Film Weekly 1962-63 year book : Canadian motion picture industry with television section (1962)

FACTS ABOUT EXHIBITION PRODUCTION of a feature film, Ten Girls Ago, in Toronto stirred much in¬ terest. Financial support came from the sale of shares to the public and much attention was directed to the operation, headed by Ed Gollin of New York, by the financial sections of newspapers. The film, a musical, will be distributed in Canada by International Film Distributors and in the rest of the world by Universal Pictures. The Walt Disney organiza¬ tion has been busy in Toronto, where it is making a feature, The Incredible Journey, and it will likely make one feature a year in Canada. Facilities of Toronto international Film Studios were used by Gollin and those of Canadian Film Industries by Disney. Some TV production activity by USA principals is under way, notably by Dorrel and Stewart McGowan. Produc¬ tion of commercials has increased be¬ cause the duty imposed at the re¬ quest of the Association of Motion Picture Producers and Laboratories of Canada has caused New York pro¬ ducers to come to Canada. PERCENTAGE of films from the USA submitted for showing in Ontario was 41 per cent in the fiscal year ended March 31, where in 1954 the figure was 68 per cent. The decline is due to the production of fewer films in the USA or by USA companies and the greater interest in films from Europe because of the tremendous im¬ migration wave. THEATRE STATISTICS: Since Jan. 1, 1962 seven new theatres, four of them drive-ins, have opened and 33 auditorium and two drive-ins have closed, while two standard-type houses have been burned. These figures bring the number of 35 mm. theatres operat¬ ing in Canada, as of Sept., to 1,593, of which 238 were ozoners. At the same point in 1961, there were 1,642 theatre operating, 235 of them drive-ins. In all of 1961 four new standard-type theatres and five drive-ins opened, 74 four-wall houses closed and three roofed-in theatres were burned. CANADIANS attend movies eight times per year compared to 17 times in 1951, a Unesco survey shows. In 1951 Canada was fifth among the na¬ tions in moviegoing and it is now 25th. Hong Kong and Lebanon, with a rate of 22, are first, a position held by the USA in 1951 with 35. REDUCTION of license fees by a number of municipalities heartened exhibitors, as did lower assessment values and cuts in provincial amuse¬ ment taxes. There seems to be a greater realization of the hardships of theatre operation on the part of provincial and municipal officials. QUITE a number of closed theatres have reopened in small communities. Merchants miss the people the theatre brings to town and co-operatives form¬ ed to reopen theatres aren’t uncom¬ mon. Local newspapers have been giv¬ ing much space to support such activ¬ ities. SUNDAY movies are spreading. On¬ tario, which became Canada’s second province with seventh-day showings, now has 57 communities where they are available and 22 more plebiscites will be held this year. Interest in Sun¬ day movies is growing in other pro¬ vinces also and Vancouver will hold a plebiscite. The response to Sunday movies was not as great as anticipated and it is clear that patronage for them will have to be developed. CENTRAL SHIPPING came to Can¬ ada this year, the exchanges assigning these duties to one firm. The move followed an earlier one in which they gave up their poster departments in favor of a single private firm handling this service. Because exchanges no longer need the same amount of room many are moving to smaller premises. RESEARCH in the motion picture field performed by Canada’s National Film Board has been of international value. The NFB experts have contri¬ buted a half dozen major improve¬ ments in technique and dozens of minor ones. CAPITAL and repair expenditures for Canadian theatres in 1962 were estimated at from $1,800,000 to $2,500,000. About $250,000 went into restoring Toronto’s Uptown Theatre, which was burnt out in a Sunday morning fire. 21