Motion picture theater management

Front matter

i

Scanned from the collections of The Library of Congress

AU DIOV1SU AL CONSERVATION at Th? LIBRARY if CONGRESS

Preface

HE first book in a new field will attract a variety of readers. In the domain of the motion picture industry, no writer has hitherto attempted a complete presentation of the special matter of operation. This volume therefore is planned to reach the widest possible audience by considering one group of facts from a composite point of view. The general public will find the style direct and untechnical. Business men in non-related walks of commerce will be served by the economy of statement. For to those who intend to enter the profession, there is a wealth of detail clarified by a strict organization. Teachers of the new courses that are being held in universities and technical schools are hereby offered a text for assignment or reference. Theater managers may profit, surely, by reading in fixed print the summary of their own experiences and other people's ideas. There is a wealth of exhibits and illustrations which make the theme concrete and which should appeal to all.

When I speak of the motion picture as something new, I am not unmindful of the fact that it has already had a history of one generation. In thirty years thousands of ventures have had ample time to accumulate and exchange a vast fund of knowledge. The brevity of time has been matched by the strides of progress. In other words, we have arrived at a definite stage in our work. Looking backward, we discern certain unmistakable classifications, in various directions. No one has yet gathered these into one group under one cover. Hence this book.

The general public has evinced so close an interest in the production of photoplays, that I dare hope they will wish to learn more concerning the theaters they attend. As every one knows, the cinema is in existence and is still very much growing. I feel sure that those who have been patrons will be curious enough to spend a few hours acquiring a fuller notion

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PREFACE of how their enjoyable evenings are planned and achieved. Operators have often featured such information in their house publicity ; and I for one am confident that the theater has nothing to lose and much to gain from audiences that know the trend of things and appreciate new and improved methods.

Leaders of other industries, knowing well that the basis of commerce is everywhere the same, will nevertheless have an opportunity to see how the superstructure has evolved in the new line that has prospered so swiftly. The advance of the film has profited by examples taken from older enterprises. Perhaps the favor can now be returned.

The group I address mainly, of course, is the legion of those young men who will shortly be in charge of our houses. They may be individual entrepreneurs about to join the ranks. They may be promoted employees, risen from the ranks. They may be undergoing preparatory training in such institutions as Columbia University, or the Publix Theatres Managers' School. Even younger, they may be no more than wishful of the day when they shall achieve managerial status. Whoever or whatever they may be, I have for them this word of caution : A book like the present one is no mere collection of words. The thoughts presented herein are the fruits of a very real tree. There are roots of reality behind what I say — roots that go down deep into business, art, and life itself. A great many men have devoted their youth and maturity to the establishment of the facts that crowd these pages. Most of those men groped and struggled long and hard before they were able to grasp this or that principle. Many of them never did learn, never survived. Their successes — and their failures, too ! — have made possible the lessons they turn over to successors; but the process of learning still needs time and effort. You wouldn't expect to learn to play the violin just from reading a book through once. You won't be a manager on the same basis, either. But musical lore has shortened and simplified the violinist's path. Undoubtedly, theory can pave the way to practice in the motion picture business as in others.

Although this book deals with a subject that has its touch of romance, it should not be galloped through, like a novel.

PREFACE vii

Absorb, while you read. Take time to reflect upon what is said. Whenever you can, study the elements of an actual theater, and make comparison with the statements the book offers. Use your head, not to memorize, but to comprehend ; and do not lose sight of the fact that the best information is valuable only when put to use by sound, earnest initiative.

Teachers of such young men as I have just addressed will find the text helpful, unless I am mistaken, in several ways. As a recitation groundwork, it will serve to save time enormously in respect to gathering material and organizing lectures. There are thirty-four chapters in all The individual instructor has therefore a mathematical principle for division of time in his course. The matter of emphasis, unless dictated by special circumstances, should be constant, for no one can tell which phase of the work will be most needed by the student later. The grouping by parts provides occasion for reviews and quizzes.

Lecturers in courses concerning the industry, but not directly dealing with operation, may employ the text for reference, or for reports by part or on specific chapters. Thus there may be secured for a class in stage presentation, for example, an interesting side-light on the place of production in the organization. I believe, too, that the book may be used with some profit in connection with studies relating to commerce, advertising, journalism, or the allied field of theatricals.

To the executive already in the harness I offer the greetings of a colleague who has seen the growth and workings of operations small and large. What he already knows, he may perhaps find here ordered and clarified. Since I myself have often learned from others, I have hope that he will find some new things in what I say. And should he occasionally, or even frequently, find it necessary to disagree — why, what is better than the opportunity to discuss a life-work with another who has made the same career his ?

By way of conclusion, I have the following to say : Whatever else this book may be, it is no flight of fancy. The statements it contains are based on sober and, I believe, verifiable fact. I did not enter the business as a writer but as viii

PREFACE an executive ; and an executive I still remain. If I have waxed enthusiastic here or there, it is because, where operation is concerned, I am and always shall be an enthusiast. Part of the showman's creed — the heart of it — is a love of the profession.

Finally, permit me to render a brief but heartfelt tribute to one whom I respect and admire for his contribution to the industry — Adolph Zukor. Through all the conflicts that arose in the building of a new industry, he stuck to his convictions and made himself a leader and a guide. My associations with him have been such as arouse a deep sense of appreciation.

May my own words help others in some measure.

H. B. F.

Contents

PAGE

PART I: Introductory CHAPTER

I. The Object of the Book ....... 15

II. The Industry and the Theater . . . . . 21

PART II: Management and Organization

III. Management and the Public . ? . . . -37

IV. Departments and Functions . . . . . .45

V. Personnel and Inspections . . . . . 52

VI. Safety 61 VII. House Management ....... 67

VIII. Training for Management . . . . -. , 77 ■

PART III: Plant and Structure

IX. The Building and Its Construction . . ? s - 87 X. Structural Equipment ....... 96

XI. Fire Apparatus and Water Supply . > -. . .104

PART IV: Personnel

XII. The Function of Personnel . . , . . .119

XIII. The Service Staff . s s f . , .124

XIV. The Production Staff s . , , . , .139 XV. Plant and Housekeeping . ... . . -. .153

XVI. Auditing and Accounting Personnel . . . .164

XVII. Conferences . . s , , ._ . .168

XVIII. Employment . . . . . ■ , . . .176

ix

X

CONTENTS

PART V: Finance CHAPTEB PAGE

XIX. Financing the Motion Picture Industry . . . . 185

XX. Budgets . .192

XXI. Methods of Accounting Control 200

XXII. Purchasing and Inventory . . . . . .213

XXIII. Insurance . . . . . . .... 223

PART VI: Auxiliary and Contributive Elements

XXIV. Expert Advice . . . . : ; , -237 XXV. Advertising 24.2

XXVI. The Show Window of the Theater s 6 .. .258

XXVII. Color and Lighting 268

XXIX. Special Films: Short Subjects; Road Shows . . . 288

XXX. Stage Presentations 296

XXXI. Refrigeration Systems and Other Mechanical Aids . 304

XXXII. Law Pertaining to Theaters 317

XXXIII. The Public: Good Will and Ethics . . .325

PART VII: Conclusion

XXXIV. The Paramount Theatre and Building . . . -333 XXXV. Review and Forecast 345

ILLUSTRATIONS

Thomas A. Edison Frontispiece

FIGURE PAGE

1. Theater Organization Chart ...... 47

2. Inspection Report ........ $6

3. Fire and Safety Report . . . . . . .62

4. Box Office Statement . . s . . . . 72

5. Time Schedule 75

6. Remote Control Switchboard . . . . . . 80

7. Stage Lighting Plan ........ 99

8. Service Staff Report , . , . . . . .125

9. Uniformed Staff . . . . , . . . .128

10. Lost and Found Forms . . . . . . .131

11. Service Employees . . . 136

12. Layout of Projection Room . . . -. . ,141

13. Projection Room Weekly Report ■„ . . . .143

14. Special News Weekly Trailer . . . . : .144

15. Booth Shutter Arrangement . -. . . . .146

16. Music Cue Sheet . . . 148

17. Weekly Statement 208

18. Graphic Chart, California Theatre . . . .211

19. Inventory Record . . . , , . . .217

21. Requisition from Store Room . . . . . .221

22. Specimen Balaban & Katz Institutional Advertising . 245

23. Specimen West Coast Institutional Advertising . . 246

24. Exploitation Lobby 253

25. Newspaper Ads on "The Covered Wagon" . . . 254

26. Ziegfeld Theatre . . . . . . . .264

xi xii ILLUSTRATIONS

FIGURE PAGE

27. Paramount, Grauman's Chinese and Uptown Theatres . 264

28. Specimen Posters ......... 264

30. Decorative Lobby "The Ten Commandments" . .265

31. Roxy Theatre Lobby . .265

32. Lobby, Uptown Theatre, Chicago . . . . .265

33. A. Seat Indicator . . . . . : . . . , 265 B. Usher Signal System 266

34. Auditorium, Paramount Theatre . . . , .336

35. Fox Case Movietone . . f . . . . .350

CHAPTER I The Object of the Book

THEATERS, and particularly motion picture theaters, are to-day an important part of community life throughout our country. In many instances they are housed in the finest public buildings of the individual town or city. They represent investments ranging from one hundred thousand dollars in a small town to as much as three and four million dollars in one of the greater centers of population. The modern motion picture theater, a marvel of comfort and luxury, seats as many as six thousand persons. From some nine thousand theaters in 1910, the number increased to twenty thousand in 1925, with a total seating capacity of almost eighteen million, and an estimated average weekly attendance of one hundred million. In New York, the Paramount Theatre and Building embodies an investment in land and structure of nearly eighteen million dollars. This, of course, is the exceptional instance, because the outstanding one. It is significant as representing a peak, a climax in the history of operation.

The tremendous capital invested in motion picture theaters throughout the country is an indication of the sound foundation on which the motion picture theater rests. In one sense, the motion picture is an industry. From that point of view it is not merely national in scope, but even ranks with the preeminent industries, being in fact fourth in importance. Furthermore, it is a business as soundly stabilized as it is extensive and notable. When a single theater brings a gross revenue of two millions and more a year — and there are now many such theaters — it has reached a position second to that of no single interest in the commercial world. Indeed, the progress of the industry is one of the romances of American initiative. Born in 1896, and founded on the basic patents of

Thomas A. Edison, it has leaped to the forefront of national economic and social life in the brief span of a single generation. What a long jump from the crude "store" show to such palatial operation as exemplified by the Paramount and Roxy theaters in New York !

The reason for the miraculous growth is the fulfillment of a universal, deep seated, public need. It is a simple fact of every day experience that the new institution is typically and essentially democratic, enjoying, in every quarter of the globe, the patronage of millions of people of all ages and interests, from every walk of life. It is not uncommon to see a Ford and a Rolls-Royce discharge their occupants, at the same time, before the box office. "The Covered Wagon" and "The Big Parade," acclaimed by the most exacting public of the great metropolis, stir equally the hearts of people in the most remote townships. For the motion picture theater has taken its place alongside the church and the schoolliouse. In the words of Cardinal Dubois, one of the most influential religious leaders of Paris: "The cinema will become a great and beautiful thing. The faith which I place in it to-day is quite justified, and I remain convinced that to-morrow it will even surpass our hopes, that it will truly be the grand silent voice of the day, and that through it the world will be a better place." People have found that it is just as important to laugh, and to be diverted generally, as to be good and learned, that enjoyment is as truly a part of life as morality and knowledge.

The motion picture does not pretend to be an educational institution, although motion pictures in themselves have made and will make themselves felt as factors in education. It is the function of the motion picture theater to furnish clean, wholesome entertainment; and those responsible for production recognize the fact that pictures must be wholesome if they are to continue to prosper, because the overwhelming majority of the people will not long accept anything that is not of high standard. The result is that pictures are not merely acceptable, but that many of them are inspirational and elevating. Those like D. W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation," Paramount's "The Covered Wagon," Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's

THE OBJECT OF THE BOOK

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"The Big Parade" speak with a voice that is truly the voice of a great country and appeal with equal success in Europe and in the United States. William Fox's production, "Seventh Heaven," and First National's "The Patent Leather Kid" are other offerings of the same splendid character. Such productions not only entertain, but stimulate all that is finest and best in human character, and are thus comparable with the loftiest in literature. In comparison, moreover, with the drama of the stage, the drama of the screen has infinitely greater flexibility and range. It is not limited to the artificial devices of the theater. It literally has the whole world for its stage. It actually speaks a universal language. It takes people all around the world; into the laboratories of science, into botanical gardens, into the White House, down into the bowels of the earth and the secrets of the ocean. Recently the New York World said: "From Singapore to Savannah the screen has become one of the greatest agencies in the diversion and instruction of mankind."

These references to the progress and the merits of motion pictures are made only to emphasize the hold of the theater that exhibits them among the people everywhere. To-day such theaters are in simple fact the only places of entertainment to large and increasing numbers. Since that is the case, their proper operation is of vital importance. It is important, as we have seen, economically. The newspapers and the lighting companies are but two of the many local contributive enterprises. Nationally, over two hundred thousand miles of film are utilized each year. More than five million pounds of cotton and one hundred sixty tons of silver bullion contribute to this single output. An institution that employs from twenty to two hundred persons in each theater, and that draws its equipment from business houses of numerous and varied interests, requires administration second in importance to none.

Theater operation has consequently come to be recognized as a profession of exceptional merit and usefulness, and a high type of young man is being attracted to the ranks. In addition, the industry itself is aware of new needs and standards, so that an effort is being made to provide the recruits with the fundamental theory and practice of the procedure involved in management. To this end, Publix Theatres, Inc., which is an important motion picture theater circuit, conducts a school whose specific purpose is to teach the essentials of theater management. As has been indicated, the principal reasons for the step are : the increasing importance of motion picture theaters everywhere, the large investment represented, the great number of theaters now in operation, the thousands of persons whose livelihood depends on the industry, and the important relationship of the theater to the public.

For the same reasons, and with the same end in view, this book will endeavor to present an analysis and exposition of the details of theater management — functions and procedure — based on practical experience. It is not intended to tell any one how to operate theaters successfully. Success in the field can be acquired only by practical experience and by those qualities which make for success anywhere and at any time. The aim of the text is rather to give necessary information drawn from reality, to marshal a vast array of miscellaneous fact in orderly form. In this way, the book may be of genuine guidance and of economical instruction to the right sort of candidate for managerial status. It is hoped, likewise, that executives at present in charge of individual theaters may find in these pages the clarification of this or that problem arising out of the nature of their work. Yet the writer cannot too emphatically repeat that success is based on level-headed capacity. Modern theaters, large or small, cannot be run on chance or guesswork. What this book has to give, together with the contributions of experts in various divisions, must be combined with acute personal intelligence.

In order to facilitate the most efficient presentation of the subject, the present text has been so ordered as to group the problems for convenient reference, without diminishing the emphasis on the prime consideration of management. Accordingly, the chapters are gathered into Parts, as follows : Part I is a bird's-eye view of the entire industry as an introduction to the place of the theater. Part II goes directly to general phases of management, in its relations with public, employ-

THE OBJECT OF THE BOOK ers and employees, especially in connection with house direction, safety, and training. Part III is concerned with the physical building — construction, equipment, inspection, and maintenance. Part IV describes in detail the varieties of personnel and the manager's function in inspections, conferences and employment. Part V has to do with the fundamental problems of finance in budget making and control, and in purchase, stock, and insurance. Part VI considers the manager's relations with his advisors — the musician, the publicity man, the lawyer, and others. Part VII rounds out the picture in a summary of the past and some conjectures as to the future. In every division, of course, the details are viewed from the angle of the central consideration — the manager.

The methods and principles described herein are naturally not in use in any one theater. They are rather composite ; that is, they are based on the procedure of the better type of motion picture theater, and are gathered from many instances rather than from few. Since they are without exception drawn from experience in operation, they constitute a theatrical standard that may serve as a practical guide. Yet executives must realize that expediency often takes precedence over theory, and that in theater operation much depends on the personality of the administration. Emerson has said: "Every institution is the lengthened shadow of some man." Business judgment must decide the occasions when theory is practicable, and when it is inadequate.

Since figures tend to vary greatly in the motion picture business, it would be misleading to feature them in a general account of this sort. Not only are there variations within regions and districts and cities, but within the individual theater there are variations from season to season, from week to week. Therefore figures will be introduced only when necessary, and even then will be used solely for the purpose of illustration, and must not be considered on the basis of unfailing accuracy.

These chapters are written after intensive study and after much first-hand experience in the operation mainly of large theaters. The content will therefore be found to apply most closely to such theaters. It is believed, however, that the underlying principles should be applicable, with equal point, to any type of theater operated, no matter how small. Perhaps the local manager will profit from an opportunity to view the whole field in the large; or the small unit may be impelled to grow after the model of the greater. At any rate, the principles set forth should serve the individual operator with the basis of comparison and check in black and white; and since any type of theater that depends upon the public for support has much in common with any other type, the author hopes that his words may be of some service outside his own domain of motion picture theater operation.

Chapter II

The Industry and the Theater HE history of the motion picture as an entertainment covers a period of thirty years. The early stage of the industry is similar in many respects to that of the story of oil, the automobile, and the railroad. The industry prospered only after a period of strife and fierce competition, and after several chaotic, climactic situations.

Those who persevered some twenty-five years ago saw in the motion picture the foundation of a great business. Without precedent or experience, these men felt their way along, conquered great difficulties, overcame great obstacles, and from a crude beginning, and after many random experiments, the business gradually prospered, attracting to it men of youth and imagination. In the same short span of thirty years, the motion picture developed an art, peculiarly its own. Despite its youth, it is compared favorably with the older arts, the drama and the newspaper, both of which required centuries of development.

Mistakes have been made, but no industry could have achieved what the motion picture has, unless it was fundamentally sound. Without background, those who developed a novelty into an industry that has reached a high plane have earned the respect and regard of people throughout the world. Even during the earlier, chaotic period, the record reveals a high proportion of progress. The pioneers were true builders, creators in the best sense. And those who are guiding the industry to-day have a clear realization of their responsibilities, both moral and educational, as apart from the financial consideration. If we can judge the future from the past, we may expect the same relative progress during the next thirty years as during the three decades that lie behind.

No criticism can be brought against motion pictures which cannot be brought against books, with equal truth — there are good and bad pictures just as there are good and bad books.

As we grow better, motion pictures will become better — great strides have already been made — the future is bright already in this respect. The business is still going forward, ever climbing and growing. From a mere plaything it has developed into the favorite entertainment of the masses. The motion picture is constantly recording progress in entertainment and artistic values.

In 1922 the industry took a mighty step forward when the principal producers and distributors organized the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, with Mr. Will H. Hays, then Postmaster-General of the United States, as their guiding counsel. The object of this association can be more readily understood in reading the code of ethics included in the articles of incorporation, filed in Albany, N. Y. Briefly they are:

"To establish and maintain the highest possible moral and artistic standards of motion picture production, and to develop the educational as well as the entertainment value and general usefulness of the motion picture/'

Those within the industry gave their confidence and cooperation to the association, which went a long way to stabilize the industry and place it on a basis which warranted and received public approval. The motion picture industry laid plans for further progress and development and directed itself to expansion of its influence and its sphere of usefulness. It not only became the means of entertaining the people, but proved to be of great influence in molding opinion and taste, as well as a force for good will among nations, because of the universal language of pictures, showing the habits of all to each, and in that way bringing them closer together and eliminating misunderstandings. Furthermore, the same sound business principles that govern other American industries direct the policies and methods of the different groups of the motion picture industry.

There are three distinct branches of endeavor in the motion picture industry: that of (a) Production, (b) that of Distribution, and (c) that of Exhibition. I will endeavor to make clear the function of each.

PRODUCTION

The production of Motion Pictures is accomplished by various groups, some of whom carry on the distribution and the exhibition (or theater operation) as well. The production of motion pictures is a costly undertaking, and if an organization is to maintain extensive studios, as well as a talented creative staff, it is extremely important that it be closely allied with the distribution, to insure for itself a steady outlet for the product of its effort. For this reason each of the leading producers maintains his own distributing organization. There are producers who make occasional pictures, and who arrange for the distribution of their pictures through one of the distribution organizations, which are always willing to circulate a product which is meritorious. There are producers, however, who make occasional pictures that do not measure up to the best standards ; and such pictures are not encouraged through regular distributing channels. These pictures are released through the state right market, where the right to distribute the particular picture in a given territory is sold to a state right distributor either for a lump sum, or on a percentage arrangement through which the producers participate in the film rentals.

There is no definite formula in the making of good motion pictures. In many respects such production may be compared to the publishing of books, or the producing of plays. New ideas, originality in creation, are of equal moment in picture making as in any other phase of creative work. If the first essential of a good picture is a good story, the second is a good director. The preparation in planning and working out the scenario, and the amount of time that can be spent on the production, are of importance. Direction that brings out the story in a simple way, so that it may be clearly understood by all kinds of people, is always desirable. Coordination between all departments of production is essential to bring about a genuine result. A weak link may result in a poor picture. Story value with heart interest, human in its appeal, that has pictorial value, with a novel theme of general attractiveness, makes for the best type of picture. In the mechanical phase, picture making has reached great heights. There need no longer be any tolerance of a standard below the best in photography, in lighting, in settings, or in technical equipment.

The stories that are made into pictures are recruited from the best material throughout the world, modern and classic; material is drawn from the best literature and from stage plays. In addition, the motion picture has developed a literature all its own; situations can be shown on the screen that could hardly be expressed in words or acted on a stage. With all of nature's background as a setting, writing for the screen involves a technique that is peculiarly its own. A stage play or a novel that is to prove successful in films must be entirely rewritten for adjustment to a different medium. Indeed, some of the biggest successes had no previous appearance in drama or literature. They enjoyed their first presentation as motion pictures — "The Ten Commandments," "The Lost World" and "The Big Parade." Furthermore, there have been instances of elevating inconsequential novels or plays to the level of such masterpieces of film art as "The Birth of a Nation" or "The Covered Wagon."