PICTURE PRICES

Northern Advocate, 5 February 1934, Page 10

PICTURE PRICES

MINIMUM CHARGE. ATTITUDE OF EXHIBITORS. fSpecial to “Northern -,-:vocste.”') WELLINGTON, This Day. One of the grievances which led to the decision to set. up a commission to investigate the film industry in the Dominion (the personnel of which is now l ebig decided) was that film contributors were imposing in their contracts u condition which prevented theatre proprietors from charging less than 1/for admission. Mr ,1. A. Lee (Auckland East) introduced a measure last session to make this prohibition illegal, for he urged that suburban picturetheatre proprietors were suffering serious handicap under present difficult conditions unless they could moot the curtailed resources of their trade.

That the organised theatre proprietors of the Dominion are not altogether in favour of complete withdrawal of this condition under all circumstances, is evident from the annual report of the New Zealand Alotion Picture Exhibitors’ Association submitted to the recent Dominion Conference. Tills report states that the minimum admission clause in film contracts has been a matter of continuous (rouble since it W'as added to the contract in 1030, The association’s executive recognised very early that economic conditions were likely to develop in certain cases whir.'i would make the fixed minimum detrimental to business. “This,” it adds, “has undoubtedly occurred, particular ly in the Auckland suburban areas. Your executive has never supported the abolition of a minimum admission danse, but has asked Iho Motion Dealers’ Association, of Sydney, to allow departures from the present minimum to he made when a committee of New Zealand distributors and exhibitors agree that such is warranted.”

The association’s representatives will give evidence on this and other questions when the film investigation is commenced.