Canadian Film Weekly (Feb 16, 1944)

Page 6 Pr ne sing 9%, [ [H. J. AULEN, President] he ie , President SIR ALEXANDER KORDA Presents CATHERINE THE GREAT DIRECTED BY Paul Czinner WITH the Incomparable ELIZABETH BERGNER and DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS JR. First of a series of truly ALL-TIME GREATS PRC Sign of Service and Boxoffice Success You Can Rely On Producers Releasing Corporation LIMITED Executive Offices: 277 Victoria St., Toronto, 2, Ont, hate os 14 ianur Canadian FILM WEEKLY _— 10nThe Sen quare with Hye Bossin A Prize Pigeon? Talk about Hollywood flesh-pedlars and ten per-centers! We have our neighborhood brand, I overheard Lou Fox of Columbia and Mark Plottel of RKO arguing the other day. Mr. Fox unwittingly told Mr. Plottel that he had a date to play Abe Cass of Columbia some gin rummy. Plottel protested that his date came first. Fox retorted that he was the original discoverer of Cass. And that’s how it went. As I faded out I heard them bargaining about priorities, the deal hinging on what percentage of profits derived from a session with Abe should go to the one who surrenders his claim. 4 * Observanda Talk about theatre thievery—some thieves rolled up a large rug in a Chicago theatre and no one can figure out how they walked out without being seen. . . During a recent Chase & Sanborne show Basil Rathbone jousted with Charlie McCarthy. At the end of the program the announcer said, “Basil Rathbone has appeared through courtesy of MGM—producers of “Madame Curie.” That's stretching for publicity. A theatre man told me about it who didn’t think it was nice... Beau Broadway observes that the Globe Theatre, New York, is charging $1.25 tops for “Where Are Your Children?” and adds that “it was not so long ago that you could buy three shares of Monogram Pictures for that price.” . . Much of Ward Morehouse’s book, “George M. Cohan—Prince of the American Theatre” was written at the Chateau Frontenac, Quebec. ¥ * * Happy Recollections At the hearing before Judge Pierre Casgrain of the Kent vs. the Snowden one witness mentioned that “Sweater Girl’ had been shown at the Kent, The judge smiled and said: “I have not seen this film but I well remember having seen “La Femme du Boulanger” (“The Baker’s Wife’). “You should have seen it,” answered the witness, “before the censors made their cuts,” The judge, lawyers and spectators laughed heartily, imagination being what it is. * * * Motto for a Mahogany Trough Every kibitzer knows the world of the tablecloth tycoons, those nocturnal geniuses who make a million dollars with a pencil and go hustling lunch money the same as alw ays. A branch of this same organization is the “Cut~’em-U p and Leave-‘em-Bleeding Club,” which meets at noon hours, These check fumble-bums sit in judgment on the other guys in the business. Any departures from derogatory digging are confined to discussions about the other fellow’s money. These are the only casual gatherings among men where women are not the main subject of conversation. Homer has a few lines for them in his Dad: “Prophet of Ill! thou never speak’st to me But words of evil omen; for thy soul Delights to augur ill, but aught of good Thou never yet has’t promis’d, nor performed,” Those lines have even greater application to appeasers, isolationists, pessimists and whisper Tepeaiens: . ™ A Simple Explanation In his book, “Seeing Stars,’’ Charles L, Wagner, famous impresario, writes: “Early in the days of the Vitagraph, the first motion picture ko make the Chautauquas, they used to announce a realistic train wreck scene between the Northwestern and the Burlington. The projector started, the Northwestern train sped across the canvas screen; then darkness! After a pause the operator would an1ounce, ‘Sorry, we cannot give the train wreck to night—the Burlington is two hours late,’ ” February 16, 1944 ‘Self Regulation Best —Moley (Continued from Page 1) of the New Deal. Moley has been preparing material for six years and the book, to be titled “The Hay Office,” will be issued shortly. The author believes that the self-regulation practices by the movie industry is “profoundly significant in these days of confused debate over the relations of government and business.” It is a history, he says, of how one industry learned to govern itself. He has reached the conclusion that “fundamentally anything is better than government regulation.” Other parts of the book will deal with the establishment, purposes and operation of the Production Code; the mobilization of social, civic and _ religious groups to develop public opinion for better pictures; and the promotion of the industry’s foreign relations and its future plans. Most interesting to the trade will be Moley’s section on industry self-regulation and the need to exercise it competently. The possibility of further government control in Canada is one which worries the industry. The problems of Canada and the United States are not so far apart in the motion picture fields and Moley's findings should have considerable application here. Fire Destroys Alta. Theatre A fire which started in the basement completely destroyed the Sylvia Theatre, Newcastle, Alberta, Jast week. The fire, Which caused $12,000 worth of damage, came shortly before a Inatinee performance, The Sylvia, owned and operated by Leo Thomas, was one of four film houses in the Drumheller coal valley district. a 799 Have You Sent Back Your Ballot in the Annual ALL-CANADIAN MOTION PICTURE POLL to the Canadian INE FILM WEEKLY x