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Real, Solid Showmanship
Needed, Declares Babb
NEW YORK—"Genuine, solid, corny, oldtime
showmanship is the industry's greatest
need today," says Kroger Babb, president of
Hallmark Productions, Inc., after an 88-day
air tour around the world during which he
covered 51,200 air miles and visited 55 key
distribution cities in 36 countries for the purpose
of setting up new release outlets.
After watching showmanship practices in
all his stopping places he says he thinks all
exhibitors should make world tours to get
new ideas.
"Exhibitors in Greece and Holland are the
world's best showmen," he says. "They're
really selling their product like merchandising
experts or airline publicity men. People
won't buy fish in the ocean; you've got to
display 'em, talk about 'em, and sell 'em to
the housewife."
Babb says there is too much talk about
below-average product.
"A bad fish, a bad piece of steak now
and then doesn't turn the shopper against
fish and meat forever," he comments. "Then
why so much hullabaloo over a below -average
film? There's a market for every film, if
there is a showman around to sell it."
Babb is no respecter of standard selling
techniques. In Australia, he says, he found
a showman named Vic Hobler who was "packing
'em in with a film called 'The Kelley
Boys' by advertising it truly as 'the worst
film that has ever been on the screen.'
He argues from this that "people want to
see the bad, the worst, the same as they
want to see the best."
Television doesn't disturb Babb. "It's
derful," he says, "but you
won-
can't make a theatre
out of a bar, an ice cream parlor or a
family living room. There will always be a
great field for the motion picture and the
unmatchable happiness, education and entertainment
it brings audiences at low cost, if
the three branches of the industry will get
together before they meet in the bankruptcy
courts."
On the subject of foreign distribution Babb
not so optimistic. In his opinion the Ameri-
is
can motion picture is "being legislated out of
productive foreign markets and the situation
is destined to become worse because many
countries are eager to muzzle Hollywood
pictures by law for the dual purpose of keep-
Public Is
Kroger Babb is seen here signing a
seven-year personal management contract
with Nelly Goletti, 27-year-old
French composer and pianist. The agreement
calls for her services in films, radio
and television, starting in June. Miss
Goletti is said to be widely known in
Europe. She is an honor graduate from
Milan, Paris and Algiers conservatories,
and has published more than 300 songs
ranging from boogie woogie to classics.
She also has written the music for two
Parisian stage hits and has scored nine
films. She has made many concert tours
since the close of the war.
ing their people ignorant of American ideals,
methods, styles and thinking in order to give
their native producing companies a better
chance." •
In many countries, he says, exhibitors are
forced by law to play a certain percentage of
locally made films. The native producer is
provided a boxoffice dole, or special profit,
by law. In Italy, he says, the exhibitor must
automatically turn over the first 7% cents of
each boxoffice dollar to the producer of an
Italian film before taxes are computed or
the terms of the exhibition contract settled.
In France, it is 10 per cent. Also in France,
he states, the producer with one-third of the
estimated cost of a film can borrow the next
one-third from any bank under a law designed
to aid the country's studios, and the
government loans the producer the final onethird
to assure completion of the film.
Oscar-Minded, Survey Reveals
HOLLYWOOD—Can you remember the
name of the picture that won the Academy
Oscar for 1949? The best actor? The best
actress?
The Academy claims, on the basis of a
nationwide survey by Audience Research,
Inc., that more than nine out of ten moviegoers
know about the annual Awards clambake
and that approximately half of those
interviewed identified Columbia's "All the
King's Men" as last year's award-winning
best picture.
ARI's report admitted, however, that there
"continues to be some confusion" between
the picture adjudged best and the feature in
which the award-winning actor or actress
appears. Some 10 per cent of interviewed
theatregoers, for example, thought Paramount's
"The Heiress" won the Oscar because
its star, Olivia DeHavilland, reaped the
best-actress kudos.
Further, ARI asserted, awards other than
those given for the best picture and best
acting performances "left relatively little
impression on moviegoers." The public in
general appears to approve of the Academy
selections, with almost two in three agreeing
that they are "fairly awarded."
Over 500 Theatres
Use 20th-Fox Ads
NEW YORK—More than 500 theatres have
used the 20th Century-Fox share-the-cost
ads as part of the Movies Are Better Than
Ever campaign.
Another 500 have adapted the ads to local
requirements and have been bearing the full
cost of the institutional campaign.
The 20th-Fox ads were first offered at the
Chicago merchandising conference called by
Spyros P. Skouras and Charles Einfeld on a
share-the-cost basis.
The showmanship drive is still in progress,
with large circuits in the van of the activity.
Some campaigns are already under
way and others are about to start. General
use of the Movies Are Better Than Ever
slogan is being made in newspaper ads, on
marquees and in publicity.
Since the start of the campaign Einfeld
has carried it to Europe. He discussed the
program at a luncheon for continental managers
at the Ritz in Paris Tuesday (9) sponsored
by the MPAA, with Gerald Meyer presiding.
Among those attending were Abe
Schneider, Joseph H. McConville of Columbia
and Phil Reisman of RKO, who endorsed
the program. On Wednesday (10) and Thursday
(11) he spoke at a meeting in Brussels
which was attended by representatives of
American distributors, as well as Belgian exhibitors
and distributors.
Einfeld returned to Paris Friday to meet
with French industry leaders.
Evergreen Continues Lead
In Skouras Campaign
LOS ANGELES—Positions remained unchanged
at the end of the third week of National
Theatres' eighth annual Charles P.
Skouras Showmanship campaign. With Evergreen
continuing to top the list, placements
of other NT divisions, from second through
sixth, were:
Fox Midwest; Fox West Coast, southern
California segment; Fox Wisconsin; FWC,.
northern California division; and Fox Intermountain.
NSS Has Three 'Prevues'
On 'Fireball' for Video
LOS ANGELES—National Screen Service,
embarking on a program of television as well
as theatre trailers, is turning out three TV
"prevues," running 20, 40 and 60 seconds
each, for "The Fireball," Mickey Rooney
starrer produced by Bert Friedlob and Tay
Garnett for 20th Century-Fox release.
Decision to plug "The Fireball" via television
was reached in conferences between
Friedlob, Garnett and 20th-Fox executives in
order to capitalize on the current TV popularity
of roller-skate racing, which is the picture's
background.
Disney Dividend Is 37 Vic
HOLLYWOOD—A regular quarterly dividend
of 37 Vi cents a share on outstanding 6
per cent cumulative convertible preferred
stock was declared by the board of directors
of Walt Disney Productions. The dividend
is payable July 1 to stockholders of record
June 17.
26 BOXOFFICE :: May 13, 1950