Canadian Film Weekly (Oct 5, 1949)

October 5, 1949 New Type Pix By De Rochemont Canadian exhibitors will have a new type of film in the general circulation field offered them next season by whichever firm secures distribution rights to the six hour-long “featurettes” planned by Louis De Rochemont as part of his eight-picture 1950 program. De Rochemont, who is associated with Reader’s Digest in the RD-DR Corporation, has Lost Boundaries now in circulation. That film, which is doing big business, is being distributed in Canada by Astral Films, representative in this country of Film Classics of the USA, present RD-DR outlet. De Rochemont sought and found a new type of production, the feature-length semi-documentary, which led to him producing House on 92nd Street and 13 Rue Madeleine for 20th-Fox. Lost Boundaries marked his return to production on his own but in association with Reader’s Digest, which will make its most popular stories available. Now De Rochemont seeks a channel to the screen and he thinks he has found that too. His program, he said, “is designed to cut into the annual multi-million-dollar kitty paid in rentals by theatre owners for the inferior type of B pictures usually found on the second half of every double feature program.” His films will cost under $100,000 each. Titles of the first four are J. Cc. Furnas’ And Sudden Death, Irvin Ashkenazy’s Pop’s Boy, Frederic Loomis’ It’s Later Than You Think, and Katherine Peabody Girling’s When Hannar Var Hight Yar Old. Vehicle For Parks Columbia has purchased ‘“Aladdin’s Luck,” an original comedy by Ben Roberts and Liam O’Brien, as a possible starring vehicle for Larry Parks. Plan Production Of Canadian Picture Selkirk Productions, a newly organized Canadian company, will produce Forbidden Journey at Renaissance studios in Montreal, with Cecil Maiden and Richard Jarvis jointly in charge of direction and production. Nantel Davis of Montreal will be director of production for the company. Jarvis was director of production for Quebec Productions Corporation and entered the business through the National Film Board. Maiden was a script writer in Britain and has been connected with the NFB and Queensway Studios here, Canadian FILM WEEKLY | On The SQUARE Show Business Does Its Bit Again The Alfred Layng benefit show at the Imperial drew a packed house which donated enough to bring the fund from $14,000 to its $20,000 objective. Rai Purdy produced and emceed the excellent show, which was made up of Canadian and American acts. I got a great bang out of Doug Romaine and Mildred Morey teaming up for “In the Good Old Days of Vaudeville,” a routine written for them by Don Hudson through the George Taggart Organization. Both these Canadian performers are ready for the film, which lacks new antic comics. The Sugarman boys, Ben and Syd, who are in publicity, stirred show business into pitching in and Jack Karr and Tom Daley were among those on the committee. Famous Players donated the theatre and Eagle-Lion the film, Spring in Park Lane. The stage show ended with a broadcast by Joe Tensee, editor of Flash, who interviewed Miss Canada. For the information of those far from Toronto, Alfred Layng was a former airman who fought a holdup man and lost his life when shot. George Formby Knocks ‘Em Dead There was a real Old Country atmosphere at the Variety Club last week, for George Formby and his British variety show members, playing the nearby Royal Alexandra under the direction of Ernie Rawley, used the place like their living rooms at home. Formby, whose Canadian tour was arranged by Rawley, had a ready-made audience which gave him the most enthusiastic welcome ever offered anyone in the history of the house. Also at the Variety Club were Dave Martin, head of the Tivoli circuit of Australia, who flew here to try to talk Formby into an early return to that country; Lou Grade of London, Britain’s outstanding agent; and Ed Elkourt of Chicago and New York, who also pencils actors into place. Others who made an international week of it were Syd Goldham, manager of the Centre Theatre, NY; Tessa Smallpage, Australian thrush now living here; Mousy Garner, formerly of the Three Stooges, who was playing the Casino; and Fred Roner, an amazing pickpocket, on the bill at the same house. Roner gave Lou Grade, Ed DeRochere, Rawley, the Globe and Mail’s Whittaker and others a going-over, emptying their pockets and relieving them of wallets and wrist watches and they didn’t know it at the time. Roner’s parents, from Vienna, are now living in London and he hasn’t seen them in five years. It is quite possible that he will see them in the next few months, for Lou Grade hinted that he might arrange some English dates for Roner. As for Formby — you’d better dust off his old pictures. Canada seems to have been hankering for his stuff for a long time. Typodermic Injections There has been a record-breaking number of boxoffice holdups in the last year .. . Emp-U’s The Fighting Kentuckian, John Wayne starrer, is rolling up great grosses in the USA, exhibs here will be glad to know .. . The Great Waltz is booked into the Victory, Toronto, for its 18th date . . . Much of the terrific business Gone With the Wind is doing at the Odeon, Toronto, is from members of the younger generation who are seeing it for the first time after hearing their parents talk about it half their (the younger generation members) lives . . . Al White, Gaumont-Kalee Montreal manager, was in town for four days on sales problems. You probably noticed that we’ve changed the type for our heads from Cooper to Tempo. Tom Daley and Art Arthur insisted that the Cooper type made the paper look like a grocery throwaway. I thought it made the paper look a little less like the USA publications but they won the argument .. . Doug Skene, ASN newsreeler, and Win Barron, Paramount news commentator, did a speedy job of getting the Noronic shots to the continent’s screens ... “H’D Betting On Tri-Dimension” as an answer to TV rivalry, states the Hollywood Reporter. That’s what Nat Taylor said it had better do in a letter to Barney Balaban written early in January. That's calling the turn, Page 7 Techn | Research Aided By NFB An interesting and valuable but little-known phase of National Film Board operations, that of technical research, was revealed in the recent report of the government film agency to the Royal Commission. The NFB explorations in that direction have been helpful to Canadian commercial film makers, manufacturers of equipment, government departments and private firms. Film Board technicians have been regularly sought over the period of the past several years in connection with design and installation recommendations for film organizations in Canada and elsewhere. Within the last 12 months a new type of simultaneous color and correction printer was developed, as was a new design for a filmstrip camera and several other technical devices. Right now the NFB is using the first magnetic sound recording cameras in Canada in 16 and 35 mm. But the highest level in technical achievement can not be attained until the present hazardous working conditions are ended by the erection of a new building. A detailed study of microfilming techniques and procedures has benefited several government departments, while, as part of the research program, a cinephotomicrographic unit has been made available to universities and industrial research groups. The design and building of an optical effects printer was carried out as a joint project of the NFB and Canadian Arsenals and it was constructed at a saving of $20,000 in USA funds. The designs are available to manufacturers asked to provide such a model, as were blueprints of other models. New methods of direct animation on film have been developed and research is being carried on for the creation of synthetic sound tracks. National Film Board technical research activities have led to employment of Canadian scientists and engineers in new and growing fields, as well as reducing costs within the organization. The director of technical operations for the NFB, Jerry Graham, acts as chairman of the committee on motion picture photography, Canadian Standards Association. For Sale CANDY COUNTER Modern Design, Custom Built, Leather Upholstered. Sliding Lock-Up Doors. May be seen at NEW BILTMORE THEATRE TORONTO