Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1938)

Active Season for Ontario Openings Trade Treaty Has Benefits For the Picture Industry Toronto — Theatre construction continues active in Ontario. The new Prescott Theatre, in Prescott, Ont., was scheduled to open on Thursday, November 24. This is one of the new houses of J. O. Scott, of Weston, Ont., and is a 650-seater. Scott reports the new LaSalle Theatre at Kirkland Lake, Ont., would be completed in time to open on or about the end of January. The LaSalle and the new 670seat Cartier Theatre at Timmins, Ont., which opened early in November, are owned by Cinemas Rousson Trudeau, Ltd., which has Scott as its booking agent and theatre consultant. In Toronto, Kaplan & Sprachman, architects, have prepared plans for a theatre building, to cost $35,000, to be constructed on the south side of Bloor St. west, west of Manning Ave. It is reported that Harry Davidson, owner-builder, will commence construction work almost at once. Owned by Messrs. S. Ulster and Sidney Goldstone, Toronto exhibitors, the old Royal Theatre in Peterborough, Ont., is to be reconstructed as a new house, seating 600 persons, and will open on Jan. 1. Nine Ottawa Houses Tie In Extra Quiz Publicity Ottawa — Nine of the leading theatres of Ottawa combined in a contest-withina-contest stunt as a boost for Motion Pictures’ Greatest Year with a page of cooperative advertising in The Journal through which 27 prizes were offered for a sentence-writing test, the public being invited to complete, with 50 words or less, the following: “Motion Pictures Are Your Best Entertainment Because . . . ” The first six prizes consisted of one month’s passes; the six next awards were passes for two weeks and the next 15 prizes were double passes. Contestants were also urged to take part in the official Movie Quiz feature for the $250,000 cash prizes, reference being made to the quiz booklets which were still available at the theatres, and it was announced that there was still time to enter the main contest. Participating theatres were: Capitol, Regent, Elgin, Somerset, Cartier, Imperial, Avalon, Centre and Rideau. Rebuild at Peterboro Ottawa — The Royal Theatre in the thriving industrial city of Peterboro, eastern Ontario, and dark since the days of silent films, is being reconstructed by Messrs. Ulster and Goldstone, independents, for reopening at Christmas. Peterboro has two other theatres, one being a unit of Famous Players Canadian Corp. 'Lost and Found' Was Not the Film ! Halifax, N. S. — A local resident manager recently suffered no little embarrassment when misplaced schedule sheets obliged him, to call newspaper offices to ask what pictures he was showing the following day. Cl T ir A\ W A\ jyjANAGER J. J. PAUL made an effective advertising splash for the first anniversary of the Elgin, the single feature of the special film program being “The Young in Heart,” good crowds responding during the week. The Cartier Theatre is another local house to make the exhibition of French films a portion of the regular policy, allFrench programs being presented every Wednesday and Thursday. The first attractions were “Port Arthur,” starring Danielle Darrieux, and “Tamara la Complaisante.” French pictures are also shown at the Laurier, Rideau and Francais theatres on certain days of the week. The Capitol Theatre, seating 2,600, was crowded with inmates of local orphanages and with members of the Junior Humane Society for a special film entertainment Saturday morning under the auspices of the Ottawa Humane Society as a cooperative community feature arranged by Manager T. R. Tubman. The official population of Ottawa, according to a current census, is over the 144.000 mark and there are 14 moving picture theatres in the city proper. This means one theatre to approximately every 10.000 persons. There are also two theatres in the sister city of Hull, across the Ottawa River. The screening room of the Canadian government motion picture bureau was the scene of the presentation of a Technicolor film, “Steel — Man’s Servant,” running 38 minutes, under the auspices of the Ottawa Branch of the Engineering Institute of Canada. Manager Marshall supervised a halfhour broadcast from the stage of the Rideau Theatre over Station CKCO of Ken Soble’s “ Tour for Talent” Contest. Practically all Ottawa theatres are now making use of the stage for occasional bookings and stunts. Harvey Hunt, formerly of Ottawa, was a recent visitor to the city. He is now on the head-office staff of Famous Players Canadian Corp. Ottawa — In the trade treaty recently jointly signed by the United States, Canada and Great Britain there is the item which reduces the Canadian duty on “cameras and parts thereof” from 25 to 20 per cent. Whether or not this, reduction applies to moving picture cameras and sound recording equipment is the question which has been placed before the commissioner of taxation, Dominion department of national revenue, Ottawa, for a ruling because of its importance to the film business. Another concession which may be claimed by the film industry is found in the reduction from 20 to 10 per cent in the Canadian duty on iron and steel machinery of a kind not made in Canada when imported from the States. There is also a reduction from 25 to 17 V2 per cent on electrical instruments and this general designation is believed to include a wide range of equipment used in moving picture theatres. A minor benefit is found in the placing on the free list for import into the Dominion of “advertising and similar printed matter dutiable under the 1936 agreement at 12V2 cents per lb. but not less than 27 ^ per cent ad valorem when shipped in individual packages valued at not more than $1 each.” This wipes out the nuisance levy on small shipments, from U. S. film producers of sample press books, stills, posters and other requirements when the value is less than $1. A main amendment to the Canadian tariff is the reduction on motion picture prints from the United States from 3 to 2y4 cents per ft. Ordinary prints are made in the Dominion from master negatives, brought from the States and the duty reduction is not sufficient to cause a change in this plan but it will represent a considerable saving on color prints all of which are imported into the country through lack of color printing equipment in Canadian film laboratories. Additional black-and-white prints ordered direct from the U. S. after the master negative has been returned will also come under the reduced duty which becomes effective January 1. As predicted, Canada has guaranteed to erase the special excise tax of 3 per cent on imports from the United States but this is a matter requiring an Act of the Canadian Parliament which will be dealt with when the House gathers in Ottawa about the middle of January for its 1939 session. This deletion reduces the preference on imports from Great Britain. See Prevention Reels Montreal — An audience of over one million Canadians, has seen the film message of the Dominion Fire Prevention Ass’n running on the screens of theatres from coast to coast. BOXOFFICE :: November 26, 1938 91