Canadian Film Weekly (Jun 30, 1954)

CANADIAN FILM WEEKLY June 30, 1954 Vol. 19, No. 26 June 30, 1954 HYE BOSSIN, Managing Editor BEN HALTER, Production Editor Address all communications— The Managing Editor, CANADIAN FILM WEEKLY 175 Bloor St. East, Toronto 5, Canada Entered as Second Class Matter Published by Film Publications of Canada, Limited 175 Bloor St. East, Toronto 5, Ontario, Canada — Phone WAInut 4-3707 Price $3.00 per year. 38-40 FROM AA (Continued from Page 1) the product shortage would not become serious and that top pictures, capable of staying in theatres for a few weeks, would be the main factor in filling available playing time. Allied Artists, however, will continue to make pictures on any level where there is a market, stressing medium-class_ exploitable features which may qualify as first features in smaller keys. Annapolis Story and _ Police Story, both budgeted at around the $300,000 mark, are in that class. As to CinemaScope, Broidy said that the studio would use the anamorphic technique whenever a picture semed to call for it, adding that a second CinemaScope production is now being planned. As the first Huston picture, scheduled to get underway after the director-producer finishes Moby Dick for Warners, Broidy named The Man Who Would Be King or Alouette. He further revealed that Huston will get 25,000 shares of AA common stock for his three-picture participation deal, while Wyler and Wilder will get the same amount in common stock options, with the last two also scheduled to do three films. While contracts have not yet been signed wtih Wyler and Wilder, to all intents and purposes the deal has gone through. Talks are in progress with two other producers in the same class, he added. Broidy said he hopes to reveal soon the names of several prominent film personalities with whom AA has been negotiating and who are about to sign with the company. Phil Carey Cast In "Wyoming Outlaws’ Phil Carey, who recently completed a top role with Tyrone Power and Maureen O’Hara in Columbia’s CinemaScope Technicolor production, The Long Gray Line, will next play the male lead in the Technicolor Western, Wyoming Outlaws. It will be directed by Fred F. Sears with Wallace MacDonald producing. Our Private Production (Continued from Page 1) feature-length films, 11. theatrical shorts and an imposing figure of 297 non-theatrical films of five minutes or longer. Of the 11 theatrical shorts, two were adaptations or language versions of the original films. In the non-theatrical field, 26 of the 297 productions were language versions or adaptations, 50 of them were produced primarily for television use and nine were made for sponsors outside Canada. In addition to the above, private industry produced 191 television commercials, 1,161 theatre trailers, 518 newsreel stories of which 289 were for theatres and 229 for television, 48 silent filmstrips and 27 filmstrips with record. Of the 55 theatrical shorts completed in 1953, 48 were in black and white, all were sound films and 33 were in English. Non-theatrical films shot in black and white numbered 261 out of the 481 completed in 1953. Seventy-five of this total were silent films. Of the 406 sound films, 281 were in English, 109 in French and 16 in other languages. The information presented in the section dealing with government production is based on replies from nine agencies, During 1953 these agencies completed 44 theatrical shorts and 184 nontheatrical productions of five minutes or longer. Twenty-two of the theatrical shorts and 80 of the non-theatrical films were language versions or adaptations. Of the _ non-theatrical films, 66 were produced primarily for television use. In addition to the above, government agen ' @cross ; screen. PERKINS ELECTRIC COMPANY LTD. cies made five television commercials, 11 theatre trailers, 78 newsreel stories of which 58 were for theatrical use and 20 for television, 32 silent filmstrips and four with a record. Employment and revenue figures on government production were not requested. The report is the second in a series begun by the Dominion Bureau of Statistics last year in an effort to collect some comprehensive statistics on Canada’s motion picture industry. This survey covers private companies and government agencies both Federal and Provincial, engaged in the production of motion pictures and filmstrips for business, industry and education, as well as the domestic production of feature films. These figures do not include any merchandising activities of the reporting firms but relate only to production and printing. Laboratory work included is only that of companies engaged in motion picture production. What is the total value of Canadian production in all its phases? The DBS report doesn’t give a consolidated figure for private and government film activity. But one government film agency, the National Film Board, was voted $2,804,131 by Parliament for the year ended March 31, 1953. MGM's ‘Robin Hood’ Jane Powell has been set by MGM to portray the maid Marian in Robin Hood, in which Howard Keel has been cast for the title role. ORIGINATED by Gaumont Kalee of England, the prism’ type Anamorphic Lens gives the truest definition the entire width of any Delivery from stock. Prices so low, you'll be amazed. See PERKINS For Full Particulars. Head Office: Montreal, Que. Branches at: Toronto, Vancouver, Moncton, & Calgary. Our Business lor 4 SWAT HE day is coming when there will be feature film production in Canada. There have been attempts at this in the past, many of them by promoters who came here for the express purpose of making a fast dollar and not because of any particular love for our country or belief in the idea. There are some who will say that there are no valid economic reasons for producing feature pictures in Canada and will advance many arguments for such conclusions. However, they do not take stock of changing conditions in our business. They fail to note that even though the Americans are still receiving the bulk of film revenues in Canada, the business itself is becoming more and more an international one. The public doesn’t care where or how a picture is produced so long as it is good entertainment. The American producers recognize this and are now making pictures all over the world, partly to get different stories and backgrounds and partly to recoup some of their frozen currencies. They send location companies to Canada for background shots and as a courtesy for our permitting them to take out all their earnings. The largest single source of revenue in hard dollars for the American producer is Canada. I do not refer to this kind of production in Canada. The Canadian picture should be made to show us in a proper and true light to all the world. Most countries are today greatly interested in our country and these should be pictures which can only be made here and not carbon copies of American or English subjects. Made on this basis, they could be shown in many countries and, if produced with any degree of intelligence, would find a ready market on an international. basis. Very importantly, they should have an exceptionally big boxoffice take in Canada. At present there are several films with Canadian locales going the rounds and they are doing excellently. The Canadian government would do well to foster the idea. It should be careful, however, not to become involved unless knowledgeable people who understand the economics of our business and the marketing of films are behind such production. Canada is now one of the largest trading nations of the world. Pictures depicting Canada in its proper light would be of great assistance to our exporters, would return dollars to our country and would give our local talent a much-needed opportunity.