Canadian Film Weekly (Dec 20, 1944)

Le Page 24 ?. 4 EERE LO EOL MLO ME MEME NE NNN Ot A HAPPY XMAS HEALTH AND PROSPERITY FOR 1945 2» L. W. PAYNE CAPITOL THEATRE Listowell, Ont. Dr De DDL DD DP Dea Dee PB PR OO BO NN BN DB OO 1 Di DUD We Dy De Di Di Bi Di Di Di Di Di Pi De Di ie ei 4 y vm * REPS EE NI NE NS Abe Polakoff Lou Polakoff LIRR SRRIRRISRRVRRRIM a a a Sn i) PRD DLP DED DL DY DLR De De De De BeBe Be BeBe DUM Bs By Be De Be Pe BaD De By Be Be Be Dy Be Dy De Be De BeBe Be De dy Pe Dee ¥. K * RSE DEE EE PE A OE ME LIS Rosenfeld & Allen 21 DUNDAS SQUARE 4 A a Season's & Greetings JOE ROSENFELD ; of | 4 a4 aA a & A A a x Toronto NSS ee * MPR yy eee ee ey FD Canadian FILM WEEKLY _ THE DOCUMENTARY (Continued from Page 153) had won before enlisting. He came to this continent on a threeyear travelling Research Fellowship from Durham University. For a while he worked in Hollywood and in 1927 he returned to England. He was soon given a free hand in organizing the film branch of the Empire Marketing Board, It was Grierson who introduced the term, “Documentary Film.” Having been exposed to a fine mixture of academic theory and day-to-day reality, his films for the Empire Marketing Board and those which followed when he shifted to private industries were so grounded in truth and so interesting that they established a permanent place for that type of article. Grierson came to this country at the invitation of the government in order to determine the possibilities of documentaries here. He made a report and moved to Australia to do similar work, He returned here just before the war to advise the Motion Picture Bureau on the making of documentaries. The press of events caused the government to invite him to stay and make them himself. What followed when the war broke out is proof that Grierson’s theories about the power of the documentary were right. His films were probably the greatest factor in spreading national understanding of the situation in which Canada found itself. Many of them were borrowed by other countries, among which was the USA, for the enlightenment of their citizens. Grierson’s realization of the scope of the documentary film is shown by this quotation from his “The Course of Realism,” a chapter in “Footnotes to the Film,” a compilation edited by Charles Davy and issued by Lovat Dickson Limited (London) in 1937: “We noted the conclusion of such men as Walter Lippman, that because the citizen, under modern conditions, could not know’ everything about everything all the time, democratic citizenship was therefore impossible. We set to thinking how a dramatic apprehension of the modern scene might solve the problem, and we turned to the new wide-reaching instruments of radio and cinema as necessary instruments in both the practice of government and the enjoyment of citizenship.” At the time that was written it was little more than be a worthy aim. Two years later Grierson, in Canada, was forced to prove his worth overnight. To 4 country bewildered by war he quickly presented information that set every section of it discussing the same thing at the same time. His documentaries helped crystalize public opinion and quicken the national resolve to defend democracy no matter where. AT of the National Film Board and the work of John Grierson when the war is over? “After the war Britain is going into the international film field; so is Canada, now shed of any colonial outlook,” he told members of the Motion Picture Theatres Association of Ontario recently. “As one of the ‘middle nations’ after the ‘Big Four, Canada will have a great part to play in world rehabilitation in the five years to follow the peace. This country must have a requisite share of World and Empire screen space.” The National Film Board wagon, then, is hitched to Canada’s rising star. Grierson, the right man in the right place when the last crisis came to Canada, will be serving in the same excellent way as we challenge the future. He has developed a vast non-theatrical field of exhibition and his requests for commercial playing time are modest in comparison. The commercial exhibition industry of Canada will no doubt recognize the great value of the documentary. film in helping prepare Canada to take its place among the leading nations of the world. That great medium must not again be allowed to fade almost out of sight. Levy Heads Winnipeg Film Board of Trade A. G. Levy, Regal, was elected president of the Winnipeg Film Board of Trade and J. H. Huber, 20th Century-Fox, vice-president. Joint fire marshalls are G, A. Mathews, Warner Brothers, and A. Feinstein, United Artists. NN EN EE EN EN NEE EEE EE The Best for the Coming Year rs De Die De Die PLD DL PD EERE NE NE NEE NE NE ME ME NEE NEE EOE TE EE NE EE EOE COMPANY LIMITED V7 VICTORIA JTREET 2027 BLEURY STRER) Toreonry) MONTREAL APP DOMRRD D DM DMP P BBd peee ee eee ed cea dd ed Cd do 44d RRM 4 Christmas, 1944 Minin nin neta mainicintetiein SINCERE + HOLIDAY GREETINGS Lac) FRED TREBILCOCK AND THE STAFF OF SHEA’S THEATRE TORONTO PEE NE Et ME ME MEN ENE OE NE NE NE OE EE NE ENE, Sq DU Da De Dy Di De De Da De Be Bi Be Be Bi Bi Bi De De ee ES * UENO OE ENE EE NE NE NEE ME NE NE ENE EE EE Season’s Greetings from Toronto’s Loveliest Theatre THE MIDTOWN AL PERLY Manager CRE EN NE NE NA NN A A NE EE AE AE A EE A A A A A EE DA A BE de Di Be De Be Di De De De De Di De De Da De De Be Be Be De De Be De Dea Be BeBe Bae Be De BeBe Be Ba De De Be Di Be De Be De De Di Ba De De Di Di Bi Di Bid. 9 ae Ds Da a De Be De De Bae Die De Be i Bie eI * EMRE EE ENE ENE NE NE MEME MEME ME NE? 4 WITH EVERY BEST WISH ALWAYS Ernie Smithies CAPITOL THEATRE Kingston ADH HP FMM MRM BMD PID MI Op, Dee De By Be De De De Be BeBe ee Be Be Di By De Bs De ee Di By Be Be |