Canadian Filmography Series (Nov 1974)

Notes: Production cost $350,000. This was the first film produced by Commonwealth Productions, a Vancouver based company headed by Oldrich Vaclavek (a Czechslovak political refugee) and backed by Canadian and British capital. A $1.5 million studio and sound stages (Panorama Studios) were built in Vancouver by Commonwealth and associated companies. Other films were planned but never produced. The second film by James Clavell (No Hands on the Clock) was scheduled for production in late 1962 but was apparently never shot. Release of The Sweet and the Bitter was held up when the company ran into legal and financial difficulties and had to vacate Panorama Studios. Hollyburn Film Studios of Vancouver leased the facilities and purchased the equipment from Commonwealth which itself abandoned production. Oldrich Vaclavek established a new production company, Cavalier Films, in 1963. Hollywood writer-producer-director, James Clavell, has had much more success with his other work (To Sir With Love) than with this Canadian venture which lost almost all of its original investment. Comments: The Monthly Film Bulletin noted the “laboriously contrived melodrama, padded out with quasi-poetic dialogue and self satisfied assurances about the equal status of Canadian immigrant minorities .. . Both acting and direction are pedestrian. References: Canadian Film Weekly, July 24, 1963, p. 3; Monthly Film Bulletin, 1967, p. 158; The Gazette (Montreal) July 5, 1962; Variety May 3, 1972. Ten Girls Ago [ ] minutes, Eastmancolor, Cinemascope, English dialogue. p.c: Am-Can Productions; dir: Harold Daniels; prod: Edward A. Gollin; scen: Peter Farrow, Diane Lampert; mus. dir: Joseph Harnell; mus/lyrics: Diane Lampert, Sammy Fain; photog: Lee Garmes, Jackson M. Samuels; choreog: Bill Foster; l.p: Buster Keaton, Bert Lahr, Eddie Foy Jr., Dion, Austin Willis, Jan Miner, Jennifer Billingsley, Risella Bain. Shot at Toronto International Film Studios in 1962. Though reported to have been partially edited in 1963, the film has never been released. Synopsis: A musical comedy satire on the TV industry. Its story is about the decline in popularity of an old-time comic (Lahr) who is eclipsed by a dog star on a rival TV network, and the old-timer’s eventual comeback. Notes: In March 1962, Am-Can Productions Ltd (incorporated in Ontario) issued a prospectus for an offering of 100,000 common shares at $2.75 per share. At that time Ten Girls Ago was in production at Toronto International Film Studios. Ed Gollin, President of Am-Can, announced that the film would be released by International Film Distributors in Canada and by Universal Pictures in the rest of the world. He predicted Am-Can’s share of the gross would be $1,000,000. Budget for the film was set at $500,000. The original budget had been $144,000 for production in black and white starring rock-and-roll singer Dion, and aimed at the teenage market. Sometime in early March 1962, the decision was made to switch to colour and wide-screen and raise additional funds. Edward A. Gollin from Jersey City N.J. was President of AmCan. H.J. Perlmutter, real estate executive, Toronto, was Secretary-Treasurer and directors were Mahlon Kemmerer, attorney N.Y., Nathaniel Freedman, attorney, N.Y., and Albert Robinson, insurance executive, Port Credit, Ontario. Gollin was the only person in a position to elect, or cause to be elected, a majority of directors. In the summer of 1963, it was reported Gollin was seeking an additional $100,000 to complete the film. 72 minutes had been edited and another 5 20 minutes of film was needed. By May 1965, with the film already having cost $385,000, AmCan announced it was seeking $275,000 worth of re-financing in order to complete it. In a deal made under threat of bankruptcy, the shareholders and creditors of Am-Can reduced its debt by almost 80%. At that time, Gollin said three weeks of shooting were still needed and that the film in “its present state is absolutely worthless.”’ He also said he still had “‘great faith in the future of a Canadian movie industry’’. The film was apparently never completed. References: Canadian Film Weekly April 4 1962 p. 4; Weekend Magazine Vol. 12 No. 20 1962. 1963 A tout prendre (The Way It Goes) 100 minutes, bw, French dialogue. p.c: Les films Cassiopée/Orion Films; dir/prod/ scen: Claude Jutra, photog: Michel Brault, JeanClaude Labrecque, Bernard Gosselin; mus: Maurice Blackburn, Jean Cousineau, Serge Garant; ed: Camil Adam, Eric de Bayser, Pierre Bernard, Michel Brault, Gilles Groulx, Claude Jutra, Werner Nold; l.p: Johanne, Claude Jutra, Victor Désy, Tania Fédor, Guy Hoffmann, Monique Mercure, Monique Joly. Filmed in Montreal in l6mm in 1963 and enlarged to 35mm for theatrical release. Premiere at the Montreal Film Festival August 1963. General release began May 1964. Released internationally by United Artists and in Canada by Columbia Pictures, An English version, partly sub-titled, partly dubbed was prepared in 1965. Synopsis: A film about a memory of love. A young man, Claude falls in love with an attractive black girl, Johanne. Eventually Claude begins to resent both her and the restrictions on his freedom. Even though Johanne is pregnant, the couple separate. Johanne loses the child and Claude returns to his former carefree life. Notes: This was an independently financed film (cost approximately $50,000), shot on 16mm, whose narrative was largely autobiographical. Claude Jutra and Johanne acted out their own roles. Work on it began in 1961 and Jutra ran out of funds several times. It won several awards, including Grand Prix, Festival du Cinéma canadien in Montreal 1963, Best Feature Award in the 16th Canadian Film Awards 1964 and two awards at the IIléme Compétition internationale du Film expérimental in Knokke-le-Zoute 1963. Reference: Objectif Nos 23-24 octobre-u2.embre 1963 p. 41-43; Positif No 60 avril-mai 1964 p. 56; Film Facts June 15, 1966 p. 101; Objectif No. 37 novembre-decembre 1966 p. 24; Cahiers du cinéma novembre 1963; Film Quarterly Winter 1963-64 p. 39; New York Times April 26, 1966. Amanita Pestilens 81 minutes, Eastman Color, English & French dialogue versions. p.c: Crawley Films; dir/ed: René Bonniére; prod: F.R, Crawley; scen: David Walker from an original idea by René Bonniére; photog: Frank Stokes; mus: Larry Crosley; art dir: Claude Bonnieére; l.p: Jacques Labrecque, Genevieve