The Canadian Independent (Nov 1, 1936)

in Page 2 THE THe CANADIAN ISSUED FOR THE BENEFIT OF WE /NDEPENDENT THEATRE OWNERS TBR Gar EMME Rs BEM STENT Sr 5 Dera ae eae eR aT Gradian INDEPENDENT | | UNITY TO BRING VOL. 1., No. 6 — Nov. 1, 1986 | THEO. L. J. GREENSLADE, Managing Editor Published Semi-Monthly by The INDEPENDENT THEATRES ASSOCIATION 511 Hermant Building 21 Dundas Square, Toronto, Canada Subscription Rates: Canada and U.S., $5.00 Per Annum Address all communications to The Managing Editor The CANADIAN INDEPENDENT 21 Dundas Square, Toronto, Canada wo Ae : A496 \ws" g, =< oat = WW AY \enee Beesccy\\ \ \\\ WAY \\g AWW sey \ \\ | A: Shortly after last week’s issue of the Canadian Independent had gone to press, a we received a letter con gratulating us upon our efforts and expressing disappointment over the dismal failures recorded by independents in the West when they had attempted to organize. Such letters are most gratifying but the scarcity of them leaves unique thoughts in mind. It is a common. wail among theatres. of the West that since they are so far from the centre of motion picture activity in Canada, they are in a hopeless position when it comes to having their wrongs and grievances righted. Week after week and year after year it has been heard, almost since motion pictures first came into existence. It is a just point of disgust and yet, when the opportunity comes for them to co-operate with the East in presenting a common front against oldoffenders, Western theatre owners remain strangely silent. To you who exhibit films Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Alberta. Are things so good with you that you have nothing to complain about? Are patrons crowding about your doors to such an extent that you spend all your time trying CASH RETURNS A large printing concern submitted a letter to the Canadian Independent theatre exhibitors throughout Canada combine and purchase their admission tickets as a body. We submit this to our readers approval with the informiation that such action would cut _ present printing bills almost in half. to find seats inside for them and have no time for anything else? Are the various exchanges so superior in your part of the country that you never receive films cut until they look like sections of a jigsaw puzzle, or torn until they are a danger to the lives of your operators and the mechanism of your machines? Is the present Performing Rights situation your ideal and you are content that it cannot be improved? If not, then why not get wise to yourselves? Get together and unite. Forget the 2000 odd miles that separates East and West ana and cooperate with your fellow Independents throughout Canada. The Canadian Independent is your organ. Use Wi Let it air your views and your troubles. Don’t sit down whining and wishing for something to happen. Put your shoulder to the wheel and start things stirring. The Canadian Independent is not-a money making publication dictated to by a lot of high powered advertisers, nor is it the voice of a few theatre own-~ ers in the city of Toronto. No! It is a paper conceived in the ideals of better business and dedicated to serving the Independent Exhibitors from East to West. It is your weapon, your shield and your voice. It is up to you to unsheath it and protect yourself, or remain silent and the buffer for every dirty deal in the motion picture industry. ee ee ee ee = INDEPENDENT PATRONIZE THE ADVERTISERS WHO MAINTAIN IT. =iaa GOVT. AEOLISHES AMUSEMENT TAX AT FAIRS (Continued from Page 1) Small theatres have been obliged to lower and lower and still lower their admission prices inorder to meet the budget of the working man. They have found out that it is impossible to get the prices of a few years ago, because the patrons cannot afford it. If the government considers the average working man cannot afford to pay amusement tax to enter a fair, surely it is only justice that they consider his plight when it comes to theatre entertainment. The man who patronizes the lower priced shows in these hard times, should not have the addition of an amusement tax thrown upon him.” With competition as great as it is, the small man cannot afford to absorb the tax and has been forced to boost his price, throwing the burden back upon the public. In many instances it has been a case of either do this or close his doors. Exhibitors yesterday stressed the point that fairs were not every day events and that therefore the amusement tax heretofore collected only amounted to a few coppers per year, per person. They strongly maintained, however that in the course of a year the amuse (Continued on Column 4) Mr. Exhibitor . . Write... Wire... Phone... or hitch-hike to CANADIAN PREMIUM DISTRIBUTORS 277 VICTORIA. STREET, TORONTO Management — JOHN W. COHN Come on You Skeptics <a We Defy the World! When a small 499 seat Theatre gives out 4000 pieces of our “ARISTOCRAT” 22 KARAT GOLD DINNER WARE in 8 days (mats. & nights) WE DEFY THE WORLD TO SHOW US A BETTER BOX OFFICE DRAW than our “ARISTOCRAT” 22 KARAT GOLD DINNERWARE . Get in on some of this ‘‘soft’’ money! Noy. 1, 1936 OUTGUESS CENSORS AND WIN A CIGAR Difficulty of feeling what censors will do was indicated in the case of Paramount’s “The Princess Comes Across.’’ Carole Lombard was referred to in _ the film as “Princess — Olga of Sweden.” Both the Hays office and Paramount’s foreign office objected, saying the line would offend Swedish royalty. The line stayed in, but English censors cut the Sweden part, and France eliminated the whole line. When the picture hit Swedish territory, the distributors changed the film’s title to “Princess Olga of Sweden.” GOVT. ABOLISHES AMUSEMENT TAX AT FAIRS (Continued from Column—-3)}——— —~ —— ment tax paid individually by theatre goers created a large hole in the pocket book, and that if the government really had _ the cause of the people at heart and not simply the large concerns behind the various fairs and exhibitions, they would do something to eliminate the burden being borne at present by the general public. Mr. Freedman, president (Continued on Page 4, Col. 2)