Canadian Film Weekly (Aug 25, 1943)

August 25, 1943 27 to 30 Callup Page 2 Nepa Meckly, Canadian FILM WEEKLY August 25, 1987) aclie M. Frost Vol. 8, No. 35 _ HYE BOSSIN, Managing Editor Address all communications—The Managing Editor, Canadian Film Weekly, 25 Dundas Square, Toronto, Canada. Published by Film Publications of Canada, Ltd., 25 Dundas Square, Toronto, Ont., Canada. Phone ADelaide 4317. Price S$ cents each or $2.00 per year. Entered as Second Class Matter Let’s Not Lag In Washington there has been organized the Committee of Economic Development and included in it are representatives of such leading groups as General Motors, the Book of the Month Club, Eastman Kodak, General Foods, and many others. The purpose of the Committee is discover now what it can do towards post-war planning—what is available in the way of manpower, materials and methods and how best to use them. According to the Committee: “By free enterprise, we mean freedom of opportunity, opportunity to work, to live decently, to educate children in the art of citizenship and human happiness and the skills of a trade or profession, to provide against sickness and old age. We stress opportunity, not contrasted with security, but identified with security. We believe in socially responsible risk-taking for the common good, with the hope of private profit as an incentive.” This is the most important conception of free enterprise to date. It will do much to remove post-war uncertainties in the USA. Canada will naturally be atfected. Two things occur to the Canadian film man—(1) Canada has no such committee and (2) the motion picture industry is not yet represented on the USA one. Canada, however, has a government commission acting along the lines of private one in the USA. And Canada has a medium of serving such a committee unlike anything anywhere—the National Film Board. If the government can provide facts, figures and plans the National Film Board should be able to present them to the people of Canada. Information and instruction are occupying the NFB right now. But it’s time that direction was pari of its job. The National Film Board is engaged in direction all right—but it’s wartime direction. Perhaps it’s too early here for peace-time direction. But it’s not too early for indication. That will make direction easier later. Provided, of course, that we know where we're going from here. Interesting Idea Roly Young, motion picture columnist of the Toronto Globe and Mail, has been whacking away at the amount of American flag-waving in motion pictures. Also the lack of a Canadian equivalent of the USA. Canada, he says, has plenty of talent. On the latter subject he points out that the CBC spends the money it collects on itself. Then he writes: “But, LOOK! In that same period the Canadian movie industry collected $10,256,502 in taxes for the Government! That was the Government’s take from the $57,186,780 which Canadians paid for their moviegoing. The Government puts all the radio taxes it collects back into radio. If the Government would put the theatre taxes it collects back into the theatre—can you imagine what a whale of a Canadian National Theatres could be put across with an annual subsidy of $10,256,502? And that would only be a backlog, because in addition, there would be the admissions that would probably make it self-supporting.” Interesting—but unlikely. eS — SEE, New Treasurer (Continued from Page 1) the Ontario Motion Picture Bureau, the largest and most important organization of its kind in Canada. He becomes also the chairman of the censorship appeal board. Born in Orillia, Ontario, the new Provincial Treasurer graduated from the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall Law School. He served three years overseas during the last war and was seriously wounded, He is regarded as an unusually capable organizer and played an important part in the success of his party. First elected in 1937, he proved himself an able debater, an expert on financial matters and a valuable member of various committees. He had been considered earlier for the position of Attorney-General. Theatre and film exchange men are hoping that the political considerations which usually follow the unseating of the ruling party will in no way interfere with the present highly-efficient administration of the Ontario Motion Picture Bureau. The work of the Bureau in constantly reducing fire and other danger in Ontario is known and imitated everywhere in Canada. Officials of other Canadian provinces and even USA men have been guided by Ontario methods. Only recently a national organization of theatre inspectors arose out of the Ontario meeting of the Canadian Fire Prevention Association. Ontario is the most populated province in the Dominion and contains one-third of Canada’s theatres. Theatre safety is the greatest worry of theatre men, any sort of serious fire or accident having the effect of reducing public confidence. Ontario theatre men have been resting easy because of the efficiency of the provincial Motion Picture Bureau. The Boston and Newfoundland fires stirred people everywhere but they were easily reassured in Ontario. 2 Montreal Vitagraph Workers Pass Away Two veteran employees of the Montreal exchange of Vitagraph passed away last week. They are J. C. James, 59, and T. E. Carr. Mr. Carr, shipper and booker with Vitagraph since 1924, died of a heart condition after six months’ hospitalization. He leaves a wife with no children. Mr. James joined First National Pictures in 1919, and continued In his position when Vitagraph took over this organization in 1929. His wife died a year ago, and one of two sons was killed overseas. Causes Worry (Continued from Page 1) that the situation will be very hard to overcome. Their ingenuity has been taxed up to now switching managers to keep their more important theatres operating as smoothly as possible. They are practically traffic experts. Previous draft callups have caused a complete turnover in male ushers. Doormen, maintenance men and janitors are now old-timers, many of whom are inexperienced at their present tasks. The present and next callup will leave the theatres limping badly from a standpoint of executive manpower. The solution still has supervisors baffied. There has been some overseeing done on the spot in those towns with several houses run by the same chain, the most experienced manager checking up on the other theatres. This means a frequent absence from his theatre by the overseer, an unhealthy state of affairs because the patron is used to being greeted. The friendly, personal atmosphere is being reduced constantly. One wag suggested that theatre doors be closed and equipped with coin machines. The right admission, when inserted, would open the door just long enough to admit one patron. It’s no joke, however. In the USA the War Manpower Commission has agreed that thea~tre employees who have been deferred on legitimate grounds, are overage or rejected by the army, need not switch to war work. CONTRACT SALES OFFICE PHONE TR.1257 G™# FLOOR ae G =