Box Office Poison (magazine article)


"Box Office Poison" is the title of a magazine article submitted by Harry Brandt, the president of the Independent Theatre Owners of America, in the Independent Film Journal on May 3, 1938. The list labeled several well-known contemporary films stars whose box office was alleged to be negligible.

Content

The article in its entirety was called "Dead Cats" and was published by Manhattan's Independent Theatre Owners Association, Inc. The majority of the article read as follows:

Response

The article continued, stating the "ready answers" many of the stars had to their labeling:
Also in the article, there were some listed as actors who "deserve their high salaries", among them Shirley Temple, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Bette Davis, Myrna Loy, William Powell, Jean Arthur, Spencer Tracy, Cary Grant, and Carole Lombard among others. According to Brandt, studios were "safe" in placing these stars in films, knowing their "undeniable" popularity would generate substantial profit.

Subsequent impact

Over the years, several more "Box Office Poison" lists have been submitted in newspapers, in magazines, or more recently, online. In 1949, Mary Armitage's 'Film Close-Ups' newspaper labeled many stars as "poison" at the box office, among them Sylvia Sidney, James Cagney, Henry Fonda, Ingrid Bergman, Jennifer Jones, John Hodiak, and two actresses that in 1938 were said to have "deserved" their salaries, Bette Davis and Shirley Temple. Despite the original and 1949 lists, Crawford, Davis, Hepburn, Dietrich, Francis, Barrymore, Astaire, Sidney, Cagney, Fonda, Bergman, Jones, and Hodiak all had comebacks. Del Río also did, although she had more success in Mexico than the United States.
Harry Brandt's later whereabouts after the Box Office Poison list was published are currently unknown.