THE CUBA REV I E W 



19 



Cuban Commercial Matters 



Motion -Pictures 



American motion-picture companies have 

 recently taken an increased interest in the 

 Cuban market and the promotion of films 

 made in the United States has been pushed 

 energetically, reports Consul General C. B. 

 Hurst from Habana. American companies 

 now manage two of the largest motion- 

 picture theaters in Habana and capital has 

 been invested in smaller distributing com- 

 panies. This activity has increased the 

 predominance of American films in Cuba. 



There are at present 300 or more motion- 

 picture theaters in Cuba. In addition, 

 many of the sugar mills have facilities 

 for and exhibit pictures. - Many of the 

 theaters sprang up during the period of 

 good times in Cuba and operated success- 

 fully so long as theatergoers spent freely 

 on this form of entertainment. A small 

 number of these theaters are now closed, 

 while some give performances on Satur- 

 days, Sundays, and holidays. 



The films that are selling best at the 

 present time are wild-west pictures and 

 "features." The film that made the most 

 money recently was a feature which was 

 advertised systematically many months in 

 advance. 



German films threatened at one time to 

 be serious competitors of American films, 

 but owing to bad exploitation and the fact 

 that a number of their older productions 

 were sent to Cuba, they have not continued 

 to sell. A few French films have been im- 

 ported, but not in quantities to compete 

 seriously with American films. Recently 

 a number of historical dramas imported 

 from Italy have been shown. 



Big features are sent into the interior of 

 the island on a percentage basis. This 

 percentage is about 75 per cent to the dis- 

 tributor and 25 per cent to the theater, 

 and is seldom less than 50 per cent to the 

 distributor for the first showings.. They 

 are sent out from Habana with a com- 

 pany's representative, making a tour of 

 the island, showing at the principal cities 

 between Habana and Santiago. On the 

 return trip the smaller towns and suburbs 

 are played. Some of the large American 

 companies have branch houses in Santiago, 



v/orking under the supervision of the Ha- 

 bana office. To these branches films 

 that have worked the city of Habana and 

 have brought in the largest amount of 

 money of which they are capable are sent, 

 and from there rented at any price ob- 

 tainable in the small towns and sugar 

 centrals. 



Ordinary films in Habana are rented out 

 in "programs." A program consists of a 

 feature, a two-reel comedy, and a news 

 reel, or a cartoon, making a program of 

 from 10 to 13 reels. The prices for pro- 

 grams vary from $6 to $60 for each per- 

 formance. 



European films are usually bought on 

 the open market by local distributors. 



The majority of the American films that 

 come to Cuba have advertising matter sent 

 down with them with printing in English. 

 Although the theater proprietors have 

 steadily refused to pay for any advertising 

 matter, yet when these posters have been 

 given to them they have utilized them, and 

 frequently have gone to the expense of 

 having a Spanish translation of the titles 

 hand painted on each poster. 



As the custom in Cuba is to show pic- 

 tures with Spanish and English titles, the 

 large companies dispatch their films to 

 Cuba with titles already provided in both 

 languages. Foreign films have often had 

 to be recut and titles inserted. 



Films are shipped from the factories in 

 air-tight tins, contained in a tin-lined 

 wooden case, by ordinary freight, usually 

 from New York. Small urgent news reels 

 are sent by parcel post. 



Film distributors are exempted from the 

 1 per cent gross sales tax in Cuba in so 

 far as the films are rented and not sold. 

 The distributors are subject to the 4 per 

 cent tax on profits. 



A favorite method of handling the Cuban 

 business has been by means of a branch 

 house. It is estimated by one company 

 that a yearly turnover of $50,000 would 

 warrant the placing of a competent 

 manager in Cuba in charge of a branch. 



Recently a movement was started for a 

 censorship in Cuba and the Government 

 made tentative plans to meet the demands. 



