Canadian Film Weekly (Apr 12, 1944)

April 12, 1944 $2,000,000 Film Gratis to You Hollywood is a place where stars are so thick they need traffic cops and a few million is small change. It takes a mighty fine constellation of stars and a skyhigh heap of dollars to impress the boys who occupy the local seats of the mighty. Yet one day Jack Warner, following his accustomed habits, left his office for a stroll through the sound stages. He nearly pitched over when he took his casual peep at the large board which acts as a directory and schedule. Fourteen stars and feature players were working in a single picture at Warners studio—and Jack Warner, a great man for knowing what’s going on around him, couldn’t figure what it was all about. Someone explained to the puzzled boss that they were there gratis and that they were turning it on in the best way they knew how for Canada. Then it all came back to Jack Warner. He remembered that they were on his lot to make the greatest all-star two-reeler in motion picture history, “The Shining Future,’ a film that would be passed on to Canadian showmen, who would complete a triple play by passing it on to the Canadian public as a Victory Loan booster. “Whew,” whewed Jack Warner, & man who doesn’t whew easily, ‘Vd give a million and a half Collars for their services to make a picture for me—if I could get them!” Jack Warner couldn't get them —but you did. Hollywood was mighty cunning about “The Shining Future.” How else could it make a film in which entertainment comes first and the Victory Loan doesn’t come second? A. dead heat? Wrong again. It’s just one of those things you can’t explain. It happened that the message lost none of its importance just because it was cloaked in entertainment. Here are your stars in your picture — Herbert Marshall, Deanna Durbin, Bing Crosby, Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, Dennis Morgan, Irene Manning, Jack Carson, Olive Blakeney, Charles Ruggles, Harold (The Great GilCersleeve) Peary, Jimmy Lydon, Harry James and Benny Goodman and his Orchestra. Ain’t that a pretty dish to set before the public? It’s even better than that. It doesn’t cost you a cent, Warners are distributing both pictures in Canada through Vitagraph. Check for dates now. Get after the exchange or your provincial chairman. Get the press book. See to it that you get action, Canadian FILM WEEKLY ~~ Meters Pion ama bickiire Liomecers Left to right (back row)-—— George Loan Tuck, David Miles, Mrs. Pickford, Robert Daley and Tony Gaudio. Second row from top—William Shay, Mrs. David Miles, Joe MacDonald, Hayward Mack, Mrs. Joe Mac~ Donald and John Harvey. Third row from back— ‘Thomas Ince, Owen Moore, Mary Pickford, King Baggott and Joe Smiley. Front row — Isabel Rae, Jack Pickford and Lottie Pickford. od Rete Beardless "Age, spurred by the unfringed physogs of film stars, was under way when this photo of the old IMP company, later to become Universal, was taken in 1909. IMP, short for Independent Motion Picture Company, was the brain child of a fellow named Car] Laemmle who forsook the management of an Oshkosh clothing emporium to garb the mind in new ideas. Laemmle tossed his poke of $2,500 into building a Chicago movie house in 1905 and parlayed that one into a few. In 1909 he rounded up this company in. Hollywood. That was the year the Bison company came from the east to bed itself down among the oranges and redwoods. By 1910 there were 10,000 movie houses on the continent and they were opening at the rate of 100 per month. Slide singers, such as Walter Kennedy, Oscar Hanson, Ernie Moule, Charlie Stephenson and Jack Hazza, were in their glory. Even in those days the screen was a source of information, slides telling the public to wait “Just a Moment Please, the Operator is in trouble” when film broke. There are four Pickfords—the Smith family of Toronto—in the photo. Each bears a strong resemblance to Mrs. Pickford, who, if said, was connected with the costume department. Though Mary was popular enough to be identified as “Sweet Sixteen” and “Little Mary” by exhibitors and the public, she had not yet received screen credit or billing. Shortly after she left IMP for Majestic, then rejoined Biograph. In 1909 Mary was discovered by D. W. Griffith, who gave her a supporting role in “The Lonely Villa” and then promoted her to leads. She became the first of many great stars to come from Canada’s fair domain, among them Milton Sills, Marie Dressler, Bert Lytell, Walter Pidgeon, Norma Shearer, Walter Huston, Deanna Durbin and Raymond Massey. It was in 1909 Winsor McCay started animated cartooning with Gertie the Dinosaur, his mantle now colored and worn by Walt Disney, another of Canadian ancestry. That was also the year that Hobart Bosworth directed and played in “The Count of Monte Cristo.” These were the folks who started the parade of moviegoers until if has reached 100,000,000 weekly admissions on this continent. And it is still growing, Page 7 Charge Crowding ~~] In Mont | Shows Mon tre al th eatre peo S1—where Judge Rene Theberge of the Special Assizes Court heard the case of the Provincial Fublic Buildings Inspector against ix } “eg T new’: c+ a Ecx tneatres: LOEW E;, Lard, Amherst, Electra, Chateau 1a , ana of hawvine acd. of having ad mitted too many people in their T color List of Record Length T Technicolor’ BS ¢ ap acities are at & maximum right now. Films tinted or being prepare for it are: TO BE RELEASED: “America” ~M-G-M “Broadway Rhythm” ~M-G-M “Buffalo Bill’ “Cobra Woman’ “Cover Girl’ --Cohumbia “Frenchman's Creek” “Greenwich Village” “Gypsy Wildcat” “Home in Indiana” —20th Century-Fox “Incendiary Blonde” —Paramount “Mr. Co-Ed” ~M-G-M “Pin Up Girl” —20th Century Fox “Rainbow Island” “Story of Dr. Wassell” IN PRODUCTION: “At Night We Dream” “Bring on the Giris” “Climax, The’ “Irish Eyes Are Smiling” —20th Century-Fox -—Universal -—Paramount —20th Century-Fox —Universal —~Paramount —Paramount —f ‘olumbia —Paramount —Universal —20th Century-Fox “Kismet” ~—M-G-M “Meet Me in St. Louis” —M-G-M “National Velvet™ -~M-G.-M “Wilson” —20th Century-Fox IN PREPARATION: “Belle of the Yukon" ~—International, RKO “Caroline” Universal “Tv’s a Pleasure™ —International, RKO “Montana” —Warner Bros. : Robe, The” RKO “Something for the Boys” —20th Century-Fox **Son of Lassie’ o—-M-G-M Spanish Main” ~RKO “Thunderhead” —20th Century-Fox “Tonight and Every Night” — Columbia “Treasure Chest’ -Geldwyn, RKO “Where Do We Ge From Here? —20th Century-Fox “Ziegfield Girl —~M.G.M