fact, is
announced in this issue. Mr. Matthews
seems to know what he is talking about.
And he has a way of telling it in interesting,
inspirational fashion.
By C. A. MATTHEWS
How often have you heard the expression
"When I played the Palace" . . . "When I
produced Saint Elmo" . . . "When I was
sales manager of Pluperfect Pictures" . . .
these and other statements equally as
prosaic.
The use of the personal pronoun "I"
in show business has ruined more corporations
and damned more careers than all
the social, economic and industrial upheavals
our industry has been called upon
to withstand.
It may be true that all these voices raised
in self praise have a divine right to be
heard. They may even deserve a place in
yesterday's fickle hall of fame, but, 1949
can hardly afford to muse on the splendor
that was Rome. Rather, we must concentrate
on the glory, the opportunity, the
challenge and the coign of vantage that
is today. Never forgetting all the glorious
tomorrows, which through our efforts will
surely follow.
For the vaudeville performer the Palace
of the two-a-day became a memory. In
the wake of its demise came depressed
spirits, broken hearts and even caused the
burial of a way of life. But, a new super
Palace will be born with a proscenium
opening width unlimited. A full stage setting
of possibilities undreamed of in the
old days. Television is making possible the
rebirth of vaudeville. After viewing television
for a period of time and suffering
eye strain, monotony, not to speak of the
evenings spent with more company in the
living room than the walls will stand, a
desire will suddenly appear for flesh . . .
Life's Seminar Tarries
In Chicago on Way West
NEW YORK — Life magazine's so-called
seminar by means of which it hopes to develop
a critical discussion of the film industry
moved early in the week to Chicago
after sessions here attended by Ken Clark,
Francis Harmon and Joseph I. Breen of the
MPAA.
On Monday (9i the seminarians stopped
off in Chicago and discussed trade relations
with exhibitors singly and in groups. They
learned that some Chicago exhibitors think
that exhibitor-distributor relations are not
good.
Set 'Colorado' Showings
NEW YORK—"Colorado Territory" will be
nationally tradeshown by Warner Bros.
16. It will be released June 11.
May
Census Bureau to Get
the Past Tense Film industry Data
in person . . . then vaudeville will be recreated
in the public mind. But don't
follow the simple expedient of allowing the
. . . It's a definite possi-
other fellow to set the pace. Do something
about it now. Prepare for the opening of
the new Palace
bility.
Attention, you producers of "Saint Elmo,"
it's high time for you to change the routine
and technique. We have outgrown the
stereotype formula. Even you, Mr. Producer,
will admit that the basic money
theme you have produced for, lo, these
many years, is beginning to backfire. It is
more than just significant that two-thirds
of all movie audiences are under 30 years
of age. You must do something about this
trend immediately with a new and different
approach. 'Wliy not try producing
Giuseppe Berto's "The Sky Is Red," or
Gladys Schmitt's "Alexandra"? Forget
"Saint Elmo" and "Thorns and Orange
Blossoms." They went out with Goldman
& Saks and the pick-up finance on the last
five episodes of the serial.
And now for the sales manager of Pluperfect
Pictures, the time is ripe for the
formulation of a new sales plan, a sales
plan which will do the most good for the
most, and I do mean most exhibitors. You
may publicize the title of the new plan,
hold the same old sales conferences, beat
the same old drums, but be certain that
the title of that plan is "The Emancipation
Scale." You can then dispense with
all the technicalities involved in all the
old sales plans and base this plan on the
Golden Rule. All the bad films which result
in a loss at the boxoffice will receive
a credit balance against the good
films that show a profit. We have tried
all other methods of selling. Let's give this
simple system a whirl.
We have rested on our laurels long
enough, following an antiquated precedent
of modus operandi. Unfortunately there is
no guide book for the future. No Das
Kapital to schedule the movements of our
future revolution with destiny. We have
dreamed too much and too long of the past.
It's time to plan for the future, remembering
that this future belongs to those
who lay the groundwork today.
Arthur S. White Dies;
Was Aide to Edison
NEW YORK — Arthur S. 'White, studio
manager for the late Thomas A. Edison and
one of the first leading men of the film business,
died May 8 in the City hospital on Welfare
Island. He was 89.
White managed the Edison studio at West
Orange, N. J. He made his first film appearance
in Edwin S. Porter's "The Life of
An American Fireman." This is considered
to be the first American narrative picture
and film historians say it served as a stepping
stone to more ambitious films. Porter
later made "The Great Train Robbery."
Shortly after appearing in "The Life of
An American Fireman," White resigned from
the Edison company and joined Percy Williams,
New York franchise holder for B. F.
Keith vaudeville.
WASHINGTON—The motion picture industry
will learn more about itself, statistically
speaking, this year than ever before—
and, for the first time, will have accurate
f igui-es on a great variety of its business activities.
This information will come through Form
BC-42 of the United States Census Bureau,
the reporting form for theatres and other
amusement places to be used in the census
of business which the government is conducting
this spring. The data will cover
operations in 1948 and will be the first census
of amusement enterprises in nearly a decade.
SEVEN INQUIRY GROUPS
The peak of operations is expected to be
reached late in May when about 4,500 enumerators
will be working out of 300 field offices
interviewing business men in all parts of the
country.
The reporting form submits six groups of
inquiries for all establishments covered in the
entertainment field, and a seventh (on seating
capacity and total number of admissions
during the yean for motion picture theatres
only. About half of the inquiries can be
answered off-hand as they are read, and
other inquiries, which require reference to
records, have been designed to conform to
normal accounting practices in the amusement
industry.
Inquiry 1 relates to identification of the
place of business, name of owner, location,
and date when the business was acquired.
The second group of questions will relate to
a description of the business and the legal
form of ownership. The third group of questions
is designed to provide information on
ticket sales, sales of merchandise including
refreshment services, sales and excise taxes
paid to local, state and national government
which are paid directly by the patron. This
information will give the first accurate data
on the amount of business which theatres
do in candy, popcorn and beverage sales.
TO REPORT ON PAYROLLS
Other inquiries will deal with payroll and
employment, totals on number of proprietors
or partners and number of family members
m business but not paid a salary or wage,
and space leased for concessions or special
departments.
The data collected will be published in
national, state and city summaries to enable
exhibitors and others in the amusement field
to make comparisons of their own experience
with the average for other such establishments
in various areas of the counti-y.
Harold Beaudine, Director,
Dies at VA Hospital
HOLLYWOOD—Harold Beaudine, veteran
film director once associated with the famed
Christie comedies, died May 9 at the 'Veterans
Administration hospital, Sawtelle, following
a lengthy illness. He was 55 years old
and had been a veteran of World War I in
the army engineer corps.
Military funeral services were held May 11
at the Sawtelle 'Veterans chapel, with burial
following in the Veterans Administration
cemetery at Sawtelle. He is survived by his
wife, Mrs. Stephanie Beaudine; his mother,
Mrs. William Beaudine, and a brother. William
Beaudine, Monogram film director.
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BOXOrnCE :: May 14, 1?49