Canadian Film Weekly (Jul 21, 1943)

Page 6 eleasing limited S os a TEVA CTY J LH. J AUEN, President] ‘Submarine Base’ EXCITING says tho HOLLYWOOD REPORTER ‘SUBMARINE BASE’ (PRC) The players: John Litel, Alan Baxter, Iris Adrian, Fifi D’Orsay, Eric Blore, Jacqueline Dalya, George Metaxa, George Lee, Rafael Storm, Luis Alberni, Anna Demetrio, Lucien Prival. A tightly knit melodrama, PRC's “Submarine Base” offers a war-backgrounded story well off the beaten track. It presents action, comedy and suspense in a theroughly balanced mixture which will please audiences in houses of better grade than those at which the film was aimed. The cast boasts of capable actors who deliver well, the direction is terse and effective, the production and the technical achievements are far above their budget limitations. John Litel, as a New York detective who joins the Merchant Marine upon the outbreak of the war, {is the sole survivor of a torpedoed vessel at the Equator. He is rescued by a fishing smack, run by Alan Baxter, a former gangster hiding out from the law. Litel, stranded at the island headquarters of the ex-gangster whose mate is Eric Blore, becomes suspicious of the source of their income. He investigates, to find that Baxter is aiding Nazi submarines load torpedoes at the island. At the climax, the gangster’s odd patriotism is told, he having set time bombs in the subs for which he provided ammunition. The slight romantic interest comes through the presence on the island of a group of showgirls and the jealousy of an island girl of the gangster’s attentions to one of them. Baxter and Litel deliver handsomely in their roles, which monopolize the story. Eric Blore and Luis Alberni furnish most of the comedy, with Fifi D’Orsay in the role of the island girl, Iris Adrian and Jacqueline Dalya head the chorines, with George Metaxa doing well as the German agent on the island. Outstanding bits are played by George Lee, as a Briton who aids in the investigation, and Frederic Brunn who, uncredited, plays a submarine captain. Brunn doubled as production manager. Albert Kelley’s direction is a triumph of effectiveness in pacing characters. Producer Jack Schwartz and his associate, Harry D. Edwards, rate bows for their share of the worl. Photography by Marcel LePicard, editing credited to Holbrook N, Todd, are direction by Frank Sylos, and the music score by Charles Dant are all above standard of this type of picture. Producers Releasing Corporation LIMITED Executive Offices: 277 Victoria St., Toronto, 2, Ont. Electric. Some of the mechanical improvements are “superior and revolutionary,” Morgan said and when applied to motion picture entertainment are certain to have a vital effect. He added that a tremendous amount of war research has been going on in sound projection and auxiliary fields, particularly for submarine and aircraft purposes. “We constantly think of what we're going to be able to do when we get into production for peace uses of this equipment,” he said. In addition to his own field of sound, Morgan pointed to the tremendous developments in cameras and photographic practices and, in fact, in every phase of the me Canadian FILM WEEKLY New Equipment After the War Sound recording and reproducing equipment for motion pictures will have to be revamped after the war, according to K. F. Morgan, one of the regional managers of Western chanical side of film making as further proof that the technique of motion picture production is due for big changes. No hint can be given of the new developments since they are all military secrets. Morgan stated that studios are experiencing no shortage of sound equipment because of the war, although Western Electric is manufacturing none of its standar sound devices at the present time. He said that the War Production Board of the USA has given a high priority on materials to build replacement parts. A LAUDABLE REPORT (From. the Toronto Globe and Mail) In the maintenance of morale in war the motion picture plays an important part. It provides relaxation, pleasure and rest for millions of Canadians. The annual report of the Motion Picture Censorship and Theatre Inspection Branch, issued by the chairman of the Board of Motion Picture Censors, Mr. O. J. Silverthorne, to Mr. St. Clair Gordon, Provincial Treasurer, tells an interesting story of the war job done by the movie industry. The motion picture theatres have co-operated completely with all organizations to help publicize war loans, war charity drives, and many other matters. They have opened their theatre screens for these purposes free of any charge. Mr. Silverthorne, in his report, says his branch is of the opinion that “the motion picture interests and all those assoclated with entertainment in the Province of Ontarlo have met, and can meet, any of the difficulties arising from war.” In a summary of the work of his department, the chair _ man states the record of the theatres in these words: “During the past year all motion picture theatres in Ontario have made thelr screens available for the presentation of Government information. Through the medium of the screen the public has been acquainted with information from various departments of government, particularly in connection with the Victory Loan campaigns, when the theatres ran three pictures in support of the loans. In addition, the screens are made available to publicize appeals of various worthy organizations such as the Canadian Red Cross, Aid to Russia, Greek Relief, etc. Theatres in all cases have given their screens free of charge in presenting these messages. During recent months many of the theatres in Ontarlo have presented special children’s morning matinees for which the only price of admission was salvage. The cost of these performances was borne entirely by the theatres and the motion picture film distributors. Recently, as the result of these shows, many tons of fat were collected by the theatres and turned over to the Government for the manufacture of explosives.” Great care is taken by Mr. Silverthorne’s board to oversee the theatres in regard to safety measures. As proof that this policy has been a success the report points out that, though 2,000,000 people attend places of amusement weekly, there have been no deaths and no accidents. This is a fine record, for which the board and the theatres can both take pride. July 21, 1948 Paper Surveys Show Damage The difficulty of maintaining facilities required by law because of vandalism was revealed in a survey of local theatres taken by the Standard-Freeholder of Cornwall, Ontario. Three managers were interviewed by a reporter from the newspaper and they painted a black picture. Vandalism is not confined to men or boys. “Girls or women remove their surplus lipstick by ‘kissing’ the walls or mirrors,”’ A. V. Whitham, manager of the Palace Theatre, said. “Soap’ and racks or containers have been taken so regularly that now I just put a bar of common wash soap on the basin. It is the only kind that is left there,’’ Murray Keillor, of the Roxy Theatre, stated. “How long would you say it is since that wall was painted?” the manager asked during a tour of the Roxy Theatre, pointing to a scribbled and scarred wall in the men’s washroom. A year was the estimate. “Just one month,” Mr. Keillor replied. He pointed to a steel tube hand rail and said the first rail had been torn loose from the wall and bent double. A similar hand rail had been broken in the centre. A wash room door was torn off, he said, and a convenient bar across the room had to be removed as exuberant youths used it to chin themselves and to swing up and kick the ceiling. A wash basin was damaged and when it was replaced the manager said that it was bolted through an eight-inch cement wall. It is still there. Damage was not as extensive in the women’s washroom, but a large mirror was cracked and ash trays and small fittings had disappeared as fast as they were replaced, he stated. “There is no encouragement to supply good fixtures or furniture,” Mr. Keillor declared. ‘‘We had two stainless steel] chairs in one of the washrooms, but they were smashed and had to be removed. We did not replace them, as it would only have happened again. Cornwall is not alone. There is vandalism in theatres all across the Dominion. “The most serious damage was to our screen, we have had four holes put clear through it by boys with a sling shot and marbles. A Screen costs $600 and now under war conditions it can not be replaced.” R. H. V. McCartney, of the Capitol theatre, stated that electric light bulbs disappeared at a rapid rate and this constituted a E (Continued on Page 7)