Canadian Film Weekly (Jun 24, 1942)

June 24th, 1942 A Fox Has 256 | In Allied Force With this week’s enlistment of five more Twentieth Century-Fox mployees, the total number of men serving in the United States and Canadian armed forces reached 256. Two Toronto employees joined the colors. Elroy O’Loghlin, salesman, joined the RCAF and is now stationed at Cartierville, Quebec. Assistant Booker Charles Lynch joined the Canadian army and is now at Connaught Camp, Ottawa, Ont. Of the 256 employess with the armed forces, 48 are from the branches. The Studio has the largest number of draftees or enlistments, according to the official tabulation. Movietone City sent 107 boys into various branches of the service. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Foreign Department was still without official word this week regarding the whereabouts of Joe McElhinney, former Salt Lake City Manager who was last reported at Batavia, Dutch East Indies, and Arthur Doyle, former Far East representative who was in Manila enroute to New York. Neither has Twentieth CenturyFox received word regarding the fate of employees at branches in the occupied Far East. “Revivals in New York All This and Heaven Too—1940 tragic romance; Boyer & B. Davis. Great Waltz — 1938 musical based on Strauss waltzes and F. Gravet & M. Korjus. History Is Made at Night—1937 melodrama; Boyer, J. Arthur. Intermezzs—1939 drama; L. Howard, I. Bergman. Joy of Living — 1938 comedy; I. Dunne, D. Fairbanks, Jr. Life of Emile Zola—1937 dramatization of the life of the novelist, Muni & Sondergaard. Lost Horizon — 1937 fiilm dramatization of Hilton’s novel; J. Wyatt, R. Colman. Mr. & Mrs. Smith—1941 marital farce; Lombard & R. Montgomery. Night Train—1940 melodrama; R. Harrison, M. Lockwood. Old Maid—i939 drama; B. Davis, M. Hopkins. Philadelphia Story—1940 comedy from the B’way play; Hepburn, J. tewart, C. Grant. Loaring Twenties—1939 melodra legend; ~ ma of the prohibition era; Cagney, P. Lane. Slight Case of Murder—1938 satire on ex-racketeer; E. G. Robinson. Submarine D-1—1937 drama; G. Brent, P. O’Brien. Western Union—1941 pioneer me lodrama; R. Scott, R. Young. Canadian FILM WEEKLY About War Shows And Wowsers | In the reprinted article below columnist Jack Scott, who offers “Our Town” daily in the Vancouver Star, writes about a state of affairs anc a kind of person only too well Known to managers and exhibitors throughout the Dominion. A Wowser-Beater ESTERDAY I mentioned something about ‘‘wowsers’’—the kind of people who would eliminate Sunday recreation because they, themselves, don’t want it— and today I can give you an exampel of a community that had to make a choice between upsetting the wowser tradition and doing what they felt was right. This does not happen very often, mainly because it is easier to simply accept the theory that the wowser, usually successful, is right. That’s a funny thing about some people. They may have wonderfully progressive minds, but they wilt before conservatism. They may be outspoken critics of a system, but they are often crushed by the weight of the system or weakly become a, part of it. Most of the greatest newspapers of the day, for instance,.are ponderous reactionary and almost without exception they began as fearless seekers of truth, frequently wild-eyed, but willing to fight for principles. Newspapers and men can easily slip into wowserism, with its attractions of dignity and correctness and security. For a Cause VER in West Vancouver a’ group of people, including at least one minister, stepped right on the face of the wowsers. They have Sunday moving pictures there. This was begun two years ago and it only got by the wowsers because it was for a cause. One J. H. Fletcher, who operates the Hollyburn Theatre, decided it would be-a good idea to have a show each Sunday night at 9 o’clock and turn over the proceeds to the Red Cross. A group of wowsers—they generally run in tight packs— attempted to block this and that made Mr. Fletcher mad. “‘They appealed to me on a basis of religion,”’ he recalls, ‘and I told them if religion is going to stand in the way of winning the war I’m not for it.” The wowsers never followed up their initial complaint. I like to think that they went to the first Sunday show and saw the popular bank manager helping take tickets and the minister looking after the collection, and Mr, and Mrs. Fletcher giving up their only night in the week. It may be, too, that they had! a good look at the people who went there—good, solid, churchgoing citizens who possibly did not go consciously to aid the Red | Cross, but more to find some en-| tertainment. There is never a Sun-| day there that people aren’t turn-| ed away, although the pictures| themselves are sometimes four| years old. | At the present time they have} raised $6090 for the Red Cross. | The Record in London I WENT to talk to Mr. Fletcher, | not so much to publicize his own fine contribution, but to apply | it to war workers who have only that night free and to thousands of soldiers all across Canada, most of them a long way from home, | who might find Sunday a bleak} day. And Mr. Fletcher, who certainly is against working seven days a week himself, believes that Sunday shows have their place here—as much as they have in London. He has the figures to show what happened to juvenile delinquency in London after the theatres were opened. Before that the dead-end kids had run wild on Sundays and then the trouble was over. Actually, as I have since learned, very few of the places that are closed Sundays are interested in the extra day from a profit standpoint. Indeed, many have suggested to me that since the majority of people actually do prefer that quiet Sunday at home it would be a light day. And yet there are people who need and want that chance for recreation—as the West Vancouver experiment proves—and it is interesting to know that the wowser can be defeated. EXHIBITORS BOOKING _ASSOCIATION & | feet, Page 5 Screen Credits May Be Chopped Two of the pet irks of movie patrons, screen credits and overlong trailers, may be rectified if the report of the Film Conservation Committee is accepted. It will mean the saving of 20,000,000 feet of raw film. It is proposed that all screen credits be omitted except those of stars and featured players. Writers, directors, producers and others would become the unsung heroes of production. A modification of this idea might permit full credits to be shown only in the Los Angeles area, where they mean something more than in the world at large. In the matter of trailers the committee has suggested that those heralding specials and big budget pictures be limited to 250 with the rest reaching a maximum of 150 feet. This has already been approved by all studios except Warners and MGM, which outfits make their own trailers, the others relying on National Screen Service. The proposals, which would apply for the duration, have been submitted to all Hollywood guilds for approval. The curtailment of cosmetics, under consideration in other quarters, will not affect studio makeup departments, sincd the amount used, in comparison with that of the rest of the USA, is neglible. Kupper Honored One hundred and fifty executives, department heads and associates of William J. Kupper, recently appointed by Tom J. Connors, vice-president in charge of Twentieth Century-Fox World-wide sales, as his executive assistant, gave the former a testimonial banquet at the New York Athletic Club last week. A thoroughly reliable, tried and proven buying and _ booking service for Independent Theatre Owners. @ 21 DUNDAS SQUARE Toronto Phone: Adelaide 4316 Frank Meyers, Manager |