The Canadian Motion Picture Exhibitor (Dec 15, 1941)

Page 2 THE ws CANADIAN MOTION PICTORE XHIBITOR HYE BOSSIN Managing Editor Wel No. 26. Des Tot 10an Subscription Rates: Canada and U.S.: $5.00 per annum > 28 Address all communications to The Managing Editor The CANADIAN EXHIBITOR 21 Dundas Square AD. 4318 Toronto, Canada Cinema eS Does Duty (Continued from Page 1) about 16 miles from the ocean. Both are surrounded by plane factories, bases and army camps. This the Japs know well. Both are extremely well-guarded but a J ris anese air attack on Hollywood £ or psychological reasons is not beyond possibility. The American people has always had a special place in its heart for the film capital. There is no doubt that picture production will be affected. There can be no outside night shooting. Daytime shooting will be affected in far greater measure than formerly by the noise of planes in the air. There may be a shortage of manpower in the near future, since Hollywood employs expert technicians in every field from art to wireless. Another important factor in any contribution is the studios’ supply of arms, automotive equipment, searchlights and so on. The box-office will be affected for some time to come by the desire to stay home and listen to the radio. The Hollywood gala premiere is a thing of the past. And so, it would seem now, is the mutch-disputed double bill. H. P. Robinson (Continued from Page 1) the Royal Bank of Canada. At the meeting were J. J. Fitzgibbons, president of FPC; R. W. Bolstad, vice-president; Noel G. Barrow, Norman Robertson and Wendell Farris, K.C. of Vancouver—all members of the Canadian delegation. Present from New York were Barney Balaban, president of Paramount Pictures; Austin Keough and Stanton Griffis. The Exhibitor DEM UE NEN ME NEN NE NE NE ME NE NEM NEN NE DEVE NE MEME NE MEME REN NE MRM UE MEE UE DE DERE UE NED UO Best Wishes To our readers and advertisers, and to all the people of the film trade, we offer our best wishes for the year to come—and those after. We join with them -in the hope for victory and in the resolve to serve its needs. This paper thanks them for their interest and co-operation in the past and looks forward to brighter days with them. Beginning with the first issue of the new year, the Canadian Motion Picture Exhibitor, a semi-weekly publication, bows out to make way for a livelier-looking and more sprightly successor, the Canadian Film Weekly. For eight years we have gone along together happily and your kindness and help have made it possible for us to exist and grow. We shall try never to be remiss in our duty to you, our common craft, and to our country. All of us entertain a number of varied hopes, most of them interwoven—for the future progress of our great land, for the continued triumph of Democracy against the proponents of a darker age, for happy solutions to our personal and business problems. One and all, if we lend our faith and our might, we shall realize them. A Great Picture An undying contribution to great screen art—a film that will occupy a worthy place in our hall of classics—is Twentieth Century-Fox’s “How Green Was My Valley.” Magnificent? The word seems cheap when applied to this picture. If for nothing else, it deserves the highest honors for its recognition and presentation of human values. The masterful work of John Ford, assisted splendidly by Donald Crisp, Sara Allgood, Roddy McDowell, Maureen O'Hara, Walter Pidgeon and others, moves the watcher into a world of reverie almost without him knowing it. The change is silent and complete. There are no shunts and jars. He is absorbed into the life of a Welsh mining village of days gone by and it takes a while to leave behind the people and place. Too rarely do pictures seize the patron’s imagination to that extent. Its heroics are not of the filing cabinet variety, to be shuffled and used again for another routine writing stint on the morrow. In it suffering is stark but not grotesque. Whatever you learn from it is not pointed out but left to your understanding heart. Its love story is restrained, yet marks your mind. Its sentiment is rich and honest enough to make men weep unashamedly. Roddy McDowell, said to be an English war guest, gives a performance that makes him the boy of the year. The screenplay by Phillip Dunne is a credit to the fine craftsmanship of this writer and his dialogue refreshes the mind and heart. Nothing finer has been done by Donald crisp in his long career. Nor by Walter Pidgeon. The photography of Arthur Miller, no doubt inspired by Ford, is bewitching. It has great music of instrument and voice. The sets, by Richard Day, are completely convincing. “How Green Was My Valley” represents the almost perfect blending of many incomparable talents. It is great —and it is box office. Canada can feel proud of its share in it—contributed by Walter Pidgeon of St. John and Richard Day, another Canadian, who is the studio’s Art Director. ORES December 15th, 1941 Taylor Made ITA Prexy (Continued from Page 1) Axler continued as secretary for the fifth consecutive term. The directors of ITA for the coming year will be Sam Ulster, H. Yuden, Syd Roth, Harry Firestone, Ben Ulster and Raoul Auerbach. “There ig a definite need, particularly at the present time, for the continuation of the work of the association,” said Taylor in his speech of acceptance, “if for no other reason that that the keeping of our affairs in first-class order will make unnecessary an undue amount of government control.” The effect of the ceiling on admission prices came in for considerable discussion. It was decided to maintain membership in the Film Section of the Board of Trade and through this channel stay in touch with all new regulations. The president and _ vicepresident were made the ITA’s representatives. Elected to the Membership Committee were Syd Roth, Harry Firestone and H. Yuden. The Griev ance Committee comprises H. Freedman, Sam Ulster and A. Polakoff. Artkino Head 'In Toronto (Continued from Page 1) by the board was indicated by Napoli as resulting from the conversations. “Peculiarly enough,” said Nap oli, “Soviet films are most popular in those places in which they have never shown or where they’ve been banned for some years. For instance, Brazil.” In such places, Napoli claimed, Soviet pictures had paved the way for American anti-Nazi product. The Hollywood revelations of Axis methods found tough going in many South American spots. Speaking about Canadian reception for Russ pictures, he pointed out that in England the government had asked exhibitors to show certain 10-minute reels dealing with Soviet aviation and other subjects. Soviet subjects were owned and distributed by AngloAmerican, which company has “Pimpernel Smith” and other orthodox product. Gray Resigns A. H. Gray, theatre inspector for the Motion Picture Censorship and Theatre Inspection Branch of the Ontario Government, has resigned that post. He had discharged that task for over 16 years and is popular with the trade.