Canadian Film Weekly (Jul 26, 1944)

: : : : = ‘MINSTREL MAN’ FILM DAILY New York * "Minstrel Man’ with Benny Fields and Gladys George (HOLLYWOOD PREVIEW) PRC 69 Mins. PRC’s MOST PRETENTIOUS PRODUCTION TO DATE PACKS LOAD OF ENTERTAINMENT. This is easily PRC’s most ambitious production and it provides a nice load of entertainment. Benny Fields, night club and vaudeville favorite, and Gladys George are costarred, while Judy Clark, of the “Meet the People’ revue, clicks solidly as Fields’ daughter. Judy sings in the Betty Hutton manner and {s certain to register with the fans. Leon Fromkess provided excellent production values, while Harry Revel, who co-authored four of the songs, functioned as associate producer. Joseph H. Lewis did a splendid feb of directing, and veteran cameraman, Marcel LePicard, given an opportunity to use his camera to advantage, turned In a fine plece of photography. Fields really ‘‘sells” his trademark song, “Melancholy Baby” and also does ample justice to “Cindy,’’ “Remember Me to Carolina,’’ “Shake Hands With the Son” and ‘“‘My Bamboo Cane,” by Revel and Paul Webster. Alan Dinehart, Roscoe Karns, Jerome Cowan, Molly Lamont, John Raitt and Lee (’Lasses) White are among the capable prin cipals. * SEE NOW! Producers Releasing Corporation LIMITED Executive Offices: 2771 Victoria St., Toronto, 2, Ont. Canadian FILM WEEKLY ips OnTheS quare with Ave ote! It's Often That Way Some exhibitors were discussing a very successful theatre in Western Ontario and one told how the present owner came by it. A farmer with inactive money built the theatre and afterwards found that the actual operation was outside the realm of his knowledge. He decided that he would like to get rid of it cheaply. The word got around and a city exhibitor went out to see him. A difference of several hundred dollars held up the deal. The exhibitor was sure that the farmer would see it his way so he wrote down his name and theatre in the city, inviting the farmer to come to him the next week. It was the intention of the exhibitor to pay the farmer’s price, which was cheap enough, if necessary. During the next week the farmer came to the city but he had lost the piece of paper with the name and address of the exhibitor. So he stopped in the first movie house he saw to see if the owner could help him. A simple fellow, the farmer told the owner the details and the latter grabbed the show. The first exhibitor never did find out why he didn’t get the deal. “That’s funny,” said one of the listeners, also an exhibitor. “I heard that the theatre was for sale and set out for that town by car with some fellows who were giving me a lift. We stopped off at a Hamilton race track. I thought the sight of cash would inspire the farmer to see things quickly. I lost the money there and when I was sy to do pushers ot ta it was too late.” Hone They Air It Out Frank Kavanaugh, formerly of Twentieth Century Theatres, now of the RCAF, writes from Edmonton: “While going downtown yesterday I passed the Valour Theatre (a local neighborhood house) and learned from a sign displayed outside that they were playing the following program: ‘George Washington Slept Here With 40,000 Horsemen.’ Must have quite a capacity w eo. they can Beer 40, no guys!!!” Hea Heveabonuts That “I Want a Place to Live...” pamphlet which attracted considerable attention was issued by Harold Kaye, Monogram’s Toronto branch manager. “P.S.,” it read, ‘an abundance of theatre passes to anyone assisting my endeavor.” Harold reports nothing doing so far. ... With so many film men taking in the ball games at the stadium, that place is beginning to show movie influence. A gambler, extending an invitation to bet with the customary phrase, “Who do you like?” drew this from Harry Goldhar: “I like Dorothy Lamour” ... Lady caused considerable confusion at the Imperial on the phone by insisting on the time of each feature when “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was playing there. Couldn’t be convinced that the title didn’t mean two features.... Each night one Toronto nabe house sent a girl to buy a ticket from its competitor for an attendance checkup. Manager got wise and next time the cashier handed the girl a note with ‘450” written on it. ... Lady sneered at a rejectee with these words: ‘““‘Why aren't you in the service?” “For the same reason that you aren't in the Follies,” he snapped back. “Physical disability” ... The NFB’s Alice Heming, publicity gal, was brightening up The Square last week. . . . We finally had to stock some Roy Rogers fan photos in self defence. Youngsters bothering our office staff all day for them. One of ne maker for a ey of “Woy Wodgers.” Gold i is Witeie You Find It Every theatre man has a tale or two about his Lost and Found Department but Bill Payne of the Granada, St. Thomas, Ontario, rightfully claims ‘the hand-painted” crockery for his Jatest find. A beautiful T-Bone steak, perfectly cooked and wrapped in waxed paper was picked up by one of Bill’s cleaning staff the other morning! And no one has appeared to claim it. “It couldn't have happened during the days of meat rationing,” laments Bill, “when I could have made use of it—-dust and all.’’ duly 26, 1944 Film Records For Posterity If, as it has been said, one picture is worth a _ thousand words, then the historians of the present war will be able to write more words than ever before in history about war. They will have millions of feet of motion picture film, depicting every phase of modern war, ready for them when the conflict ends. To this end, steps have been taken by the United Nations Training Film Committee and the National Archives in Washington, D.C, to protect motion picture film taken in this war by the armies of the United States, Great Britain, Russia and China. According to Capt. John G. Bradley, chief of the motion picture division of the National Archives and chairman of the Film Preservation Committee of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, it has generally been agreed that such film will be preserved with a negative, a master positive and a reference projection print. This, Captain Bradley points out, will guarantee full preservation and will make impossible deterioration such as has happened to film taken in World War I. Only about one-sixth of the total footage of that film is now usable, according to National Archives officials. At a recent meeting of the SMPE Captain Bradley explained that much constructive work already has been done to preserve current and pertinent motion picture film relating to the prosecution of the present military conflict. “In the first place,” he said, “the National Archives is continuing its activities in terms of Government motion pictures of an archival or record nature. In the second place the Library of Congress is collecting and preserving certain categories of motion picture material principally as library material. And the United Nations Central Training Film Committee is taking steps to preserve its collection of training film. In all cases efforts are being made to protect not only a negative and master positive but a reference projection print as well.” Bercovitch 25 years On Regina Scene H. A. Bercovitch, manager of the Broadway, Regina, just passed his 25th year as a member of that city’s show world. He came there from Moose Jaw in 1919 to become Saskatchewan supervisor for the Allens. He quit managing the Rex in 1922 to reopen the Broadway. nn ~,=_—— alin —_ ; | | H «