Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-01-08
ADMISSION PRICE
TO MOVIES" MAY Be
RAISED IN STATE
Exhibitors Say Growth of
Business and Refinement
of Public Taste Involves
Greater Expense.

1t may come to pass that before long
you will have to pay 10 cents to see the
movies" around the corner from your
home, for there is strong sentiment
among film exhibitors that the time has
come to increase the price of admission.
So strong ls this sentiment that when the
States exhibitors meet in Harrisburg, at
the end of this month, the matter win be
put into concrete form,
There are mahy reasons why this rad
ical change is imminent. To begin at the
beginning, the scent showhouse in which
the motion picture first saw the light of
day-and night-was usually a store con-
verted by the installation of seats and a
screen. The rent was negligible and the
expenses for films ranged from 50 to $3
for each picture. But as the business grew
and developed and the publio's taste be-
came more eXacting, reel theatres were
erected and film producers spent thou
sands of dollars in filming a play The
consequence was that the producers had
to raise the rates of rental to from S15 to
$3.50 a night for film.
For a long time the cheaper houses
have stood this drain, but the times have
been so bad and the steadily increasing
cost of house maintenance has mounted
so high that exhibitors declare now that
an increase In prices is unavoidable.
The Lubin Manufacturing Company
has spent as much as $4,000 for one film
play of twenty episodes. This means that
1t must get back $3.50 for each episode.
And this does not include the cost of
marketing and advertising but solely
production expenses. "Zudora" charged
$50 a night; "The Spoilers" twice as much.
AS consequence, exhibitors will be
forced to raise their admission prices.
But this is not the only complaint of
the exhibitors. The censor laws Of the
State are declared to be onerous and un-
just 1t Is asserted that the Federal
Government will not permit picture of a
cancelled postage stamp to be thrown on
the screen, for 1t is against the law to
reproduce stamp or bank note in any
shape or form.
Another complaint is the order recently
issued by ]. Louis Breitinger, the chief
censor, that no "six sheet posters will
be allowed in front of photo playhouses.
From an artistic viewpoint the exhibitors
admit, this is justified, but they assert
that business is bad enough as it is,
without the forced hiding of attractions
under bushel
1.-THE situation in the photoplay world
rs a bit chaotic" said j. j. Mccarthy.
manager of the Chestnut Street Opera
House, wnere Etall Inc CnTlS-
tian" is packing the house. 1.-THE eX-
hibitor is not making the money the pub
lie imagines. We have to pay the piper.
The taste of the public becomes so super
fine that pictures which in former days
drew crowds are now passed by as me-
diocre Prices of film rentals are going
UP all the time and the end is not yet
in sight The best actors and actresses
on the speaking stages of all nations are
being impressed into the service Of the
silent play, and, of course. they demand
salaries commensurate with their reputa-
tions Theatre rentals are on the up
grade. There is a new war tax. In fact
the exhibitor is confronted with a seri-
Gus problem"
Mr. Mccarthy declined to discuss the
question of huge posters, as he does not
make use of them. From another source
1t was learned that when the State ex-
hlbitors meet in Harrisburg they will ask
the Legislature to repeal the censor law
in its entirety.