Canadian Film Weekly (Jun 9, 1954)

Vol. 19, No. 23 FF ws VOICE of the CANADIAN MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY TORONTO, JUNE 9, 1954 $3.00 Per Annum TALKING UP CANADA FEATURE FILMS POPULAR SUBJECT OF ARGUMENT IN SOME INDUSTRY CIRCLES Apparently the competition provided by foreign films in the USA market is welcome, judging by the annual report of the Motion Picture Association of America, issued by 1-Track C Scope Sked From Fox Delivery of 11 CinemaScope productions in one-track magnetic and one-track optical sound at the rate of one a week to Canadian exhibitors who already have wide screens and so need only the lens will give exhibition a great lift, said Peter S. Myers, (Continued on Page 3) MPTAO Leads Tax Opposition Second meeting of the Ontario Theatre Exhibitors Committee for Amusement Tax Relief, held in the offices of the Motion Picture Theatres Association of Ontario and presided over by chairman Lionel Lester, gave approval to the letter and question (Continued on Page 9) HOLLYWOOD DISTRIBS SOLD 12 FROM UK Of the 81 British features approved for distribution in Ontario during the 1953-54 fiscal year, 12 were offered by four major distributors of Hollywood product. Twentieth Century-Fox had seven, Warner Bros. three and Columbia and United Artists one each. Warners three were Master of Ballantrae, The Beggar’s Opera and His Majesty O’Keefe. Columbia offered Paratrooper. Of the 20th-Fox group, Sailor of the King is the best known. IFD, an Independent distributor, submitted 24 and JARO, a UK firm, was next with 22. Cardinal and Astral, both Independents, had 13 and nine. Ontario’s per-reel censorship fee for UK films is $3—half that levied on films from other countries. Until the 1953 budget 35 mm. features from Britain entered Canada free of tariff. Now the rate is the same as those from any other country. But UK 16 mm. gets a preferential rate. Eric Johnston, president. His friendly view will interest the growing number of Canadians whose favorite film subject is the lack of theatrical feature production in this country. Possibility of such production activity has frequently been dismissed on the grounds that Canadian features cannot pay their way in Canada. The realization is growing that many British films do not pay their way in Britain and the same is true of the USA, which gets 40 per cent of its film revenue from outside, with about ten per cent of that figure being (Continued on Page 3) MGM's "Deep In My Heart’ Walter Pidgeon and Paul Henried have been added to the cast of MGM’s Deep in My Heart. Major Rank For Allied Artists Signing of John Huston to an exclusive producer-directorwriter contract and the approach of finalization of similar deals with Billy Wilder and William Wyler by Allied Artists Pictures Corporation will assure a major source of product for the indus (Continued on Page 5) Query: Does BNA OK Censorship? Legality of motion picture censorship in Canada under the British North America Act was referred to recently in The Montreal Star by S. Morgan Powell, who retired some months ago and is now writing the series, Memories of Montreal. In (Continued on Page 5) Strong U-I Summer List Via EmpireUniversal Universal-International’s summer releases represent the greatest variety of theme and high-priced negatives with the highest boxoffice potentials in the history of the company, said A. W. Perry, president and general manager of Empire-Universal Films, which distributes U-I product in Canada. The company has_ set eight productions for release during June, July, August and September, and additionally, will re-release The Egg and I, the largest domestic grosser to date in the history of the company and also the picture that first brought the fabulous Ma and Pa (Continued on Page 9) Concession Conference Studies More Sales Popcorn merchandising methods in Canadian theatres are superior to those of the United States, James C. Blevins of Nashville, Tennessee, one of the leading growers, told the third annual popcorn and concession conference, spon sored by the International DRIVE-IN WINS IN SUPREME COURT Popeorn Association, which was held in the King EdThe Supreme Court of Canada ruled against the appeal of the Township of Scarborough, Ontario, which sought to prevent Mark ward Hotel, Toronto last week. Speaking to delegates ham Developments, Toronto, from building a drive-in on Markham Road. from many Canadian and Ameri\ eels rey seri Mika hea HiSt POp* The dispute began when the Township refused to go along oo ee, Wee ete. ey with the permit issued by the Highways Department of the Provdeveloped Here. and. he: recomince of Ontario and the plans approved by the Theatre Inspection Neu an a | aig _ : dopt the branch. Markham Developments then secured a writ of mandamus sample-box idea originated oe in Osgoode Hall, Toronto, through which the court ordered the this country by Super Pufft. This Township to permit the project. Conti Pag ees ea The Township ignored this and Markham Developments then 4 MGM's ‘Jupiter's Darling’ obtained an order “to commit” the responsible person. The Town MGM has signed Marge and ship asked for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal, which was granted. The Court of Appeal rejected the Township’s position Gower Champion to star with Esther Williams and Howard and confirmed the writ of mandamus. Scarborough followed with the Supreme Court action. Keel in Jupiter’s Darling. Paramount's ‘Run For Cover’ Viveca Lindfors will star with James Cagney and John Derek in Paramount’s forthcoming film, Run for Cover. A meeting of NY theatre owners and Jabor representatives, gathered to protest against the proposed five per cent municipal ticket tax, suggested as alternatives a levy on juke boxes, free radio and TV shows, and real estate used commercially by religious and fraternal organizations. Toronto juke boxes now charge 10c per record. Opposition to the amusement tax is being organized in Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario. TAX ALTERNATIVES: JUKE BOXES, FREE __ TELEVISION SHOWS YH