Boxoffice-October.27.1951

LETTERS
A Plan for Studio Visitors
To BOXOFFICE:
Your editorial "P. R. Begins at Home" of
October 13 commenting on Joe V. Gerbrach's
letter is very, very good and brings to mind
a suggestion I made to Arthur Mayer of
COMPO last August.
As I suggested to Mr. Mayer then, our
industry at large and the theatres in Hollywood
will be benefited immensely if the
major studios will take turns making possible
one hour's visit to the studios daily.
Not only the Chamber of Commerce of Los
Angeles and Hollywood but the hotels also
will cooperate and help publicize our industry
with their weekly publications and
theii' tour barkers because more visitors will
be attracted to Hollywood.
This can be done easily by having each
major studio set aside one day a week at
a convenient hour when the studio will not
be shooting—say between 11-12 a. m. or
2-3 p. m. (For instance, Paramount on
Monday, Warner Bros, on Tuesday, etc.)
One hour's time for one of the studio
employes acting as a guide once a week will
not be so costly, but will enlist the cooperation
of the Chamber of Commerce and
other organiaztions of Los Angeles and Hollywood
that will benefit our industry Immensely
in public relations, goodwill and newspaper
publicity.
Having the visit tours when there is no
work on pictures will not lessen the interest
or kill the glamor.
One hour's sacrifice on the part of the
studios weekly will help perpetuate COMPO's
slogan, "It is Movietime U.S.A."
Comet Theatre,
St. Louis, Mo.
THOMAS JAMES
Praises Movietime Star Appearances
To BOXOFFICE:
I wonder if the gratefulness of a small
town exhibitor can be in some way expressed
through your magazine.
We are in a very small town, but we realize
the value of Movietime and are cooperating
in every way that we can. On Tuesday,
October 9, a group of stars appeared in
Tonkawa, Okla., a town larger than ours some
20 miles distant. My wife and I drove over
there to see what went on; it is about this
that I write.
If there is a theatreman, large or small,
anywhere who can attend one of these gatherings
and come away from it feeling that
they are not doing a world of good, he ought
to be buried, as he has died.
My wife and I had the extreme pleasure
of personally meeting and of talking with
Roscoe Ates and Charles Starrett and we both
feel that we have never met nicer down-toearth
people than they are. Whatever they
did at Tonkawa cannot do anything but create
the highest regard for them and movies
in general. There were others in the party
who made fine appearances, but we did not
get to meet them and to talk with them as
we did Ates and Starrett.
These two gentlemen cooperated with me
fully in posing for snapshots to be used in
my theatre lobby, which incidentally are
creating a lot of interest.
It is the honest opinion of my wife and
I that these gatherings that are being or
have been held all over the United States
will do a powerful job for the movie industry.
We are glad to have a small part in
"It's Movietime U.S.A. and It's Movietime in
the O. K. State."
EDWIN A. FALK, SR.
Roxy Theatre,
Billings, Okla.
Hits at Noncooperative Stars
To BOXOFFICE:
The so-called stars of Hollywood who refused
to go on the Movietime U.S.A. tours
because some of the jumps were bad, ought
to be kicked out of Hollywood and blackballed
by the exhibitors of the country.
It is disgusting to read that in one instance
one of the temperamental hams refused to
cooperate because of hotel accommodations.
I use the term "ham" here in this instance
only, as applying to this one star.
The time has come when the men and
women in Hollywood who earn their living
from the movies should either play ball or
get out. The manner in which the exhibitors
and others of the nation in this business cooperated
and are cooperating to make Movietime
U.S.A. a success, should show certain
folks in Hollywood that they are but a small
part of this great industry.
Let's stop fooling around with the stars
who fight, or get into court action, who are
temperamental. There are too many fine men
and women in Hollywood to have to bow down
to a few who are so much impressed with
themselves they believe the business couldn't
do without them.
Let's know their names, these that refused
to go out, and let us, as exhibitors, keep their
names off the marquees, out of the ads, and
just play them down, regardless of how important
they might think they are.
A GEORGIA EXHIBITOR
Arthur Mayer to Suggest
New COMPO Fund Plan
JACKSONVILLE, FLA.—A new plan
for financing future operations of the
Council of Motion Picture Organizations
will be suggested at the next meeting of
the COMPO executive board by Arthur
L. Mayer, executive vice-president, he
told the Tuesday (23) meeting here of
the Florida Theatre Owners Ass'n, affiliate
of the Theatre Owners of America.
He said he believed that producers
should make public relations shorts gratis
for distribution at regular rentals to exhibitors,
the rental money to go to
COMPO. The present method calls for
exhibitors to give one-tenth of one per
cent of all rentals to COMPO, either by
check direct or through collections by a
distributing company.
Exhibitor Convention
On Product Selling
KANSAS CITY—The forthcoming fall convention
of the Kansas-Mi ;i ,
,
Ass'n, to be held here
November 6, 7, will be
unique in that exhibitor
members of the organization
will, for
what is believed to be
the first time, .sell
their fellow exhibitors
on forthcoming Hollywood
product.
The entire two-day
convention will be devoted
to discussions of
upcoming film product, Elmer Rhoden jr.
involving picture types, stories, preview-s and
methods of selling the film to the public.
Elmer Rhoden jr., convention chairman,
-said, he believed that at this convention for
the first time discussions would center around
forthcoming product, a subject which, he
said "we believe has been neglected heretofore
by exhibitor groups."
One exhibitor, Rhoden said, will speak on
each company and its product. The idea is
being worked, he added, with the full cooperation
of the film company publicity offices
in both New York and Hollywood.
Other features of the convention will include
discussions of advertising and showmanship,
by Joe Redmond of Fox Midwest
Amusement Corp., dealing in a large part
with methods of changing press books material
to fit the individual situation in both big
cities and small towns.
Jack Braunagel, head of drive-in operations
for Commonwealth Theatres, will discuss
applying drive-in exploitation stunts to
indoor theatres.
Rhoden said the various speeches on film
product would be spiced throughout with gags
applicable to the product. For instance, he
said, models in bathing suits or quartets will
appear during discussions of certain films,
tieing in with the film product.
Republic's 39-V/eek Profit
Slightly Down From '50
NEW YORK—Republic Pictures and its
subsidiaries report a net profit of $1,358,270.06,
before federal tax provision, estimated federal
normal and surtaxes of $630,000, for the 39
weeks ended July 28, 1951. This amounts to
a net after taxes of $728,270.06.
The 1951 figure compares to a net profit
of $1,390,922, before federal tax provision, estimated
federal normal and surtaxes, for the
39 weeks ended July 29, 1950. This compares
to $830,922 after taxes.
ELC Films Now Covered
In UA-NFSC Contract
NEW YORK—Product formerly scheduled
by Eagle Lion Classics, the distribution firm
which United Artists bought from Pathe Industries,
has been incorporated into the same
shipping contract which covers UA product,
according to an arrangement between UA and
the National Film Service Corp. of New York.
This information was reported by Albert E.
Bollingier, UA treasurer, when queried about
a report from Cleveland
deal with UA.
that NFSC made a
BOXOFFICE :
: October 27, 1951 19