Canadian Film Weekly (Apr 10, 1946)

Page 10 Que. Cuts Charges On Some Items A new Order-in-Council, passed by the cabinet of Hon. Maurice Duplessis, premier of Quebec, has reduced censorship charges on three items. While the new rates are lower than those given in the original order in February, they are still considerably higher than they were previously. The reduction will affect 24sheets, stills and slides, The 24sheets, on which a $1 censorship fee was laid by the Taschereau government in the February order, will now cost 40 cents, which is 30 cents more. They cost the exhibitor $3.60 each. Stills, formerly one cent to censor and later 25 cents, will cost 15 cents. Slides, which are sold for 25 cents each, will now cost 15 cents to censor instead of 25 cents. Until February there was no censorship charges on them. Quebec exhibitors regard the reductions as unsatisfactory, as do the distributors, who have the right to pass on increases to the renter of films. The charges set in the February order in the matter of sets of 11x14’s and onesheets still prevail. The 11x11's, price 50 cents when bought, now cost 80 cents instead of eight to censor; and one-sheets, for which the exchange gets 50 cents, now cost 25 cents to censor instead of three. Quebec theatre owners, independents and circuits, have decided to reduce the buying of accessories to a minimum. Circuits are examining their fronts with a view to eliminating any unnecessary displays. At present a brief is in the hands of the premier in which , the industry objects to the raised charges, among which is an impost of $6 per reel instead of $3. In Ontario all accessories are censored for an overall charge of $1. One of the most important points made by the trade is that censorship is a service and the department administering it should charge according to what it needs to carry it and not to provide revenue. Because films are the only medium of entertainment and education to be censored many feel the Provincial governments ought to alter their understanding of the basis of operation of such boards. In all other cases no action can be taken by authorities until some law has been violated and this departure in the case of films is regarded by legal authorities as not in keeping with justice. Thus censorship is carried on with the tacit permission of those whose goods are censored, — Damon Runyon WOULD like to have the scien tists and philosophers and economists and other wise guys of the world tell me this: Why does bad luck persistently pursue certain individuals? Why does it get on the tail of some one man and hang there for weeks and months and years, harassing him with all kinds of misfortune? Tell me, youse muggs, who are supposed to be so hep, why one man who has lived a life of purity is afflicted with poverty and illness while a wicked neighbor prospers and thrives? Perhaps I should put it in simpler terms, I will take the card game known as gin rummy which is the simplest thing I know. This is a game that is about 95 per cent luck. Gin rummy is a game that was invented for companionship and laughs. It was designed to promote closer association and harmony between husband and wife, and was doing a wonderful work in that respect until some scoundrel thought of making it a partnership game. One night a lady playing partners with her mister overlooked an eight of spades that would have put her down with two points and on the next draw her opponent went gin so her husband hauled off and cut her throat, and it served her right, so it did, though it busted up partnership play in that section of the nation. I can remember when the fun of gin was in having kibitzers who would advise on plays and there would be a million laughs when the advice went wrong as it usually did, but then it became a high stakes game and the kibitzers were barred from opening their traps, even though they might be betting on a player. Some players even objected to a kibitzer breathing too hard. Gin in the beginning was a catch-as-catch-can pastime with no one taking it seriously. Then they commenced putting science into the playing and that was when I withdrew from the picture. I have not played gin in— let me see, now. One, two, three, four, five—well, nigh on to a week or more and I may never play it again. It is because of a story that came to my ears. Two of those Hollywood gin starkers were playing. They could have been Zeppo Marx and Norman Zanack, both Class AAA, though I am not sure, On picking up their hands, one found himself Canadian FILM WEEKLY S REFLECTIONS. Ame —" a On Gin Rummy with three aces, the other with three deuces. To keep from giving the other gee an open card, meaning a card that might complete @ sequence, M., we will say, discarded all his aces and Z, all his deuces. When I heard that I said to myself, Runyon, that is too scientific for you. If you are unable to do more than just about hold your own with non-thinking players, like Harry Brand and Doc Martin, what will happen to you when you run into those atomsplitters? Runyon, I said, fold. So I folded. But that is no reason why I should not use the game of gin rummy to illustrate my remarks on the way bad luck keeps booting one bloke. Why, I would like to ask the savants, when two players need certain cards to complete their hands, one guy gets his first over and over and over again? There they are sitting there, two human beings with heads about the same shape, and an equal amount of gray matter in each skull, and dead-even in point of worthiness —both good to their wives, if any, and children, if any, and both fine Democrats. Each needs a low card to knock, One draws. Nothing. The other draws. Bing. Down with two. The next deal, the first man throws a card that by every law of average, gravitation and nature should be dead safe. The other guy grabs it. Boff. Gin. Another deal and the second guy knocks with 10 only to find he has overlooked a four of clubs among his cards so he has too many points in his duke to go down and has to play his cards showing and his opponent beats him out. He is undercut four times in a row and blitzed two consecutive frames. We are playing the Hollywood style, understand, three games at a time. He overlooks a card that would have filled a run and permitted him to knock. His opponent thrice overlooks plays and it makes no difference. All night long our luckless character is belted around until his very senses are numb. Why is this? I mean, why does bad pursue this one man? Would you not think that it would finally take pit yon the poor soul and relive him of some of the punishment? I put my thought in terms of a gin rummy game, but I can apply it to stud poker, if you like, or to life in general. luck April 10, 194g PRC Sked Heavy Six Being Shot Producers Releasing Corporation will hit its heaviest production schedule in its history this month, with six features before the cameras, according to Reeves Espy, president, who has just returne to Hollywood after trips east to confer with company heads. Lew Landers will direct the first of James C. Burkett’s “Philo Vance” series, starting at once, and two Alexander-Stern productions, ‘‘Queen of Burlesque,” and “Sorority Girl,” will be in action before the month end. Josef Berne, who is directing his own production of ‘Missouri Hayride,” will get it under way in the third week of the montn, while the fifth in the Buster Crabbe western series and second in the ‘‘Michael Shayne” group, “Crime On My Hands,” are on the March slate of producer Sig Neufeld, Sam Newfield is directing both of the latter. Pat de Cicco’s first production. “Avalanche,” is doing locaticn shooting at Alta, Utah. John Riatt, currently starring on Broadway in “Carousel,” will go to the coast too to play the lead in PRC’s forthcoming high budget Cinecolor musical, “Down By The Rio.” Gets ‘Swede’ Role The key role of “Swede” in Ernest Hemingway’s “The Killers,” has been given screen newcomer Burt Lancaster by Mark Hellinger, who is releasing the picture through Universal. O'Brien's 100th Role Columbia’s ‘Perilous Holiday” marks the 100th motion picture in which Pat O’Brien has appeared since he created the role of Hildy Johnson in “The Front Page.” : Paramount Signs Ace Song Team Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen, ace song-writing team, have been placed under longterm contract by Paramount. As their first assignment under the new contract they will compose songs for ‘‘Welcome Stranger,” Bing Crosby’s next starring picture which will co-star Barry Fitzgerald and Joan Caulfield. With Burke writing the lyrics and Van Heusen the music, the team has been associated with Crosby starring pictures since 1940, when they did the songs for “Road To Zanzibar.” Crosby, popularizing the songs in pictures and also in his radio show, has put many in the best-seller class,