Canadian Film Weekly (Jul 7, 1954)

Page 6 PIONEERS’ TOURNEY (Continued from Page 1) of that organization. Krendel, a somewhat youthful Pioneer who is a Famous Players executive, followed Taylor’s announcement a few days later with one of his own—that the date will be August 12 and the place St. Andrew’s Golf and Country Club. St. Andrew’s, off Yonge Street at the Northern outskirts of Toronto, was the scene of both past Pioneers’ tournaments, which were handled by Tom Daley as chairman. Krendel predicted a_ record turnout of several hundred from various Ontario communities and possibly competitors from Quebec. Meanwhile he has appointed a lively group of co-chairmen for the handling of ticket sales, gathering of prizes and other tasks. These are Joe Bermac, Peerless Films; Al Perly, Biltmore Theatres; Irving Stern, Allied Artists; Tommy Knight, J. Arthur Rank Distributors (Canada) Limited; Ferguson Martin, Famous Players; Maurice Diamond, International Film Distributors; Ron Taylor, Twentieth Century Theatres; Max Chic, Canadian Moving Picture Digest; George Altman, Mavety Film Delivery; Andy Rouse, Theatre Confections Limited; Dawson Exley, Twentieth Century-Fox; and Cecil Black, Sovereign Films. Last year the foursome for the N. A. Taylor trophy was won by Famous Players, with the IATSE team as the runner-up. Fred Cross of the IA won the Famous Players trophy for individual low gross in A Flight and Gurston Allen of Premier Operating took the IA trophy for low gross in B flight. C Flight low gross and the Twentieth Century Theatres trophy went to C. Hughes and the Canadian Film Weekly trophy for individual low net, kicker’s handicap with a sealed par of 72, was captured by George Altman. Edward G. Robinson Cast Edward G. Robinson will star in UA’s Black Tuesday. AA Sets Mathias For "The Lone Hand' Executive producer James L. Fallon of Mathlon Productions, Inc., now filming The Bob Mathias Story for Allied Artists, has purchased The Lone Hand, an original by Henry Morrison, as a second starring vehicle for Bob Mathias. It will be filmed under the Mathlon banner. MANAGER WANTED for London, Ontario, theatre. Experience and references necessary. Your confidence respected. Apply to LISHA SARECK 39 Hawarden Crescent, Toronto MAyfair 4273 SS CANADIAN FILM WEEKLY News Notes THEATRE CONSTRUCTION NEWS Theatres opened recently include J. R. Hewitt’s 300-car Elmvale Drive-in in Elmvale, Ontario; the 350-car Skylark Drive-in in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, owned by I. Bregman and J. L. Cohen; Sucha Singh & George Lane’s 450-car Sun Down Drive-in near Kamloops, BC; Bertram Girouards drive-in near Chatham, NB; and I. S. Dufresne’s 400-seat St. Martin in Fox River, Quebec. Harry Howard and R. C. Steel are drawing up plans for a standard-type theatre in Kitimat, BC. The Alberta Government will build 3,000-seat auditoriums, costing about $1,250,000 each, in Edmonton and Calgary as part of the celebrations for the province’s 50th anniversary next year. "GOODNESS GRACIOUS, GARNER’ In Saturday Night recently Hugh Garner, a well known Canadian writer, included this statement in an article on TV: “Let’s face it, movies are a fast vanishing phase of folk entertainment, and the proprietors of neighborhood movie-houses are relying for nourishment on several generations of wadded gum stuck beneath seats, and the cindered residue from the waste pans of their pop-corn machines.” In the issue of June 26 Don Henshaw, who represents the Motion Picture Association of America in the Canadian Cooperation Project, makes Garner and the magazine look foolish in a reply headed “Good Gracious, Garner.’’ Henshaw quotes Canadian Film Weekly records to show the increase in movie theatres in Canada during the period Garner wrote about, as well as the healthy financial reports of major film companies. THEATRE POSTER'S WINNIPEG MOVE Theatre Poster Service Limited, which recently acquired distribution rights in Canada for the Tushinsky Brothers Superscope lenses, has moved its Winnipeg office into a cement-and-stone building at 157 Rupert St. Purchase of the building was made necessary because of a fire in the premises it had occupied. The fireproof building, which has a concrete room with a _ steel door for use as a film vault, is a half-block from both the Canadian Pacific and the Canadian National express companies. Murray Sweigman, head of the company, said that the location and accommodation should be factors in providing even better service for its customers. DEATH WAS AN ADDED ATTRACTION A 36-year-old aerialist and stunt man, William Quovadis, who was billed as Don Quo Vadis, plunged to his death at the Paramount Auto-Vue Drive-in on Lougheed Road, near Vancouver, from 100 feet up while doing his act. A 25-foot pole above the screen snapped and the performer died in the hospital of a fractured skull. He did not appear to be fatally injured and spoke te those who reached him but lost consciousness on the way to the hospital. The drive-in was filled to capacity for the debut of the first CinemaScope screen in a Canadian open-air theatre. FITZ RE NEW TECHNIQUES “We are constantly hearing of many new types of production and presentation of films,” stated J. J. Fitzgibbons, president of Famous Players, in an enclosure accompanying the quarterly dividend cheque. “I’m sure they may be confusing to many of our shareholders but I can assure you that each one means another forward step in our industry and represents a new boxoffice potential.” Quoting Barney Balaban, Paramount president, that the Lawrence color TV tube is ready, Fitzgibbons said that Famous Players “has acquired the exclusive rights for Canada to licence the inventions of the Chromatic Television Laboratories, which include the Lawrence color tube.” USA PIONEERS ELECT NEW BOARD At the annual meeting of the Motion Picture Pioneers and the Foundation of Motion Picture Pioneers, held in New York last week, the following board of directors was elected: Jack Alicoate, Barney Balaban, Harry Brandt, Jack Cohn, Sam Dembow, Jr., Ned Depinet, Gus Eyssell, Si Fabian, William German, Abel Green, William Heineman, Marvin Kirsch, John J. O’Connor, Bob O’Donneli, Martin Quigley, E. V. Richards, Jr., Sam Rinzler, Herman Robbins, Gradwell Sears, Ben Shlyen, Spyros Skouras, Harry J. Takiff, Joseph Vogel and Major Albert Warner. July 7, 1954 Coronet Audio-Visual List Via Sovereign Canadian distribution rights for the 650-picture library of Coronet Instructional Films, Chicago, leading producer in the audio-visual field, have been acquired by Sovereign Film Distributors Limited, it was announced in Toronto last week by T. A. Metcalf, general manager of the latter organization. Coronet offers from 50 to 60 new films each year for the use of schools and industry, several from Crawley Films, Ottawa. Sovereign, which recognized the continuing growth of audiovisual methods by acquiring the franchise formerly in possession of Associated Screen News, also has Canadian television rights. Rooney's Republic Film Starts Rolling Shooting has started at Republic on the Mickey Rooney starrer, The Atomic Kid, with Leslie Martinson directing for Martin Duke, associate producer. Heading the cast of the comedy are Elaine Davis (Mrs. Rooney), who makes her acting debut in the feminine lead, and Robert Strauss, Bill Goodwin, Whit Bissell, Hal March and Peter Leeds. "Track Of The Cat’ Teresa Wright has joined Robert Mitchum, Diana Lynn and Tab Hunter in the cast of Track of the Cat, the Batjac Production for Warner Bros. The adventure drama is currently being filmed in CinemaScope on location. MGM's "Black Rock’ Robert Ryan has been signed by MGM to star with Spencer Tracy and John Sturges has been set to direct Bad Day at Black Rock, to be produced by Dore Schary. Ryan will portray the leader of a small southwestern town whose citizens have become fear-ridden in their efforts to hide a murder. Canadian Actress In "The Gabriel Horn’ Dianne Foster, Canadian-born actress, has been signed by the Hecht Lancaster Organization for her most important screen role to date in The Gabriel Horn, Technicolor adventure drama of the early American frontier in which Burt Lancaster will star and which also will mark his debut as a director. Miss Foster, who will be on loan-out from her home studio, Columbia, plays the role of the indentured servant, whose freedom is bought at a bitter price by Lancaster in the United Artists release, which is scheduled to go before the cameras on August 15. | : | | | 92) eee ee ae