Canadian Film Weekly (May 25, 1955)

May 25, 1955 CANADIAN FILM WEEKLY Page 7 U-1 LINEUP (Continued from Page 1) to be one of the greatest groups of important productions in the history of the company. The Shrike, the highly dramatic production, starring Jose Ferrer and June Allyson, and Foxfire, in Technicolor, starring Jane Russell and Jeff Chandler, were shown, along with these: To Hell and Back, in CinemaScope and Technicolor and based on the experiences of Audie Murphy, America’s most decorated hero of World War II, a picture already being hailed as one of the finest and most stirring pictures ever produced by Universal. The Private War of Major Benson, in Technicolor starring Charlton Heston and _ Julie Adams, received enthusiastic audience response at its sneak preview recently and is being compared to Going My Way in the warmth and humor of its wide audience appeal. One Desire, in Technicolor starring Anne Baxter, Rock Hudson and Julie Adams. There’s Always Tomorrow, a drama starring Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Joan Bennett, Pat Crowley, William Reynolds and Gigi Perreau. All That Heaven Allows, in Technicolor starring Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson and a large supporting cast produced with the same wide audience appeal as the phenomenally successful Magnificent Obsession. The Second Greatest Sex, a large scale musical in CinemaScope and Technicolor starring Jeanne Crain, George Nader, Kitty Kallen, Bert Lahr, Mamie Van Doren, Keith Andes, Kathleen Case and Paul Gilbert. Female on the Beach, in Technicolor starring Joan Crawford, Jeff Chandler and Jan Sterling. The Spoilers, based on Rex Beach’s classical novel, in Technicolor and starring Anne Baxter, Jeff Chandler, Rory Calhoun, Ray Danton, Barbara Britton and John McIntire. In addition to the above completed films they looked at incomplete footage on: A Time Remembered, in Technicolor starring Rock Hudson and Cornell Borchers, the sensational new European actress who was recently signed to a longterm contract by U-I after she had won a British Academy Award as Europe’s best actress. George Sanders is also starred. es e David Wayne Signed David Wayne has been signed by MGM to join Frank Sinatra and Debbie Reynolds in a top role in The Tender Trap, based on the New York stage production. The picture will be produced by Lawrence Weingarten and directed by Charles Walters from a screenplay by Julius Epstein. Ylews Yotes MOVIE THEATRE CONSTRUCTION A 1,200-seat theatre, equipped for VistaVision and CinemaScope and all the latest forms of sound transmission, will be built in the Don Mills area of Toronto by Odeon Theatres (Canada) Limited. Adequate parking facilities and the most luxurious seating available will be provided. To start soon, the theatre is expected to be in operation by the end of the year. Also in Toronto, the 1,436-seat Tivoli, to be closed by Famous Players on May 28 for renovations, will have every modern development, including 36-inch spring-back seats, with accommodation cut to 1,000. It should reopen in about ten weeks. Unidentified interests have purchased a site in Penticton, BC for a 400-car, $60,000 drive-in. The Capitol in Kincardine, Ontario and the Royal, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan have closed temporarily to allow for major renovations and refurbishing. Plans for a drive-in on the Caughnawaga Indian Reserve in Quebec have evidently been abandoned in the face of adamant opposition from Provincial authorities. The last of the screen uprights, erected a year ago, have collapsed. CHRISTOPHERS HONOR 11 FILM MEN Eleven film men were among the 25 recipients of Christopher Awards, announced in New York recently, for the production of high-quality entertainment during the six months ending March 31. Bronze medallions were presented to the winners by Father James Keller, founder of the Christophers, who cited them for the positive way they had used their talents. Film folk honored were Robert Arthur, John Ford and Edward Hope, producer, director and writer respectively of Columbia’s The Long Gray Line; Louis de Rochemont, Robert Bendick and Philippe de Lacy, directors, and Otis Carney and Louis de Rochemont 3rd, writers, for the Stanley Warner release, Cinerama Holiday; and William Selwyn, Francis D. Lyon and Richard Collins, producer, director and writer of Allied Artists’ The Bob Mathias Story. "OBJECTIONABLE' FILMS INCREASING? Growth in films of matter objectionable to Catholics was charged by the Rev. Thomas F. Little, executive secretary of the National Legion of Decency, at the recent 20th anniversary luncheon Of the Motion Picture Department of the International Federation of Catholic Alumnae at Hampshire House in New York. He pointed out in his speech that the MPAA’s Production Code had failed to stem this increase in “material which is gravely offensive to the moral law.” Since October 72 films of 196 classified by the Legion had been found objectionable in part. Father Little’s criticism was called unfair by Dore Schary of MGM and Y. Frank Freeman of Paramount. Schary said that it was a shame that the whole industry should be blasted because of a few pictures and Freeman said he would support the Legion of Decency head up to a point but that his criticism wasn’t proportionate. Among those who heard Father Little suggest that a condition exists “that is gravely in need of correction” were Martin Quigley, Sr., editor-in-chief of Quigley Publications and author of the Code; Martin Quigley, Jr., editor, Motion Picture Herald; George Murphy, MGM; Arthur DeBra, the MPAA/’s public relations director; Gordon White, the MPAA’s administrator of the Advertising Code; Albert Howson, Warner Brothers; and John J, O’Connor, Universal-International. JARO SCREEN-AD MEN'S BACKGROUND Joint managing directors of the newly-opened J. Arthur Rank Screen Advertising Services Limited, Robert Wallace and Neil Sneyd, have the type of broad experience that equips them well for their posts, including the establishment and operation of Publicity Film Distributors Limited, which company has_ been incorporated into the JARO venture. John D. Ralph, recently of Great Britain, heads the company as vice-president. Wallace has been in advertising and film distribution for ten years, having handled publicity in Britain for JARO and UniversalInternational. He organized Audio Pictures’ western screen ad sales and for a while was that company’s general sales manager, leaving to organize, with Sneyd, Publicity Film Distributors. Sneyd, who attended Dublin University, came here in 1948 and later joined the J. Walter Thompson Company as a copywriter, following this with a period at James Fisher Company Limited. He left to join Wallace to establish their own screen ad firm. Prep Edinburgh Film Festival A promising time for cinema workers and those with more than surface interest in films is indicated. by literature on the Ninth International Edinburgh Film Festival. The dates for the famous film assembly, which operates under the legend, The Living Cinema, are August 21 to September 11. Organized by the Edinburgh Film Guild with the support and collaboration of the British Film Institute, the Festival is recognized by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations. At the last one films were shown from over 36 different countries. A number of conferences dealing with various aspects of the cinema will be held during the Festival. Among the most important of these will be one organized by the Scottish Film Council and the Educational Film Conference Committee on The Film in Publicity. Prominent people involved in the production and use of films in this field will address the Conference, which will be held on Thursday, September 1. The Edinburgh Festival has always recognized the importance of films produced specially for children by arranging programs drawn from international sources, and by lectures and discussions. This year, during the week September 5-10, there will be a whole series of performances of children’s films, with meetings, discussions and an International Conference on The Children’s Cinema, which will be addressed by many prominent people connected with the movement throughout the world. As in former years there will be a number of lectures by notable film personalities. These will include the Second Annual British Film Academy Celebrity Lecture. Directors, actors and actresses will be present at the Gala Premieres, and as often as possible at other performances the makers of the films will introduce their own productions. Informal open discussion meetings are held at the Festival Club in Film House. This Filmmakers Forum provides an opportunity to talk over production details with people actually connected with the making of several of the films included in the day’s program. The Festival Club Bar at Film House is now a_ world-famous meeting place for directors, producers, writers, film society leaders and users of the film in every field. The many informal gatherings held here, and elsewhere, are one of the most stimulating features of the Festival.