Canadian Moving Picture Digest (Feb 28, 1948)

° CANADIAN MOVING PICTURE DIGEST RAY PRESENTS ECUOK GHINE”, the. Italian pro February 28th, 1948 Page 3 “Body and Soul” is in its third week at the duction, included among the New York critics’ Ten Best Pictures, has been nominated for The Academy Award. Alliance Films purchased the Canadian Rights for this production, in Italian, and in French. “Shoe Shine” is, in my opinion, a remarkable film, a much better production and story than “Open City”. It is the Italian idea of “Dead End Kids”, and the children, who are the stars of this picture, are astonishingly good. The New York Times had a feature article, in which it stressed the important part which foreign-language pictures are playing, in respect to the U.S. box office and cited the fact, that the Italian pictures were in top place, having secured this position over the French-language productions. Several important producers have gone to Italy to make pictures, and others are going in the near future. ee RABINOVITCH has just returned from Italy, where he produced the operatic screen produc© tion, Verdi's “La Traviata’,-for Columbia Pictures. He states, that notwithstanding increased costs of production in Italy, it is still much cheaper to produce a big picture there, than in Hollywood. ‘Those who have seen Columbia’s “La Traviata”, have told me it is a wonderful picture ; which reminds me, that last week at the Mount Royal, Montreal, Verdi’s “La Traviata” finished a two weeks run. This picture is being released by Astral Films. I saw the picture and it is not the opera, but a story in which scenes from the opera, “La Traviata’, are included. I am wondering how the two “La Traviata’s” are going to work out in Canada. Rabinovitch states he has purchased Verdi’s “La Traviata” rights. Producers, who sell Canadian rights for foreign-language pictures, may find themselves in trouble, if their rights to pictures’ which they sell are not clear, and distributors, in Canada, who deal in good faith, in securing Canadian Rights and finding that the foreign-language distributor has misrepresented his product, may be liable for damages and this can prove a contributing factor in killing a market which looks most promising. LLIANCE FILMS has Canadian Rights for a series of Operatic Films produced last year, in Rome, with famous operatic stars. The group is in three languages, English, French, Italian, with Olin Downes Commentary. These seven are in addition to five other operas, with Beniamini Gigli, and “The Barber of Seville”, with Tagliavini and Italo Tajo, both Metropolitan opera stars, and Tito Gobbi, who is now singing in London, England, with the Philharmonic Orchestra, and Nelly Corradi. “The Barber of Seville’ had a Command Performance and was presented at Buckingham Palace, before Their Majesties, and members of the Royal Family. So great was its success in London, where it is now enjoying a premiere run, that the London Philharmonic Orchestra, in advertising Tito Gobbi, as its guest artist, said, “The famous Figaro of the motion picture, “The Barber of Seville’. Tito Gobbi ts reported to have been engaged to do a motion picture in London. He 1s one great singer, actor and goodlooking star, with an Italian personality, which Hollywood has missed. OHN STEINBECK’S recently produced picture, “The Pearl’, produced in Mexico, with Mexican artists, who speak English, and which is distributed by R-K-O Radio Pictures, is a sensational hit in New York. \ Capitol. Don’t ask about business, it has to be more than big, to stay at the Capitol for three weeks. It stars John Garfield and Lilli Palmer and is a United Artists release. Alliance Films latest Italian language film, starring Tito Gobbi and Maria Mercader, at His Majesty's, received a warm reception from. the Montreal press, and particularly the Frenchlanguage press, the latter which advised the public not to miss this excellent picture. There is no doubt of the fact, that French Canadians love music, particularly operatics, and patronize and welcome artistic effort, irrespective of language. “The Barber of Seville’ and ‘Pagliacci’ played the French-language theatre, Cambrai, Quebec City, recently to excellent business. AURICE EVANS, is not only successfully enjoying a long run in New York, 150 performances to date, for his own stage production of the Bernard Shaw comedy, “Man and Superman’, at the Hudson Theatre, but he has now turned impressario, and is presenting Boris Karloff, in a J. B. Priestly show, on Broadway, ‘The Linden Tree”. Canadian Impressario, Brian Doherty, who successfully brought to Canada, John Gielgud, in “The Importance of Being Earnest’ and recently, The Dublin Gate players, is now bringing to Canada, Michael Redgrave and Flora Robson, both well-known British film stars, in a stage production of “Macbeth”. This Shakespearian play has been a complete sell-out, since December, where it has been playing in London, at the Aldryd Theatre. Prior to its London showing, it did the provinces, playing to phenomenal business. “Macbeth” will open at His Majesty's, Montreal, on March 23rd, playing four days, which reminds me, that we are to have a screen produition of “Macbeth”, with Orson Welles. Dee who is the famous sister of Gordon Light stone, Paramount’s Canadian General Manager, will present, at His Mayjesty’s, Saint-Saens opera, ‘Samson and Delilah”, the week of May 3rd, through the Montreal Opera Guild. Donalda is a famous Canadian, with an operatic career of her own, of which Canada may well be proud. The Nuisance Tax again “rears its ugly head”. The public’s interest should now be aroused through the Canadian press. Hospitals and welfare funds should not be collected in theatres, through a Nuisance Tax, and picture patrons should not be taxed, in particular, for a public service. Incidentally, there are many municipalities in which there are no hospitals and little need for Welfare. Thousands of Ex-service men, and their families, are taken care of through special grants. If the Federal Government eliminates the War Emergency Tax, no further tax should be imposed. If the Federal Government decides it requires additional funds for Hospitals and Welfare, it should retain the Tax, cut in half, and pass it on to those provinces, who need itt.