Canadian Moving Picture Digest (Oct 30 1954)

OCTOBER 30, 1954 Boasherg Tousted At NY Luncheon Approximately 500 leading figures in exhibition and distribution attended a luncheon at the Sheraton Astor Hotel in New York last Thursday honoring Charles Boasberg on the occasion of his new association with Distributors Corp. of America, of which he is general manager. Robert JO’Donnell of Interstate Circuit, Texas, acted as toastmaster, and was aided and abetted by a selection of able speakers. Sharing in the salutations were Fred Schwartz, president and founder of D.C.A., and Irving Wormser, newly appointed vice-president and general sales manager, not to mention the new company itself. Keep Your Eyes On ALF PERRY “These Canadians of the film industry are a stalwart lot, capable of a superman-sized job— huskies who won’t take whoa for an answer. Wherever there is business to be gotten, they Stalk out into those great open spaces—and bag it. Constantly challenged by fresh frontiers and new horizons—they forge on against all odds with the firm will-to-succeed. These intrepid men have a way of pioneering their way through the most formidable and forbidding obstacles. There’s stuff for a real saga in some of their selling exploits that extend to the deep wilderness.” This tribute to Alf Perry and to his Empire-Universal organization sums up to a T the man our Industry has come to know. But there is another side that many are not aware of. It is a picture of a warm, good-hearted, laughing personality that could find the time to help and aid many in our industry, that found the time to coin a description that will stand forever in the history of our business, “Ray Lewis, First Lady Of The Motion Picture Industry.” This is also Alf Perry. Perry joined the industry in 1916 with Universal in Toronto, went to Mutual Films in 1918 (later becoming Regal Films), to United Artists, Warner Bros. and back to Empire-Universal which at that time was known as Empire Films. Today Alf Perry is President dnd General Manager of Empire-Universal and has “bagged it” again, this time the Walt Disney product. Across Country Toronto and District J.J. Fitzgibbons, Jr., general manager of Theatre Confections Limited, is ready for the annual convention of the International Popcorn Association of which he is the president. The meetings are scheduled for Noy. 1-4 at the Conrad Hilton in Chicago. Other Canadians are expecting to attend not only this convention but the annual conference of the Theatre Equipment Dealers Association in the same hotel during the week. e e e Leonard W. Brockington, president of J. Arthur Rank companies in Canada, was the chief speaker at a joint gathering of 1,100 students and graduates at Queen's University, which was in commemoration of the Medical Centenary of the University at Kingston of which he is the rector. e e e Barkers of Toronto Tent No. 28 are already studying plans for attendance at the 19th annual convention of Variety Clubs International at Los Angeles May 4-7, Toronto delegates will be appointed but other members expect to make up a party for the big program, according to Chief Barker W. A Summerville, Jr. cs) e e Manager George Shepherd of the Odeon Theatre at Peterborough called off the Saturday morning program of his Movie Club on Oct. 16 for a good reason. Technicians were putting the finishing touches on a new mammoth screen for the theatre. Prairies . An officer of the fire department will check Regina theatres on Saturdays and other occasions when special children’s shows are held to make certain there is no overcrowding, city council has decided. Action stemmed from a complaint to the fire department that the aisles of one theatre were almosl completey blocked by children on a recent Saturday. e e e New drive-in at Edmonton is the Belmont, which boasts the only all-steel CinemaScope screen in Alberta. Manager is C. Rapp. e e ° Gene Autry and his vaudeville troupe played Moose Jaw, Medicine Hat and Calgary recently. Autry’s performers included his movie side kick Pat Buttram and comedian Rufe Davis. e e ° Capitol Theatre at Kamsack, Sask., managed by W. Welykholowa, is being renovated for installation of a CinemaScope screen. Maritimes Mrs. Daisy Donaldson, long-time cashier at the Capitol Theatre, Woodstock, N.B., can boast a very clever son. Her son Allan received his B.A. degree at the U.N.B. in 1950 and was awarded his M.A, with honors in 1951. He spent two years at the University of London after receiving his Beaverbrook Overseas Scholarship and was awarded his M.A. there early this year. He has now received a teaching appointment at the U.N.B. Mr. Peter Herschorn has been making a business tour of the Franklin-Herschorn Circuit. Last week he was in Sydney, Nova Scotia, conferring with Mr. Tom Mackey of the Midway Drive-In Theatre. All the Franklin-Herschorn Drive-In theatres will close for the season on October 30th. e e e Mr. Carleton Brown, Supervisor of the Franklin-Herschorn Circuit who succeeded Mr. P. J. Dwyer is planning to take his vacation shortly and will re-visit his former home in the United States: oe o e MrSam Babb is one of the executives in the Saint John Stamp Club, $100,000 worth of stamps will be on display by a Philatelist Society in the Admiral Beatty Hotel on November 12th. (Continued on Page 5) (Continued from Page 2) viewer, who came to her with a sad face relating the fact that the Martin and Lewis picture she had just seen had “no social signifi-Bi cance.” Mrs. Dawson explained, that what you looked for in a Martin and Lewis picture was not social significance, but social entertainment. She further stated that the reviewer should be a guide post, and the function was to recommend, not tear down the picture. MrsDawson then explained different types of picture, commencing with heavy drama and working down to slapstick, she explained each in detail, and remarked that each had its followers She also said that in the United States, they had a new committee formed to look at specialized films, and that this body had recommended “Caine Mutiny” as an important picture for teachers to see, in order to learn the importance of human relationships, and that this picture had been viewed by a great many teachers in the United States for that purpose. She said that “Caine Mutiny” was the kind of picture she would advise her audience to “Run, do not walk to the nearest theatre.” Mrs. Dawson was the person who originated the “Wiggle Test” which is now being used in most countries: the children’s pictures are taken while they are watching the film (taken in infra-red photography so that they do not know it) and you can gauge how they are enjoying the film by their reactions. When asked whether she felt the film industry were cooperating with her, she was very definite in her approval, and said that they had been cooperating to the best of their ability. Bert Brown gave a short talk and tdld the audience that the theatre companies were one of the largest industries operating without an inventory, he stated that it is silly te think that you are fooling the children, because if you do, you are only fooling yourself. The afternoon session was taken up with the filming of two pictures, the first “Hansel and Gretel,” a Michael Mayerburg production released by RKO. The picture is the story of Hansel and Grete! done by puppets, which are very unusual as they are electronically controlled. The second picture was MGM's “Gypsy Colt,” The convention discussed plans for future workshops. ithso a ae —— ee EL LL THE CANADIAN, MOVING EEE ene Entered as Second Class Matter. Jay L. Smith, Editor-in-Chiet; Max Chic, Associate Editor. Correspondents: Bruce Peocock, Regina, Sosk.; Jack af gus "1 = = aaa claughlin, Ottawa, Ont.; Bill Press, Toronto, Ont.; Helen Crowley, St, John, N.B. Address oll meil to the Publisher, Conadian Moving Pleture Digest Company, Limited, undos Square, Toronto, Telephone: EMpire 8-8696. Coble: Roydigest, Established 1915, Publication weekly, Subscription: $5.00 yearly,