The Canadian Motion Picture Exhibitor (Jun 16, 1941)

A Semi-Monthly SUMMARY of World-Wide Motion Picture NEWS Vol. 7, No. 12. ete ey, ye. a horone June 16th, 1941. FXHIBITOR Official Organ of the INDEPENDENT THEATRES ASSOCIATION — $5.00 Per Annum Taylor Group-Famous in Pact REACH UNIQUE STATUS BY NEW ARRANGEMENT 20th C T Preens For Chatham Bow Chatham will have its finest motion picture theatre late this month. Twentieth Century Theatres, a fast-expanding outfit which recently opened Toronto’s Midtown, are the owners. The Midtown is considered by many to -be the Queen City’s finest house. The Chatham venture, known as the Centre, has been.in work for five months and will stand its company more than $70,000, M. L. Axler reports. « Harland Rankin, who handles the Plaza in Tilbury, “will be the resident manager. Rankin has long been recognized as one of the most competent and progressive theatre men in the province. The Centre stands on a corner of the town’s main street ind will command attention a long way off. It will sport a huge vertical | sign and the interchangeable marquee will swing right around the corner. The front is being prepared of stainless steel, black Vitrolite and blue opalescent glass. Kaplan and Sprachman of Tor _ onto are the architects but most of the work is being done by local tradesmen. The seating capacity will be 700, of which 200 will be loges that/ are equipped for smoking. The T. Eaton Co. are supplying carpets and furniture and the Globe Furniture Co. the seats. Brenkhart projectors and lamps are being put in by the Coleman Electric. Others aiding in equipping the house are Dominion Sound, and Air Conditioning Engineering Co. Policy will be double bills and occasional first runs. Due to the current shortage of manpower, usherettes, in smart semi-military uniforms, will be used. The official opening is set for June 26. It will be along gala lines, with local and district dignitaries on hand. Taylor, in Exclusive Interview, Teils of New Setup and Plans Definitely spiking repeated rumors of an association of N. A. Taylor and his affiliates with N. L. Nathanson was the announcement today by Mr. Taylor of his plans for the future. One for the Bookers At the recent Atlantic City convention of the Variety Clubs of America the studios helped the hooray. They paraded fioats and flashed stars. MGM brought along a real life version of. Leo the Lion. All day the nobs were camera’d with it. Then the hob-nobs got a chance. By that time Leo’s boredom changed to annoyance. An lupstate exhibitor was sharing a shot with him when the lion growled meaningly. “T’d better get out of here,” kidded the exhibitor. ‘Being a: Metro lion he’ll probably take a 40 per cent bite out of me!” Harold V. Cohen, = crack screen scribe of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, was present and caught the crack. (That’s so Gary Cass and the Regal bunch won’t think it originated here!) day, Mr. Taylor denied the stories, printed and otherwise, that he would join N. L. Nathanson, Paul Nathanson, Odeon Theatres of Canada, Ltd., or General Theatres Corporation, Ltd. Commencing July ist, it was stated, Mr. Taylor will take over the operation of a number of theatres formerly operated by Famous Players and their associated companies. Full details of the transaction have not yet been made available. He said definitely that there has been no sale or merger with Famous Players by himself, his associates or any of the 20th Century Theatres group. The deal is one from which all interested parties, independent theatres which are now booked by Taylor’s association, as well as the public will derive benefits. ‘J have always been a strong advocate of individualism and independence in this business,” said Mr. Taylor in an exclusive interview with this paper. ‘However, with circumstances as they are tomy partners iand affiliates (Continued on Page 2) WHO'S RIGHT? Sad is the song of the summer breeze as it sings through Dundas Square. The melancholy days are here, the saddest of the film year. Right on schedule. And not by themselves, either. They brought their pals, the tax blues, with them. Yes sir, the summer slump is here. Slump? The added ills have made it a landslide. Business has jack-and-jilled so far downhill that search parties, in the form of exhibitor emergency sessions, are looking for it. The lamentations state of the game are heard here, as in all the land. They make the wail of the Banshee sound like a about the. song of love—or a whisper in the mid-day din. The gloom is so thick you could carve the letters T-A-X on it with an axe. The exhibitor now dreams of the good old days when a dish or a book would bribe people to come inside. He’s forgotten that for years the box-office has been relying on artificial stimulation. It’s so full of hypo needle holes that it looks like a screen. The people who sold it temporary tonics have grown into an accepted wing of the industry. It’s a good thing they were handy with their nostrums. But who can remember way back when we sold (Continued on Page 3) + Tax Whacks Totals As Exhibs Confer The tax still leads the currently large number of box-office enemies in knocking down grosses. G. J. Tustin, M.P., member for Prince Edward-Lennox, criticized the law recently, pointing out that the small-town theatre was particularly hard-hit, receipts having declined by 50 per cent. The small independents are suffering badly. One closed in Toronto last week and there is talk of others. The fall-off in intake, added to surface and hidden taxes, has the business gasping. Studios and theatres are searching for ways of keeping things steady. Warners and Metro are arranging new sell— ing plans for Canada and Universal is realigning executives. Because of sparse totals several studios have withdrawn big pictures from circulation until the public shows a greater inclination to spend money for movies. Also production on quite a number of uncompleted features is _ being held back. It hardly seems good policy to feed an undernourished thing ordinary fare when hearty meals are handy. But there it is. Other reasons, kesides the tax, blamed for the decline, are: Tired defence workers. Night shifts. Hot weather. Night baseball. Preoccupation with the war. Momentous political speeches during movie hours. (Continued on Page 2) Manitoba’s Thorson Heads New Board Premier King has announced the appointment of Joseph Thorson, Liberal member for Selkirk, Manitoba, as Minister of National War Services. The National Film Board, along with the CBC and the National Travel Bureau, has been transferred to the National War Services Department. Face al