Canadian Film Weekly (Nov 23, 1955)

Page 4 WINCKLES HERE (Continued from Page 1) of our aims is to shoot our films on locations with authentic backgrounds,” Winckles said, and added that in this respect Canada was no different than any other Commonwealth country so far as the company’s plans for overseas production were concerned. Many JARO films in the last few years have been made abroad. Winckles accompanied John Davis, managing director of JARO, to the USA and then came alone to Toronto for a brief visit. He said it was a routine trip to keep in contact with the situation here. Davis had also planned to come to Canada but had been delayed in Washington. Winckles stated that distribution of JARO films in the USA was unsatisfactory but at the moment no plans were under way to better that situation. Frank H. Fisher, general manager of J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (Canada) Limited, who was present, pointed out that his organization was servicing ‘more contracts than ever before’ and that it was “comparable to any other Canadian distributor in the number of contracts handled.” Fisher said that 17 top films will be released to Canadian theatres in the next ten months, headed by Doctor at Sea, which is doing business in the UK on a par with the phenomenally-successful Doctor in the House, its forerunner. The latter film wound up about second or third in the all-time top grossers from any source in Great Britain. Doctor at Sea, in Technicolor and VistaVision, stars Dirk Bogarde, Brigitte Bardot and James Robertson Justice and will open for Christmas. Other films on the schedule include. The Woman for Joe, in Technicolor and _ VistaVision, starring George Baker and Diane Cilento; Norman Wisdom’s next, Man of the Moment, co-starring Belinda Lee; Value for Money, in Technicolor and VistaVision, with John Gregson, Susan Stephen and Diana Dors; Touch and Go, in Technicolor and with Jack Hawkins, Margaret Johnston and June Thorburn; A Town Like Alice, with Peter Finch and Virginia McKenna; The Ladykillers, in Technicolor and starring Alec Guinness; Jumping for Joy, starring Frankie Howard and Stanley Holloway. Also Simon and Laura, in Technicolor and_ VistaVision, starring Peter Finch and Kay Kendall; An Alligator Named Daisy, in Technicolor and VistaVision, with Donald _ Sinden, Diana Dors, Jean Carson and James Robertson Justice; All for Mary, in. Eastman Color and starring Kathleen Harrison and Nigel Patrick; Who Done It?, starring Benny Hill and Belinda Lee; Lost, in Eastman Color and with David Knight, David Farrar and Julia Arnall; The Long Arm, with Jack Hawkins; Reach for the Sky, with Kenneth More and Alexander Knox; CANADIAN FILM WEEKLY Boxoffice Statistics In 1954, says the Dominion Bureau of Statistics, Canadian movie exhibition rang up a cash figure of $118,490,819, of which $12,975,256 was for provincial amusement taxes. The non-tax total, $105,515,563, compared with $109,072,528 in 1953, is a drop of $3,556,965. The drive-ins’ share was $6,316,947, which does not include amusement taxes of $721,630. There were 3,471 places of all types where films were shown, with 1,938 being regular theatres, 230 drive-ins, 645 community enterprises and 658 halls. Paid admissions at 237,264,894, numbered 22,081,943 less than in 1953, 12,380,246 being to drive-ins, an increase of 1,245,478 over the previous year. Combining all sources of theatre receipts and admissions, the figures show Canada’s grand totals in 1954, without amusement taxes, as $105,515,563 and 237,264,894 To get the actual total of the amount spent by the public’ for motion picture entertainment in 1954 the amusement tax for that year should be added. The tax figure and the overall total which included it were respectively $12,975,256 and $118,490,819 In the table below ‘only Itinerant Operators, who took in $385,682 in receipts for 1,106,070 admissions in 1954, 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. Year Theatres Receipts Admissions 1930 907 $ 38,479,500 1933 762 24,954,200 So 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 1,500 59,888,972 227,538,798 1947 1,697 63,139,604 221,528,177 1948 1,957 70,315,889 224,055,171 1949 2,220 79,953,539 236,017,859 1950 2,417 86,249,752 240,824,982 1951 2,458 95,833,340 250,547,499 1952 2,522 104,963,599 261,475,867 1953 2,819 108,603,966 257,965,182 1954 2,813 105,129,881 236,158,824 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 Canada’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. Heavy, in Technicolor, starring George Baker and Belinda Lee and based on the novel by the Canadian writer, Sheila McKay; and The Black Tent, in Techni ring Anthony Steel and Donald Sinden. MRS. BROWN, WPG., NFB GOVERNOR Appointment of a new member of the Board of :Governors of the National Film Board, Mrs. Arthur Brown of Winnipeg, and the reappointment of Dr. Leon Lortie of Montreal and H. L. Roper of Halifax for another three-year term was announced last week by the Honorable J. W. Pickersgill, the minister responsible to Parliament. Dr. Lortie is the Director of Extension Services at the University of Montreal and Roper an official of the Brookfield Construction Company. Mrs. Brown will succeed Mrs. A. L. Caldwell of Saskatoon, like herself active in women’s associations, who was appointed five years ago when the National Film Act, 1950 was passed and brought about the present structure of the NFB. Other members of the National Film Board include the Government Film Commissioner, A. W. Trueman, as chairman; UnderSecretary of State Charles Stein; Charles S. Band, Toronto; Jules Leger, Under-Secretary of State for External Affairs; Mitchell W. Sharp, Associate Deputy Minister of Trade and Commerce; and Bruce Hutchison, editor of the Victoria Daily Times. A Lamp Is color and VistaVision and star November 23, 1955 News Clips Lively film language was used in a recent newspaper ad of World Adventure Tours, which offered “The World’s First Wide Screen 16mm Full Color Feature Travel Film” at Massey Hall, Toronto. The word “Filmorama” and the fact that “No Special Glasses Are Required!” were made plain . . . Jim Davie, for 28 years with RKO in Vancouver and until recently its branch manager there, is now in the real estate business .. . Tom McKnight, manager of the Patricia, London, just ran a Yo Yo contest ... There'll be no change in the management of CKLW, Windsor TV station, if Famous Piayers is permitted to purchase control by the CBC board of governors on December 1. J. E. Campeau is president and Harry Sedgwick chairman of the board. Ted M. Abrams is assisting K. V. Cooper, director of public relations and advertising for Associated Screen News Limited. He was until recently director of promotion for Marconi’s radio operation, CFCF, Montreal... Since the wide screen came it is more difficult than ever to find National Film Board shorts in our theatres, Gerald Pratley said over his CBC radio program, The Movie Scene. He made the point that this explanation, given him by some _ exhibitors, was not valid, since they still played newsreels in the old ratio. He blamed lack of interest by bookers and exhibitors. Du Pont of Canada has moved the sales office for its Photo Products section to Toronto from Montreal to be in closer touch with the photographic field as a whole. Sales manager is A. Elsey ... The Globe and Mail, Toronto, devoted an editorial to the passing of the well known stage and screen actor, Tom Powers, who was 65 ... In The Calgary Herald “Bewildered Teen-Agers” ask, in a letter to the editor, why they have to pay adult prices if they are barred from adult movies because they are under 16. They suggest that thi attitude is an aid to juvenile delinquency. Republic Casts Stars In "Dakota Incident’ Linda Darnell and Sterling Hayden have been set by Republic for the star roles in Dakota Incident, which goes before the cameras soon. The top-budget production will have Michael Baird as associate producer with Lewis Foster directing from an original screenplay by Frederick Louis Fox. i a a !