Canadian Film Weekly (Jul 4, 1945)

en ae ei July 4, 1945 Spyros Skouras Greets Rank URING the visit of J. Ar thur Rank to New York, Twentieth Century Fox, with which he has some business associations, gave a dinner in his honor at the Union Club. He was -welcomed by Spyros Skouras, president of the company, with words so wise and witty that they are worth the required amount of anyone’s reading time. For your information and enjoyment, here are Mr. Skouras’ remarks: Y OUR GRACE, our honored ‘ guests from Britain, and other honored guests. As an adopted son, I wish, as a fellow Anglo-American, to welcome you this evening to honor our distinguished friends and business associates from the British Isles. You were invited to be our guests to dine and to consume a limited amount of potations with these splendid gentlemen, and to talk with them rather than to hear from me. Even under more favorable weather conditions, I would spare you from any oratory of mine on such an occaSion. Not being an orator anyway, perhaps I may be pardoned for saying that the word is derived from a Greek word used ag an epithet with two meanings at one and the same time, that is, clever and terrible. Until my extended visit in England last year, my regard for Syl Gunn Partied By FP-Colleagues (Continued from Page 1) the King Edward Hotel. Ben Geldsaler, head booker of the company, presented Gunn with a golf bag in behalf of those present. Larry Bearg, R. W. Bolstad and Jack Arthur also spoke. John J. Fitzgibbons was absent due to family obligations. A screening followed the dinner. ~ Gunn, originally from Winnipeg, returns there to succeed Dave Brickman as Paramount branch manager, the latter having been transferred to Toronto in another capacity. He came into the theatre business as an usher in 1927 and has since served as manager of several leading houses, among them the Metropolitan, Winnipeg. He came to Toronto in 1941. Extremely popular, Syl enjoys the best wishes of the industry in his new task. Canadian FILM WEEKLY Twentieth Century-Fox President Praises Britain’s War Effort And Progress of Industry the British people was that of any good Anglophile. Of course, being an American, I have had ingrained into me how great is the heritage we have derived from England — our language, our laws, our literature and our love of liberty. As one of Greek birth, I will Speer et een me ne wren — = SPYROS SKOURAS be everlastingly grateful for the great part Englishmen such as Lord Byron played in accomplishing the independence of my native land after several centuries of the tyrant’s yoke. -L am also constantly reminded of the efforts of the great Prime Minister Mr. Gladstone in reuniting the Ionian Islands to the Greek nation. J By way of digression, I would like to tell you of the wonderful reception Mr. Rank gave me on my arrival in London last year. On my arrival at Waterloo Station at nine o’clock in the evening, the air above me was filled with planes. All about me terrific noises were being made and on every side, for miles in the distance, bright fires were showing. No Indian potentate or a Kollywood one either was ever received more impressively. In this war the British and the Americans have been united as never before. Of course, we can never forget the anxious days during our own preparations for the European conflict when the British people, under the dauntless leadership of heroic Winston Churchill, held the line. In this, the British cinema industry, through Arthur Rank, played a conspicuous part. In spite of the Blitz they actually increased the number and the quality of their motion picture productions. We in this room know what would have happened to us if the British people had not held on. Our own General Eisenhower expressed the sentiments of us all the other day, when he was given the freedom of London, that the Londoners and the citizens of Kansas are fighting for the same things and that the Thames has been drawn closer to the farms of Kansas and the plains of Texas. My association with the man whom I am shortly to present to you, has been a source of inspiration to me. He is a man of large and diversified business affairs, who believes in the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man. I can truly say of him that his word is his bond. There is nothing prudish about him, nor would I have you believe that his religious nature at all interferes with the exercise of his business acumen. I know he would not do what was ascribed to St. Basil, if we can believe what we read in one of his letters which has come down to us. I hope His Grace will forgive me, as St. Basil is quite a -legendary character in the church, but he had suspected a neighbor of stealing his pigs. He wrote the neighbour a letter, not inviting him to return the pigs but telling him if he did not: “You will return the pigs or I will, beyond doubt, excommunicate thee for thine evil doings.” In welcoming the world trade conference, which met in London following the last war, Lord Birkenhead said, ‘The world is but one in the field of commerce.” We have come to know since this war that there is but One World in any sense and that the utmost co-operation must be exerted by industry to make for the peace and prosperity of this One World. Arthur Rank sees this as no other man I know. He asks on behalf of the great cinema industry which he represents no rewards other than those to which a sound and successful enterprise is entitled. On the other hand, we of the Amer Page 19 ican industry can ask no more. However, there can be honest differences as to the quality of their product and of ours. In this connection you may be ~ astonished when I tell you that in the discussions Mr. Rank and I had concerning the quality of his country’s productions, I criticized the pronounciation of British artists. He recognizes a kinship of the American motion picture industry with that of his own land, as as few others do. ‘I have sought, and he has extended to me, the hand of fellowship and co-operation in promoting the best interests of the motion picture industries of our two ccuntries and thereby contribute to the culture and prosperity of all peoples throughout the world. I have just returned from an extensive visit to Europe, during which I spent considerable time seeing first hand the awful ravages of this war. It is almost impossible to believe that mankind could sink so low as to do the horrible things that I have seen with my own eyes. Let us hope that through the medium of the motion picture we can assist in raising the moral standards of men so that another such awful war will not be visited on mankind. Arthur Rank sees, as do few men, the enormous value of the motion picture as an important instrument in the cultural as well as the business life of a people. To him the use of this instrument requires a great degree of trusteeship. I can assure you that in his hands the trust will © be ably and nobly executed. Gentlemen, I have the great. honor-and privilege of presenting to you... Arthur Rank. Borzage Protests Gangster Films Gangster films were strongly criticized by Hollywood director Frank Borzage in an open letter to the Hays office recently. Borzage warned that films glamorizing gangsters and dealing with black markets and similar topics give the “wrong idea of American life.” He urged production of, educational films “which bring healthy profits” and suggested a system of voluntary censorship. “Song of Bernadette,” “Going My Way” and “Wilson” were films of which Hollywood could be proud, Borzage stated.