His Grand National Pictures had 29 film exchanges in the US and six in Canada. These were territorial and serviced independent
theaters operating, literally, on a film-per-flat-fee basis and then exchanged for another one. During the 1930s an independent theater might completely change its bills three times weekly and would typically
screen films from other "B" studios (Monogram, Republic, Chesterfield, Educational, Mascot, Big 4, Puritan, etc.) that would
often include re-releases and a short. Film exchanges would purchase a film's distribution rights for a determinate period, pay for
and repair prints and distribute promotional material. Since an
exchange would almost always make money, even on flops, it was more
consistently lucrative than independent film production.
