Canadian Film Weekly (Sep 9, 1942)

aed September 9th, 1942 Ceramics Ban Means Little (Continued from Page 1) on government orders for sorne time past and theatres using premiums have been handing out items made of glass, Bakelite, etc. Neither of the last mentioned materials has been banned for civilian use and so that situation remains mainly the same. English potteries have stopped exporting on any kind of large scale for some time, labor being required and taken for more important purposes. Much of the glassware substitutes being used are made in the USA, which removes any question about the use of ‘Canadian labor for war purposes. Canadian potteries ure making plain white dishes for the most part arid it is likely that a government order will soon be issued which will ban any kinds of fancy shape and patterns to save time and labor. “Our factory is working at capacity for war orders,” said John Cohn of Canadian Premium Distribution and Marketing Service. “Instead we're offering Glassbake, which has been on the market for over 20 years. Through its use we're able to cffer many new and different items, such as kettles and cutlery. It’s made in the States so it involves no loss of manpower here. The regulation, ‘as I see it, comes quite late as far as theatres are concerned.” The Advisory Counci] and Mr. McMullen have concerned themselves with the premium situation in Canada and .it is understood that the draft of regulations being studied in Ottawa contains a clause that deals with the situation. At present no theatre may | begin contests or givcaways and charge a service fee, this being interpreted as a raise in the price of admission. Theatres using Foto-Nite or giveaways therefore make no charge for participating or receiving. Cutlery was waived out of the premium picture quite a while back, since it involved metals, and the current order regarding ceramics or clay has little application with almost nothing available. Timoshenko Too MGM, Fox, Paramount and Universal are all preparing scripts for films about the Russian General, Timoshenko. Paramount has Akim Tamiroff ready for the role and other studios are dickering with Harry Green, a suggestee of Sir Stafford Cripps. ‘The ‘Russians have several plays in which General McArthur is the hero, Canadian FILM WEEKLY Prat. TOnThe Sen [onthe Square Pleasure and Payne It takes the right kind of bait to catch the good ones. Lionel Warren Payne, Listowel’s one-man war effort, ha3 hidden his big bulk and heart behind his gigantic output of pleasure for the boys in khaki. It took a long time for Frederick Edwards of Maclean’s Magazine to smoke him out after Mr. Edwards had heard about him and his work at Camp Borden. Warren, as he is generally called, is a hard man to get to hold still for questions about his goodness. He’s extremely modest as well as being too busy thinking up more ways of making the khaki-clad lads happy. The right kind of bait referred to was an appeal to Payne’s sense of show humor. He read my recent report about the way titles are tangled by patrons and revealed that he was in town by calling up to share the laughs on a couple. One patron asked him if “Too Late For Supper” was still playing. He meunt “The Man Who Came to Dinner.” And a lady asked Mrs. Payne, who shares his philanthropic activities, if they were showing ‘One Step in the Sky”’—“One Foot in Heaven” to you. Having explained the bait and the big ones, let’s turn the spotlight on Payne. ‘ He Goes a Long Way Back Payne, who operates the Capitol Theatre, Listowel. a 400seater, took it over 27 years ago when it was a store show. He recently got rid of the original picture machine and electric fan for $2.50. His enterprise is a family affair, since Payne does hia own projecting, his wife taking the tickets after his daughter has sold them. Odd help is not lacking around the theatre, either. since there are eight Payne children. And the neighbors are always glad to lend a helping hand to a good neighbor. There isn’t enough room here to enumerate the Payne family’s gifts and activities. Sufficient to say that, by turning his theatre into pleasure mill for all, he has been able to donate almost $17,000 worth of gifts to the troops. The various troops, as they leave the training centre which is in the area, almost always remember Mr. and Mrs. Payne with gifts and kind words. And the boys, from faroff fronts, send him tokens of remembrance such as swords, all kinds of shells and so on. He recently got a piece of a Messerschmit shot down in England. ' From the different regiments he and his wife have received several silver trays and pitchers, compacts, two eight-day chime clocks and many other things. That gift which Payne prizes most is the one that fits in with his hobby of saving watches--a Napoleonic watch, originally worth $1200, which bears 95 matched pearls. , How He Feels About It “My town,’ he explains, “is a soldier town and the presence of the boys is responsible for the success of my theatre. It’s just a way of returning the benefits.” Payne has handed out 9,000 free passes. On a number of occasions he has turned the theatre over to worthy charities for the first four days of the week. “How,” people ask kim, “can you give away four days and still be successful?” ‘It’s hard to believe,” he said, “but whenever I have done that the business during the last two days has been big enough to provide the same total of receipts as other weeks. Don’t ask me to explain it. I can’t.” Why does he do so much? It’s simple. He ‘just gets a kick out of it, that’s all.” The pleasure is all his, he says. “Did you ever,” be asked, “listen to 800 men give you three cheers? I have several times. Believe me, brother, it does something to you.” Payne is well-known and popular On the Square. I stood talking with him outside the Hermant Building and the film boys, as they noticed him, stopped to say hello and ask how things were going. He had to get back, since there was some unfinished business waiting—business having to do with gifts for soldiers. : [UA to Handle Para Features (Continued from Page 1) famine. Though UA has great plans for the future, pictures to feed its outlets are lacking at the moment. Paramount has one of the biggest production years in its history. The present state of things makes this unprecedented deal possible. Big pictures are today having longer runs than ever before. The anticipated decline of the double-feature will make fewer pictures necessary in the future and Paramount should have plenty to meet the smaller demand. Such Paramount and United Artists executives as Frank Y. Freeman, Ed Raftery and Gradwell Sears have been smoothing things out in New York. Full terms of the deal are not yet known, though United Artists are reported to be paying negative costs, as well as a cash payment of $2,500,000. Rozsa Scores ‘Jacare’' Jules Levy has engaged Miklos Rozsa to compose and score the music for Frank Buck’s ‘‘Jacare,”’ the wild animal picture filmed in the wilderness of the Amazon River Valley. Rozsa previously composed the musical scores of “Jungle Book” and “Lydia.” 20th Century Men To Meet Here Twentieth Century Theatres will hold its second annual convention at the King Edward Hotel, Toronto, on the 16th and 17th of September. The boys will be coming in from every unit of the company. which operates in Ontario, to confab to prexy Nat A. Taylor, Raoul Auerbach and other execs, as well as with each other. “New Super GARDINER Projector” With Barrel rear shutter’ Has no equal for fine projection and long life. As low aa $9.00 weekly. GET OUR PRICES AND YOU WILL SURELY BUY FROM US “YOU CAN GUESS THE REASON” SAVE 207% OR MORE OF YOUR MONEY DOMINION THEATRE EQUIPMENT €O S97 DAVIE 8T VANCOUVER EC