Canadian Film Weekly (Nov 3, 1954)

Page 6 CANADIAN FILM WEEKLY November 3, 1954 PIONEERS’ DINNER (Continued from Page 1) when Jack Arthur, Will McLaughlin and Charles Stephenson are honored, it was stated by Tom S. Daley, chairman of the committee. Tickets are valued at $7.50, with Dan Krendel head of the ticket committee. Serving with Krendel on the ticket committee are Ferg Martin, Famous Players; Andy Rouse, Theatre Confections; Irving Stern, JARO; Charles Dentelbeck, Famous Players; Walter Kennedy, Empire-Universal; and Monty Hall, TV-radio personality and Variety Crewman. Pioneer of the Year, the second so designated, is Jack Arthur, “Mr. Showbusiness,” one of this continent’s best known producers, who is currently head of entertainment for the Canadian National Exhibition and the star of his own TV show. Last year J. J. Fitzgibbons, CBE, was honored. The first Canadian Picture Pioneers’ banquet did not name a Pioneer of the Year but marked the fiftieth anniversary of the motion picture theatre by honoring Jule Allen, Ernest Ouimet, A. J. Mason, the late A. W. Schuberg and the late Fred Spencer. Last year, at the banquet which honored Fitzgibbons, tribute was paid to Ben Norrish, J.t.-Col. John A. Cooper and the late Ray Lewis for having made “unique and distinguished” contributions to the advancement of the motion picture industry in Canada. The choice of Arthur as Pioneer of the Year for 1954 was a popular one, as was the selection of Will McLaughlin, motion picture critic of The Ottawa Journal, and Charles Stephenson, veteran exhibition figure and now an executive of Twentieth Century Theatres. Arthur introduced special orchestral music to accompany the silent screen, as well as special prologues, usually on the theme of the film, thus bringing color, sound and life to our movie houses. Stephenson was a leader in the roadshow field, playing Mickey and many other films he imported, in legitimate theatres. McLaughlin opened the first motion picture department in a Canadian newspaper in The Journal in 1916 and is still active. UA's "Big House, USA’ After an absence of a year and six months, Ralph Meeker will return to the screen to co-star with Broderick Crawford in the Bel-Air production, Big House, USA, for United Artists release. WB's Girl Scout Short Mariners Ahoy, a Technicolor account of a cruise of Girl Scout Mariners aboard a 96-foot ship, has been placed on Warner Bros.’ short schedule for early release. Boxoffice Statistics In 1953, says the Dominion Bureau of Statistics, Canadian movie exhibition rang up a record cash figure of $122,655,068, of which $13,582,540 was for provincial amusement taxes. The non-tax total, $109,072,528, compared with $105,459,183 in 1952, an increase of $3,613,345. The drive-ins’ share was $5,862,920, which does not include amusement taxes of $685,389. There were 3,554 places of all types where films were shown, with 1,906 being regular theatres, 174 drive-ins, 669 community enterprises and 805 halls. Paid admissions, at 259,346,837 numbered 3,616,450 less than in 1952, 11,134,788 being to drive-ins, an increase of 2,755,202 over the previous year. Combining all sources of theatre receipts and admissions, the figures show Canada’s grand totals in 1953, without amusement taxes, as $109,072,528 and 259,346,837 To get the actual total of the amount spent by the public for motion picture entertainment in 1953 the amusement tax for that ycar should be added. The tax figure and the overall total which included it were respectively $13,582,540 and $122,655,068 In the table below only Itinerant Operators, who took in $468,562 in receipts for 1,381,655 admissions in 1953, are excluded and receipts and admissions from all other sources are given. From 1946 on the table below includes drive-ins, the first of which was opened in Canada that year. Yeor Theatres Receipts Admissions 1930 907 $ 38,479,500 1933 762 24,954,200 ——_———— 1934 796 25,338,100 107,354,509 1935 859 27,173,400 117,520,795 1936 956 29,610,300 126,913,547 1937 1,044 32,499,300 133,668,450 1938 1,130 33,635,052 137,381,280 1939 1,183 34,010,115 137,898,668 1940 1,229 37,858,955 151,590,799 1941 1,240 41,369,259 161,677,731 1942 1,247 46,461,097 182,845,765 1943 1,265 52,567,989 204,677,550 1944 1,298 53,173,325 208,167,180 1945 1,323 55,430,711 215,573,267 1946 1,477 59,888,972 227,538,798 _ 1947 1,693 63,139,604 221,528,177 1948 1,950 70,315,889 224,055,171 1949 2,200 79,953,539 236,017,859 1950 2,387 86,249,752 240,824,982 1951 2,440 95,833,340 250,547,499 1952 2,500 104,963,599 261,475,867 1953 2,749 108,603,966 257,965,182 The above figures include the Yukon and Northwest Territories, which are serviced from British Columbia. Newfoundland was included for the first time in 1949, the year it became Canado’s tenth province. ITINERANT OPERATORS: These are defined as projectionists who carry their equipment with them and travel from place to place, usually on a regular schedule. News Clips Director-general of Britain’s new Independent Television Authority is 49-year-old Sir Robert Brown Fraser, head of the Central Office . . . Almost all Canadian TV stations are making an effort to refuse CBC TV network shows because so many local sponsors are available, states Sidney Roxan in a by-lined story in Canadian Broadcaster & Telescreen ... Former Lippert Productions general sales manager Arthur Greenblatt has joined Allied Artists as home office general sales representative ... Bob Savini has reached his 50th year in the trade. Toronto actress Judith Evelyn, who appears in Paramount’s Rear Window and 20th-Fox’s The Egyptian, has several more Hollywood commitments .. . Children’s Aid Society got the coins in the fountain of the Capito], Ottawa, which patrons tossed in during the run of Three Coins in the Fountain... Lew Parry of Vancouver has completed a 30-minute color film of the inside tunnel driving the huge BC Aluminum Company power project. The film was planned for education and _ entertainment, says the sponsor, Canadian Ingersoll-Rand Company Limited. Production of television receivers in Canada during July totalled 14,389 while sales hit 26,491. Last year, in the same month, 19,989 were manufactured and 9,332 sold. Sales during the first seven months of 1954 were 207,724, more than double the figure for the same period last year. Projected production for August, September and October was 159,221 ... Dr. H. H. J. Nesbitt is president of the Ottawa Science Film Group... Joseph J. Paquette has taken over the ownership of Hespeler’s only theatre, the Queen’s. S. J. Berman remains as manager. Cornelius Joseph O’Connell, 52, manager of the Eastview Theatre, Ottawa, and James P. Doyle, 77, charter member of the Ottawa Local No. 95, IATSE, passed on recently . .. Munio THEATRE VITAL (Continued from Page 1) motion picture theatre to social and business life in any community can be gathered from the editorial, which follows: “With such a startling headline, we hope to arouse Watford district to a realization thal we may very quickly close our beautiful new theatre that has peen the envy of much larger towns since it was erected, and opened in November 1946. “As an instance of how attendance has fallen off during the past year ... We ask you, how frequently have you or your family attended the various film presentations ? “Belonging to an independent chain of community theatres, Watford Reo Theatre has been able to present, month in and month out, a better theatre program, including films to suit every taste. “As a community asset, we believe Reo Theatre has done much to enliven and improve our community in the entertainment field, and should rank emong our most important business services from the manner in which it has been operated. “Those of us who remember the hungry 30’s and the gasoline rationing during war years, when Watford theatre-goers had to motor to neighboring cities and towns, also remember how grateful we were with the opening of our fine new Theatre. “If we are interested in preserving and extending the year to year progress so essential to @ small rural community as this . .. as individuals, or as families, we shall promptly see to it that we attend more regularly the film programs of our choice. “The Guide-Advocate is fully aware that closing was almost decided in June .. . it can still come before year’s end. “Are You Interested? Then let’s keep our Reo Theatre!” Assign Production Columbia. Pictures has given the production assignment of The Wire Tappers, a2 modern crime thriller, to the team of Arthur Gardner and Jules Levy. Gordon Gordon is working on the screen play. Podhorzer has joined the New York foreign film set-up, Atlantic Motion Pictures Corporation, it was announced by president George Roth . . . Although the Philippines have used films from Spain, Japan and India during the past few years, the first six months of 1954 saw 213 fulllength films passed by the local board of which 154, or about 72 per cent, were American. Of the remainder, 40 were Philippine, 12 Chinese, seven Spanish and six Indian.