Canadian Film Weekly (Mar 8, 1944)

= Seer ff 5 tae fies Pago 2 Address all communications—The Managing Editor, Canadian Film Weekly, 25 Dundas Square, Toronto, Canada. Vol. 9, No. 10 Soe ae Publications of Canada, Ltd., 25 Dundas Square, Toronto, Ont. na Phone ADelaide 4317. Price S cents each or $2.00 is Entered as Second Class Matter rath tern Printed by Eveready Printers Limited, 78 Wellington Street West, Toronto, Ontario SSS essnesenosnasneeameanenenny They Have No Cinch Some information has just come to light which, if properly publicized, will have a great and good effect on such acts of adult delinquency as baiting authors and making nose-holding gestures at managers. Simon and Schuster, among the leading publishers, reveal that in 20 years the firm has examined 50,000 manuscripts and selected 723 for publications. Just 81 of the 723 became best-sellers and about the same number died at birth. The rest made expenses or better. The number of books on the firm’s all-time list that provided screen fare was under 20. As J. C. Nugent, who turns a phrase and tosses a line with the best of them, wrote: Those who quibble at bad plays and particularly at bad pictures and forget the thousands and thousands of theatres. which must be fed weekly and semi-weekly, should also remember that there have not been since the birth of Monte Cristo thirty wholly original first-class books or operas. The supply must therefore necessarily consist of by-products and readaptations of more or less familiar fundamentals. However, that ain’t what the trailers say. “Art for the Masses’ Said Phyllis Bottome, the English writer, in am interview: Twenty years from today, all artists . . . sculptors, painters, writers . . . will express themselves in films. The change is inevitable. Art is expression. The movies today are emotional. They will become an expression of feeling. When that happens every great artist in the world will seek them as his medium. Art will then become of the masses. Few people really find time to read a good book, or see a fine oll painting, or a beautiful work of sculpture. Everyone, however, manages to find time to see movies. Producers should ask of the public a little more imagination. They should begin producing films for adults; rise above the present tendency to make pictures that appeal only to the emotions. Fans are not all children. Many recent film successes have proved that most theatre-goes are ready to appreciate feeling. Finer pictures cannot be denied. Only through them can producers realize success, financially and artistically. We Have Progressed It is some years since Miss Bottome made her prediction and the movies are beginning to bear her out. But there are certain difficulties which must be overcome before a fine film accomplishes its purpose. The motion picture is the means of communicating ideas and is a failure, no matter how great am artistic success it is, unless it attracts people. The making of films that are artistic and inspirational is restricted by a pattern which must be observed if any film hopes to attract an audience. That pattern is ,the star system, since the human element is supreme and the public is attracted by personalities first and ideas second. And through everything a love story must move. But producers are learning how. The latest example of a fine, inspirational motion picture being sold to the public in dignified fashion is MGM's “Madame Curie,”” which stars Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon. It glorifies that which is the hope of mankind, scientific Canadian FILM WEEKLY March 8, 1944 HYE BOSSIN, Managing Editor Paper Restrictions Relaxed by Order (Continued from Page 1) der, which prohibited distribution of any printed, poster, bill or card except on the premises, is revoked and anything may be distributed anywhere which meets the stipulations stated below. The new Order states that the advertiser may use ‘one ton in any one calendar quarter if the printed matter is manufactured exclusively on standard newsprint (64M 24x36” basis) and is not, and does not contain advertising of any other than the person for whom it is printed.” The number of heralds for theatre use, formerly part of a 25-pounds-per-month overall limit of paper, has therefore been increased substantially and to an extent ample for theatre needs. It is also permissible, the Order states, to use ‘75 pounds in any one calendar quarter if manufactured on paper other than newsprint.” While this can mean coated stock, as far as theatres are concerned it relates mainly to the use of window cards. The amount of paper available for window cards is increased a little because under the old Order heralds had to come out of the 25 pounds per month. Under the new Order heralds are covered by newsprint allowance and the entire 25 pounds of “paper other than newsprint” may be devoted to window cards. Another revision states that the order does not apply to “printed matter referring to public entertainment, leased for a specific period of time and not purchased outright, provided such printed matter does not bear the name of, or any other mark of identification peculiar to the lessee.” The above paragraph refers to exchange paper of the usual nature and some items shown in the press book, which is regarded as a catalogue. Window cards handled by the exchanges and usually shown in the press book are leased material if the place and time of performance are not printed or -overprinted on them but added on a pasted date strip. It is presumed that they are capable of being packed and returned for further use. It is pointed out that “weight” means the gross weight of paper or paperlike substance, including mounting and packaging, in con March 8, 1944 — Theatre Repairs Up to $1,500 (Continued from Page 1) 1942 sixteen out of sixty-three theatres were improved and the proportion was just as great in other provinces. The $500 limit made major repairs impossible but allowed refurbishing. Due to extra wear and vandalism the need for material and work was greater and more urgent than at any time in theatre history. Theatres remodelled and reopened dropped from 18 in 1941 to 13 in 1942. ; No new theatre may be opened in the Dominion at present, although licenses for building or repairing beyond the limit have been granted in serious cases. It is part of the policy of the department to allow the rebuilding of burnt-out premises and the erection of a new theatre in war work centres. The new order will mean much toward lasting out the war with present items, since it makes maintenance easier. Etheridge Returns, Varlow to Calgary With the return of Everett Etheridge to the post of assistant manager of the Capitol, Edmonton, Fred Varlow, who pinchhit for him during the last year, has been transferred by Famous Players to the Capitol, Calgary, in the same capacity. Etheridge was loaned by FPC to conduct theatre operations on the Alaska Highway and opened the theatre at Dawson Creek. Varlow, on leaving, was presented with gifts by the staffs of the Capitol and Empress theatres. dition as shipped or delivered to the purchaser, With the exceptions stated, theatre advertisers must adhere to the practices established and in force under Order 332, which are repeated in Order 368. Syd B. Taube, executive secretary of the Motion Picture Theatres Association of Ontario, spent considerable time with John Atkin, administrator, to analyze the effect of the original order on theatre advertising. The Order explains that the changes are the result of two ~ months administrative experience and, as and when the supply of paper becomes more plentiful, the Order will again be reviewed. — ED research, in a manner which provides untheatrical suspense. It has a rare love story and is altogether a motion picture of unquestionable good taste and outstanding quality. “Madame Curie” is proof that Hollywood is making great strides in spite of the handicaps imposed by popular taste. More films like this one, and popular taste and good taste may yet become the same thing.