That producers such as Adamson and the even more low-rent Robert J. Horner were able to survive in the movie business is indicative of how even the chintziest and most inept of the independent producers could succeed under the film exchange system of the 1920s and '30s, which serviced thousands of theaters throughout the U.S. and Canada. Two separate exchange systems existed--"States Rights", where the exchange would actually buy a picture outright for distribution in a particular state or region; and the library-type exchange system, allowing distribution in a territory for a predetermined length of time, after which the film would revert back to the producer. In the latter, the trick was to sign up enough exchanges willing to print and distribute product (films such as Adamson's would be shown for one to three days on the lower part of a double bill) for a fee of as little as $5 per day. The exchange would negotiate advertising expenses (posters), normally only paying for these items during a first run--some would attempt to sell or lease them in advertising packages to the theaters with varying degrees of success. A single print of even the worst Adamson film might be shown three times in 400 unaffiliated theaters on the first run. These mostly rural theaters had an insatiable demand for product, since they were unable to obtain A-list features from major Hollywood studios. The film would be shelved for six to nine months and then be recirculated on an irregular basis until the print was worn out (a situation that contributed immensely to these films being lost today). Money, at least in theory, could trickle back to producers for years, enabling them to eventually double or even triple their small investment. Some independent producers were able to negotiate advances from exchanges for future productions based on their successful track records, although it's extremely unlikely that Adamson would have been able to capitalize on this. Ironically, today the rare surviving posters of Adamson's films are highly collectible, with prices that approach--or possibly even exceed--the original cost of many of his productions.
