Canadian Film Weekly (Nov 29, 1944)

Page 4 J. A. Rank Plans Publicity GHQ J. Arthur Rank has plans for establishing a general headquarters for the publicity and exploitation of British pictures. British trade papers report that he has been negotiating for a large building in London to house the staff. Publicity for those British theatres under Rank’s control will also be handled through the projected organization. If these plans are carried through, one of the greatest needs of British film on this side, glamor publicity, will be served. While the faces of Hollywood stars decorate fan magazines and advertising, British stars are forgotten as soon as seen because no attempt is made to have them remembered. Fan club, personal appearances and radio makes household names of American stars. Since the motion picture business rests on the star system, the personal factor is the leading one in attracting patrons. The British have done nothing in this country to show that they are aware of that. The exhibitor who wants to play British pictures gets little help along the lines of general Hollywood publicity, which creates a steady following for each player, regardless of the vehicle. It is likely that Canadian and American units of Rank’s publicity organization will be established on this side. North America cannot be served from Britain. It is too great and too demanding a field. He may also establish his own printing facilities here, as he is expected to do in Britain. Que. Radio Actors Hollywood Bound Three well known French Canadian radio actors, Huguette Oligny, Jacques Auger and Sita Riddez, recently left for Hollywood to supply voices for French film versions. Such films are being rushed for distribution in France. Al Leary to Manage New Toronto Station Al Leary, for 14 years manager of CKCL, Toronto, will be managing director of a new 1,000-watt radio station slated to begin broadcasting operations early in 1945. The station is owned by York Broadcasters Ltd. and R. T. Fulford, president of C. E. Fulford Ltd., has been elected president of the company. A frequency of 1050 on the Toronto dial has been assigned and call letters will be announced €0on, Canadian FILM WEEKLY “0nThe S quare with Ave iol ar ee Injections British trade papers have shown much interest in Canada of late, one printing four stories “From Our Own Ottawa Corres pondent” in a single issue... The question of what should or shouldn’t go into movies has as many facets as human nature. For example, the Dundee and St. group, divided on the question Andrew's Film Society, a British of Donald Duck. One member wanted them kept off the Society's film program and another answered that they represented production . . the highest standard of cartoon . Perhaps one of these days we will see some of those just-for-juveniles films being made under the auspices of Rank. He intends to broaden their production . . There’s a plan afoot to open a film library made up of a scenes from this war that will provide a permanent record of USA participation for students and historians of the future. But how about Canada? Most of the scenes showing our troops in action come out of the general newsreel pool and go back into American vaults when each newsreel is finished. Something should be done about a film library for Canada before it becomes too complicated a task—un less, of course, the NFB is keeping the record.. . Dave Berzan of Montreal was on the Square last week saying hello and having hello said back to him... Leah Peterson of Paramount’s New York office visited the local branch last week. She’s a sister of Harry Peterson, vaudeville veteran, who dates back to George White’s Toronto days. * * * Happy Days Someone mailed us a clipping from an Ontario weekly news paper. “From White City Camp, Sarahota, Florida, comes this clipping of an Ozark mother’s letter to her son in the U.S. army,” the introduction reads. The letter follows: Dear Son: Your pa has a good job now—the first he has had in 48 years. We air a grate deal better off now than we wer. Your pa gets $14.95 every Thursday—so we thought we would do a little fixing up. We sent to Monkey Wards for one of them new-fangled things they call bath rooms you hear tell about in some homes. It is put in shape by a man called a plumber. On one side of the room is a big long thing like the pigs drink out of, only you get in that and wash all over. On the other side is a little white thing ing such as your face and hands. they call a sink. This is for light wash But over in the corner, son, I'll tell you we've really got something thar—this little contraption you put one foot in and wash it clean, then you pull a little chain and you get fresh water for the other foot. Two lids come with the dern thing, and we ain’t had any use for them in the * bathroom, so I am using one for a bread board, and the other had a round hole in it and we used it as a frame for Grandpa’s picture. They are awful nice folks to deal with. They sent us free a big roll of writing paper with it. Take keer of yourself. Snips and Snoops Toronto’s Bea Lillie (Lady Peel) is in New York for the first time in four years. She’ll do a show for Billy Rose. For some reason she has never made a place for herself in films. I chanced on comment by the late Fred Jacob in the Toronto Globe of De cember 31, 1927, of a Lillie film effort. Wrote Jacob: Lillie was the biggest flop of the left the spoken drama to appear in ‘Exit Smiling’ and it was not “Beatrice year. This delectable comedienne 30 much a smile as a sigh of relief that marked the final exit of the comedy.” She played opposite another Torontonian, the late Jack Pickford. ‘She carried Jack Pickford as a handicap,” Jacob continued, shame that Hollywood producers “so that her disaster was hardly a surprise.” It’s a and directors have never learned how to get the most and best out of such great Jaughmakers as Lillie, Durante and Fred Allen.. . Bea Shapiro, Esquire pub gal, handled the publicity on “Thunder Rock,” the film. Last week her kid brother had charge of space-stealing for ‘‘Thunder Rock,” fhe play, and taught Bea plenty about grabbing typographical atten tion... New cop phoned the station from his beat at the end of the town. “‘There’s a man lying dead here,” he said. ‘How long has he been dead?” the sergeant asked. “Since 1903, according to the tombstone,” was the answer. . boys gave Murray Sweigman at . That was a great stag the the Chudleigh House, November 29, Aussie Film Head Visits Dominion Charles Pillow, director of Australian government motion pictures, is in Canada as part of a nine-month tour he is making in connection with the motion picture industry of his country. Last week he visited officials in Ottawa to arrange an interchange of films and to promote post-war trade and tourist travel between Canada and Australia. This last aim should not be as hard to accomplish tomorrow as it was yesterday, since Pillow flew into Montreal from Sydney, 1944 Australia, in 55 hours and 13 minutes. He will visit Hollywood to learn what he can towards helping the post-war film industry in Australia. Australia is lively theatre territory, having many theatres and some domestic film production. Comparison of Canada’s and Australia’s exhibition fields provides surprising information. Australia, with a population of 6,525,920, has 1,571 theatres— 302 more than Canada, which has a population of 10,376,786. Australian theatres do a great deal for the war effort. There are many USA troops stationed in the country and the problem of entertaining them has been helped a great deal by the work of the American and Australian film industries. Formby Leaves BO For M.P. Herald William G. Formby, editor of Boxoffice for the past 12 years, has joined the staff of the Motion Picture Herald. He was with Boxoffice for a total of 17 years, Formby was on the editorial staffs of the Amarillo NewsGlobe and the Oklahoma City Daily Oklahoman before entering film trade journalism. Pickman Named as Horne Assistant Jerome Pickman, formerly in charge of special events for Twentieth Century-Fox New York openings, has been appointed executive assistant to Hal Horne, the company’s director of advertising, publicity and exploitation. He replaces Bob Montgomery, who recently resigned. Pickman went into public relations in 1939, after several years on New York newspapers. Before joining 20th-Fox he was associated with Eddie Cantor and Served two years in the armed forces,