Boxoffice-March.10.1951

I
I THE NATIONAL FILM WEEKLY
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MARCH
Vol. 58
I
'0, 19 5 1
No. 19
THE PUBLIC BE PLEASED
%ROM time to time recommendations have
been made for a continuing research program
that would enable the industry to keep a finger
constantly on the public pulse. In fact, a research
committee has been established to work
within the sphere of operations of the Council
of Motion Picture Organizations. This committee
has advanced a plan through which it is
hoped to obtain accurate guidance data on which
to base picture making, exhibiting, advertising,
etc. But, in the light of circumstances, we wonder
if the investment of some $50,000 for this
|)urpose actually is necessary.
Surveying the public to ascertain its tastes in
motion picture fare came up early in the planning
stages of COMPO. And, pending the completion
of this organization, which has not yet
been fully achieved, some independent public
checking has been undertaken. The industry
could very well benefit by giving consideration
and taking proper action on the resuhant findings.
But, judging from the record of the past,
Hollywood will go merrily on making the types
of stories it wants to make; the distributors will
continue releasing in the "cycle" manner; and
exhibitors will not heed the demand to change
their programming and operations.
So why spend good money, time and effort
to find out what the public wants, when little or
no attention will be paid to what the public says?
If there is a sincere interest in this matter,
the industry can benefit from what Detroit exhibitors
have learned in their recent cooperative
campaign to stimulate theatre attendance
which brought forth a by-product of much valuable
information. Other exhibitor groups, circuits
and individual operators have probed their
communities to learn why people have stopped
going to movies and what is necessary to bring
them back. And these "investigations" cover
sufficient numbers and types of people and a
wide enough geographical range to have application
most anywhere. In fact, the answers are
pretty much the same, whether they come from
Detroit or Denver.
For instance, letters from the Detroit public
revealed as a cause for patron loss the day-anddate
booking by subsequent run houses. It was
said that this forced jjcople to stay away because
each of the nearby houses would be playing
the same program, thus limiting their selection
and requiring them to go to some remote
theatre to see a picture of their choice. This
calls
for traveling great distances and added expense,
making the theatres inaccessible to people
who do not have their own automobiles.
This same condition obtains in virtually any
city of size. And why does it persist? Because
of the shortsightedness of exhibitors and distributors
and their consequent failure to work
this problem out among themselves, equitably
and fairly for the common good of all concerned,
not forgetting the public.
Day-and-dating stems from the desires of exhibitors
to have earlier runs than their so-called
competitors, most of whom are actually not
competitive. This latter fact is given as one of
the reasons for the day-and-dating practice. But,
when eight theatres in a city like, say, Milwaukee,
show the same film on the same night and
another eight follow the next and the next, that
picture gets played out pretty fast and what
desire there may have been to see it is lost. This
is not a new problem. It has existed for a long
time, but it has become aggravated as a result
of the "cycle system" that keeps one type of
picture current for too long.
How can this be corrected? Human nature
being what it is, that's a difficult question to
answer. But, if we were an exhibitor involved
in a situation like that, we'd either get together
with our "competitor" on an alternating of runs
or we'd skip a sufficient number of availability
slots to relieve the monotony. In which instances
we'd strengthen our program offerings to bolster
their attraction value. Giving the public a greater
choice, fewer people would be staying away
from our house or that of our competitor. This
might take a little "nursing," but we believe
it would work.
Speaking of cycles, another finding that seems
to be quite general is the public's voicing of
strong objection to "so many stories of crime,
violence and murder." The blame can pretty
largely be placed on the cycle system, which
puts so many of this type of story into release
all at one time. The public could just as well
get fed up on "too much comedy," if enough of
them were made. And there has been some
notice of "too many musicals," which have been
bunched in release. This, too, is not a new, but
an old and chronic industry pain-in-the-boxoffice.
With such large backlogs of product among all
the companies, this problem could very easily be
eliminated. But the mercurial nature of this business
throws it for a loss every time a particular
type of theme makes a sudden and unexpected
hit.
There would not be "too many" of any particular
type of story, if judicious release planning
would be instituted and maintained.
Here, again, the exhibitor can do something
to relieve this situation—if only he will do his
booking to avoid cycles. It won't be easy to
juggle dates around; it may upset some of the
accepted "traditions," but it should prove highly
worth while— if it will be giving the public what
it says it wants and if something will be done
to
assure that.
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