Showstopper: The novelty wanes

Continued from previous week
J.P. Adler enjoyed a strong relationship with the local newspapers in the communities he served, heavily advertising in exchange for frequent write-ups on his presentations.
This, coupled with his interest in the Adler Poster Advertising Company, gave J.P. a distinct advantage over the typical independent exhibitor.
Adler’s grand openings were filled with celebration, decoration, and offerings. Right by his side were his wife, Rosa, and his two very young daughters, Anne and Elizabeth. At just seven and eight years of age, the two young girls were a picture of exuberant youth as they handed out carnations and welcomed patrons to the Adlers’ new acquisitions.
As students beginning their primary grades at Lincoln School in Marshfield, the two young ladies were being thrust into a world of class and privilege. In a community that had come to respect and look up to their father, they were by far his biggest fans. As the center of their universe, the two girls would begin a life of submission and observance.

With a loyal family beside him, Adler had created his own chain consisting of a handful of theaters. Here he could use the compulsory block-booking to the best of his advantage. He continued to thrive as the prospering communities clamored to the theaters to see the latest in feature films.
Meanwhile, the movie industry was fighting a whole different battle.
In 1930, the Studio Relations Committee was organized by the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) to oversee the enforcement of the “Hays Code” — a production code designed to ensure that films were “wholesome and moral.”
“Mankind has always recognized the importance of entertainment and in value in rebuilding the bodies and souls of human beings,” the code stated. “But it has always recognized that entertainment can be of a character either helpful or harmful to the human race, and in consequence, has clearly distinguished between: Entertainment which tends to improve the race, or, at least, to recreate and rebuild human beings exhausted with the realities of life; and entertainment which tends to degrade human beings, or to lower their standards of life and living.”
In addition, with the founding of United Artists, production companies were faced with salary wars to obtain and/or keep popular stars.
By the end of the 1920s, costs were rising, and production was growing increasingly more difficult. To make matters worse, the public was getting bored. The novelty had diminished, and box office receipts waned.
The industry needed something new.
To be continued