Canadian Film Weekly (Oct 13, 1948)

Vol. 18, No. 39 Toronto Tic Tax Nixed By Board Decision of the Ontario government to use the amusement tax revenue as capital grants for the construction of new hospitals and not to pay for municipal deficits in 1946 and 1947 drew vigorous criticism from Toronto’s Board of Control. (Continued on Page 10) H. Dobson Dead, Was L. 173 V-p Harry Dobson, vice-president of Local 173, the Toronto branch of the IATSE, passed away last week in that city at the age of 55. Prior to his illness, which resulted from heart trouble, he was .projectionist of the OdeonFairlawn Theatre. He was at one (Continued on Page 3) VOICE of the CANADIAN MOTION PICTURE TORONTO, OCTOBER 13, 1948 No Fatalities In Theatre Fires But Damage Was $151,077 There were 49 theatre fires in Canada during 1947 and these caused property damage amounting to $151,077, it was revealed in the reports from government sources. There were no fatalities in theatres, which indicates how success Thomas Armaf, 81, Passes In Wash. The inventor of the Vitascope, Thomas Armat, passed away in Washington recently at the age of 81 after a long illness. The Vitascope, forerunner of the modern projector, was called “the first pratical projection machine” by Thomas Edison, who built and marketed it under his own name by agreement with Armat. Armat was forgotten for many years. When he was honored last year by the Society of Motion Picture Engineers and this year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sci (Continued on Page 10) Ask USA Divorcement Within One Year The Department of Justice of the USA has asked RKO, Paramount, Loew’s (MGM), Warner Brothers and Twen tieth Century-Fox to dispose of their share in 1,400° motion picture theatres. That is, attorneys of these producer-dis tributors were sent copies of the final judgment which the D of J will ask the courts to enter as the conclusion of ten years of anti-trust litigation in the motion picture industry. Washington’s position that some of the trade practices of the past few years, as carried on by the big five, were con trary to the Sherman Anti-Trust (Continued on Page 3) Signed For Lead Virginia Belmont has been signed for the feminine lead in Monogram’s Jimmy Wakely starrer, “Headin’ for Trouble.” HEDY LAMARR Another Gary Cooper To Star In WB's "Task Force’ Gary Cooper will star in Warner Brothers’ film of wartime aviation, “Task Force,” backgrounds for which will be shot in actual former war theatres. Film will be directed by Delmar Daves and produced by Jerry Wald. The USA Navy will co-operate. USA Show Candy Big Between nine and ten per cent of all the Candy sold in the USA is distributed through theatres, the National Confectioners Association states. ,HEDY'S MADE FOR LOVE . ful staff training and fire safety is. The 1947 figure is considerably lower than that of 1946, which was $176,178 for 39 fires. However, fire damage in theatres has increased since 1944, when it was $75,000 for 74 fires. One reason for the increase in damage is that there were over 200 more theatres in operation in (Continued on Page 3) Para Pacts Farrow Director John Farrow has been signed to a new long-term contract by Paramount. INDUSTRY $2.00 Per Annum Fire Losses Lower Last Year Four New Shows To Be Erected Intention to build four theatres in different parts of Canada has been made public by several firms. Although the number of proposed new theatres is not increasing weekly to the same extent as in~ the past few years, yet every month brings news of houses (Continued on Page 4) Wallis Buys Novel Hal Wallis has bought Richard Bodkin’s “Dark City.” Miller Will Direct David Miller has been signed by Paramount to direct the Bing Crosby -Barry Fitzgerald Ann Blyth starrer, “Diamond in a Haystack.” JULES LAINE STRICKEN FATALLY Associated with the Canadian motion picture industry for 35 years, Jules Laine died recently at his Toronto home, 33 Strathearn Road, of heart trouble, Born in New York, he came to Western Canada early in life but for the last 25 years has resided in Montreal and Toronto. Fifty-one years old, he is survived by his wife, Rose, and a son, Michael. Services, held at the Holy Blossom Temple, Toronto, were attended by many members of the industry, reflecting his long connection with it. In 1913 Mr. Laine came to Vancouver to stay with an uncle and joined the local Universal branch. Later he became a distributor of state rights films in Western Canada, among these being the successful “Enlighten Thy Daughter.” He was a salesman with Dominion Films in 1923 when it ceased operations and he joined the Allen organization’s Inde (Continued on Page 4) ‘Hamlet’ Top Film At Venice Festival Four awards were made to the J. Arthur Rank Organization’s Laurence Olivier production, “Hamlet,” recently at the Venice Film Festival. Honors were International Grand Prix for the best film; best performance by an actress went to Jean Simmons for her portrayal of Ophelia; Italian Critics Prize for the best foreign film; and best photographer was Desmond Dickinson. BOB'S MADE FOR LAUGHS! ‘LET'S LIVE A LITTLE’ EAGLE LION (Hollywood) HIT from INTERNATIONAL FILM DISTRIBUTORS Limited Variety Pic Stars To Tour World Lloyd Nolan and Audie Murphy, stars of Allied Artists’ film now in production, “Bad Boy,” will make a world-wide personal appearance tour in connection with the showings of the film, it Was announced by Variety Clubs International, its sponsors. Itinerary calls for visits to 33 cities in the USA, as well as Paris, London, Rome, Shanghai, Johannesburg and other cities throughout the world. ROBERT CUMMINGS