Canadian Film Weekly (Dec 3, 1947)

Page 4 Observanda s az = Will-o’-the-W hispers In the window of a cobbler’s shop on Church Street, towards the waterfront, a home-made sign sits among the rehabilitated shoes. The sign does not have the power to make passersby stop and stare but it causes most of them to think. — On reading its message some get the pang that comes with unpleasantness suddenly recalled and they reflect on it a bit. To others the sign gives a sense of an uneasiness, bringing back the vague memory of a gnawing fear that was not so long ago a part of everyday life. There are those who-drive the thoughts it brings out of their minds. There are even those to whom it means nothing whatever. — Too few years ago there were hundreds of these signs, professionally lettered and durably constructed, throughout the city. The hope of all who see the Church Street one is that it is the last of the old and not the first of the new. For this is what it says: — : “Relief Vouchers Accepted Here.” To be less serious about the subject of the above, do you recall when it was a common thing for a businessman to say: “I could have done $10,000 worth of business last week if I had the merchandise”? It seems like yesterday. In fact it was yesterday. A few hours ago a businessman gave me the current version. “I could have done $10,000 worth of business last week,” _ he said, “if I had the business.” Overheard: “Do I believe in matrimony? Why, my boy, this. wife I have now is my second — and I hope she won’t be the last, either!” : Proverbiage: You can always tell how much class a man has by oberving how low he will stoop to pick up a buck. Showmen beware! Some rogue has been shown through theatres by managers after falsely representing himself as being an inspector from the Better Business Bureau. That crook-fighting body has no interest in theatre inspection, a function of the Queen’s Park branch headed by Dan McPhee. What the liar is up to has not yet become plain, although he may be studying theatres for break-in possibilities. Movie romance: Don Watt, manager of the Park, Chatham, was married recently to Marion Del Monte, cashier of the Centre . . . June Russell, Harland Rankin’s secretary in Chatham, was here exciting the eager-eyed lads by her very presence... Mountain Theatre, Hamilton, is now a Solway-Goldhar operation and the Victoria, Ottawa, just came under the 20th Century banner... For the past few weeks Phil Ranicar, who used to be an exploiteer in the UK; has been in charge of WB publicity. : The theatre inspection branch of the province is mighty angry at those stupid or inconsiderate exhibitors who have been ignoring the “Adult Entertainment” identification for films and penalties are sure to follow ... Why doesn’t the NFB make a sing-song reel of Canadian university songs? ... Ernest Ouimet has been trying to find his nephew, Jack Ouimet, last seen working as a telephone lineman in these parts... B. Papadopoulo’s 16 mm. Arthur theatre was the first Canadian situation to exhibit “Queen of the Future,” it is claimed. On this continent many small stores which stock a variety of items sell violin strings. An American violinist in London stopped in at a shop of that type and asked the girl behind the counter for an E string. She looked at him dubiously, disappeared for a while, then returned with several kinds of cord. “’Ere you are, sir,” she said. “Pick it yourself. I can’t tell the bloody ’e strings from the she strings.” gy li Canadian FILM WEEKLY ____ t ag @ ] rr The That Editorial SQUARE Comment On Our Editorial Roly Young of the Globe and Mail reprinted part of our last week’s editorial on the USA attitude towards a Canadian trade press, saying that there is “food for thought” in it, “even though it arises out of a situation that may strike a disinterested outsider as having: decidedly comical angles.” It all arises, he explains, “from the fact that the backers of this particular trade journal thought the film interests would support a Canadian publication devoted to their interests. They are, however, ° apparently. learning the error of their wishful thinking.” He described it as ‘a just complaint” but a “man bites dog” business “because ‘Somebody in the theatre finally had to complain because the theatre in Canada has disappeared ... gobbled up about 99 per cent by interests from outside our borders.” ._Therein, I presume, are Roly’s ‘‘decidedly comical angles.” Our editorial was not aimed at the theatre field but at the failure of the distributors to realize what Canada’s rights are in the matter of trade paper advertising. Strangely enough, it is hard to place the blame for that. Most general managers have never placed the matter in the proper light to their superiors in New York, who have little way of knowing about such things. As for the general managers for Canada, their own authority in these matters is limited. The problem should be discussed at a meeting of their association and their recommendations transterred to those who have the right to be informed of the sentiment here. It must come sometime, so why not now? But there is no animosity for them or the USA in our position. Who can deny that there is justice in our position? As for USA influence in the Canadian theatre field, it must be remembered that our country as well as Great Britain owes its movie industry status to the USA films and USACanadian enterprise. Most of the theatres under the banner of ‘USA companies are held in association wtih Canadians. The value of USA enterprise to our economy is thoroughly understood by the Rt. Hon. C. D. Howe, our minister of reconstruction, who will personally discuss reform of company policies to help Canadian trade and USA-dollar saving with officials invited to Ottawa. The Financial Post reported it had been informed that this was because of the importance of “not frightening capital investment away from Canada.” a But all we ask is the consideration of those responsible for capital investment. Mt * « Barron‘s Paramount Scoop Something of Nelly Bly’s flight around the world and the old-time international snooping and. scooping of Richard Harding Davis — stuff of the 90’s, before co-op reporting and wide syndicate service — was revived by Win Barron, Paramount’s Canadian newsreel man, who dashed over to the Royal Wedding and back with the films of it. The reel, which attracted crowds in London, Ottawa, Hamilton, Toronto and Montreal, appeared in theatres for the Saturday matinee — less than two days after the nuptials. The USA got theirs days later. That’s thumbing your nose at Father Time, whose whiskers waved in the breeze made by Win as he whisked by. . The TCA did a great job for him, Win says, and so did the i aeets ts Te downtown theatres. They drove out to Malton irport, miles out of to i i RoW anche wn, to pick up the prints and rush 1% ik Stuffing A writer spoke to a producer. “I’m j : P . working on a story that I think is pretty good,” he said “put P maitt : get a couple of good twists,” 4 ee aera “Okay,” answered the roducer, “ ; : hear from you,” 19) Yr. Don t do anything till you Overheard: “You can talk wise all year.” ‘ to that man for an hour and be December 3, 1947