Canadian Film Weekly (Aug 23, 1944)

@ , August 23, 1944 Radical Changes Faced in USA (Continued from Page 1) in a New York court for permission to change the present Consent Decree and for the right to establish a new Decree. The main feature of Biddle’s stand is a divorcement of distribution and exhibition. He proposes: A complete ban on further theatre acquisitions by the majors and separation of such theatres as may be necessary to restore competition in places where there {s a theatre-operating monopoly. Single booking. A check on circuit buying. Provision for money awards in arbitration cases with arbitration extended to cover all anti-trust complaints. Definition of “unreasonable” clearance. : Elimination of pooling and franchises. Elimination of all clearance in highly competitive situations. Separation of distribution and exhibition within three years, It is said that a compromise of some sort is possible but that the Department of Justice is unyielding on divorcement. Film company attorneys may not seek such a compromise but take a chance on the courts instead. Gish Comeback Lillian Gish, star of the silents, will star in Paramount’s ‘Miss Susie Slagle’s.” The story goes before the cameras at the end of the month. Good Boost Job On WB's "Mark Twain’ Manager Ivan Ackery of Famous Players’ Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver, B.C., staged an especially impressive advance campaign on Warner Bros. “The Adventures of Mark Twain,” in its first key Canadian date. A strong schedule of one minute spots and five minute programs on the life of Twain were used on CJOR. <Ackery also covered all leading department and book stores with window and counter tie-up displays. B.C. Studios Make ‘Canada on Parade’ Locations around Vancouver and parts of Alberta will be used in “Canada on Parade,” a film short to be made by the new International Artists Film Corp., Ltd., which recently leased 40 acres of land in Burnaby, British Columbia, to set up _ studios, laboratories and offices. Donald A. McLean, managing director, has announced that the film will be distributed in Canada, the United States and possibly Russia. The studio will soon start filming a musical comedy. Canadian FILM WEEKLY OnThe$ quare wit th Ave Bo IG They Always Get Their Man But— I am not the sort of a person who would like to go down in history as one who stripped the nation of its pet illusion and killed off one of Hollywood's most marketable ideas. But about this business of the Mounties always getting their man—. Now, don’t run away until you hear what I have to say. Sure, sure, they always get their man—but he’s not always the right one. What, you may well ask, is my authority for making such an earth-shaking statement? The ROMP, you know, checks up theatres to. see that the government gets its amusement tax for every patron admitted. This is done by a Mountie quietly buying a ticket and keeping the stub with the number on it. The number is later used to check against the theatre owner’s report. If the theatre owner or manager is holding out any admissions—why, it’s too bad for him. He gets hit pretty hard. One was recently fined double the amount of the tax claimed and $400 on top. There have been quite a few such prosecutions in the last year, with some of those charged and fined claiming that they still couldn’t figure out how it happened. What happened to a certain theatre owner, then, will be of interest. An Excise Tax auditor came to this theatre owner with the number off a theatre ticket which, he said, had been purchased at the latter’s boxoffice. He had matched the ticket number against the theatre owner’s tax return. Now, asked the tax man, what became of the admissions between those stated in the report and those represented by the ticket? “That ticket couldn’t have been bought at my theatre,” the owner laughed. “I never gave the patron the stub with the number on it.” But the tax man was serious and after he left the theatre owner got to thinking. How could an innocent man prove himself innocent if all Independent theatres used the same kind of tickets? Circuit tickets, he knew, bore symbols which identified them with this or that company. He went out and bought a ticket from each circuit house and sent them to the tax man in Ottawa for comparison with the ticket alleged to have been purchased from his boxoffice. Back came an apologetic note from the tax officer. Upon investigation provoked by the theatre owner’s action he had discovered that the Mountie had bought the ticket elsewhere! On the Take There is a majestic hopefulness in the following press release: “PRC Pictures has advanced the release date of its feature ‘When the Lights Go On Again’ to September 15th, in the hopes that this date will coincide with the announcement of peace in Europe.” Maybe Montgomery, Eisenhower, Churchill and the rest of the boys will be mean and finish too late or too early. .. Johnny Poole, your paper man, will be married in September. .. Harland Rankin, he of the irrepressible itch for scribbling, was in. Says fishing is tops out Chatham way and if you’re having tough lack, that’s where to look. . . George Rotsky of Consolidated in Montreal was one of those present at the recent Ottawa banquet in honor of Premier King. . . Hull, Quebec, baseball fans will have to go elsewhere to see local leagues in action, present stadium being the site for the new National Film Board building. . . Jimmy Stephenson of Western Theatres was around last week visiting with boys. . . Those “talks” of Ken McTaggart on Eaton's ad pages remind me of the “Through Darkest Africa” tomes. Should be called “Through Brightest Eaton’s”. .. The doctor told Simon Meretsky to pipe down for health’s sake. . . Gunner Lionel Hansher, exEmp-U booker, was banged around at camp and is gimping his way about, he being vice-president in charge of a cane, .. A note from Ernie Roberts of Associated Screen News reveals that he has been on vacation and in the water so much “that I almost developed gills.” Page 5 Canada UA Sales Meet in Montreal (Continued from Page 1) was presided over by A. J. Jeffrey, Canadian sales manager, was attended by UA branch managers from coast to coast who were addressed by Eddie Schnitzer, special representative of United Artists from the Home Office. Carl Leserman, general salesmanager of UA, who was slated to attend the meeting was taken ill at the last minute and was unable to make the trip. Hugh Owen, representing Vanguard and Selznick International, whose products are released through United Artists, came from New York and gave a brief outline of his companies forthcoming releases and discussed the sales policy to be employed with the record-breaking “Since You Went Away,” that is currently establishing new highs in boxoffice grosses at New York's Capitol theatre. In addition to discussions on the company’s current and forthcoming product, delegates from Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver, St. John, Winnipeg and New York attended special screenings of the company’s two forthcoming releases, David O. Selznick’s ‘‘Since You Went Away” and Edward Small’s “Abroad With Two Yanks.” Charles S. Chaplin, Montreal manager, acted as host to the delegates who included George Heiber, Al Iscove, Doug Rosen, Jack Reid, Harry Woolfe and Abe Feinstein. Warners Pays Plenty For ‘Turtle’ Rights “Voice of the Turtle,” New York stage hit, has been acquired by Warners at a price said to be $1,000,000 and 20 per cent of the gross. Every major company bid for it. VOCALITE SCREENS Five times more sound permeability, One-third more light. Voealite Sound Screen is the result of a series of intensive and costly experiments which have resulted in the production of the finest sound screen made. Flexible plastic coated, flameproof. PERIGINS PANY LIMITED —