Canadian Film Weekly (Feb 15, 1956)

CANADIAN FILM WEEKLY February 15, 1956 Vol, 21, No. 7 HYE BOSSIN, Editor February 15, 1956 Assistant Editor Ben Halter Office Manager ~~ Esther Silver CANADIAN FILM WEEKLY 175 Bloor St. East, Toronto 5, Canada Authorized as Second Class Mail, Post Office Department, Ottawa Published by Film Publications of Canada, Limited 175 Bloor St. East, Toronto 5, Ontario, Canada — Phone WAInut 4-3707 Price $3.00 per year. IMMIGRATION (Continued from Page 1) swing has already started. Meanwhile a leading Canadian businessman predicted that our population would rise from the present 16,000,000 to 25,000,000 within 25 years. The 1955 total of immigrants was the lowest since 1950, when it had dropped to 73,000. In 1951 there were 194,000 newcomers, falling off to 164,000 in 1952 and 168,000 in 1953. Since 1945 over 1,200,000 new arrivals had been registered. J. R. White, president of Imperial Oil Limited, predicted in an address to the Halifax Board of Trade that by 1980 Canada’s population would reach 25,000,000, an increase of 60 per cent, since production in Canada was the equivalent of a country of 100,000,000 people. He pointed out that in terms of world production Canada ranks six times greater than her population of 16,000,000. A government plan to spur immigration is now in force and it consists of two-year loans to workers to enable them to take their families and dependents with them when they come here or send for them later. Laval Fortier, Canadian undersecretary for immigration and citizenship, said that of such previous loan arrangements over 93 per cent had been repaid by immigrants taking advantage of the scheme. However, out of 200,000 possible eligibles for these help funds in 1955 only 44 had applied, he stated. Immigration department spokesmen said that an improvement in the economic conditions in Europe, plus reports that a recession was under way in Canada last spring, had caused the greater part of the drop in figures in 1955. They now feel that the effects of the bad publicity is wearing off and that this partially accounts for the rising figures of the last month. They are optimistic that the increase will continue. Paul Douglas In ‘Leather Saint’ Paramount has signed Paul Douglas to star with John Derek in The Leather Saint, which will be filmed in VistaVision. Lucky Moviegoers (Continued from Page 1) on how to go about it is in the hands of provincial and regional exhibitors’ associations and is available to anyone, regardless of whether or not he is a member. The voting will take place in zones, since some pictures have as yet only played a few regions, and there will be no national prize. In Toronto, where committee co-chairmen Mort Margolius of Famous Players and Jim Hardiman of Odeon have done a tremendous job, more than 90 of the city’s 125-or-so theatres have already joined the contest, which will be sponsored by The Telegram, an evening newspaper. The Winnipeg Tribune, which has run a similar contest every year in a tieup with Famous Players, will sponsor this one and newspaper sponsorships are being arranged in all large cities. Ballots will be made available to all theatres following the announcement by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on February 18 of the players who have won nominations. The public will be able to vote by picking up these ballots in designated places arranged for that purpose, as well as using the ballot that the sponsoring papers will carry. Trailers are available from Associated Screen News and arrangements should be made now. Ballot boxes will be sent to each theatre for depositing the ballots. Tabulation will follow the official winners on March 21 and special ceremonies will be arranged for the presentation of the prizes to contest winners. Interest by both exhibitors and public is developing at a tremendous pace and it is now apparent that no move in the history of the Canadian motion picture industry has ever matched this one for ability to direct interest toward motion pictures. Bryna Buys ‘Contagious Game’ Kirk Douglas’ Byrna Produc tions has acquired Samuel Graft on’s A Most Contagious Game. 1955 BUILDING CONTRACTS DOWN Value and number of theatre construction and alteration contracts let in Canada in 1955 dropped substantially compared with 1954, according to the Annual Review Number of Maclean’s Building Reporter. In 1955 33 contracts, with a total value of $2,221,800, were awarded, as against 64 and $3,069,400 the year before. Breakdown of the 1955 figures provincially showed that Ontario had 16 awards worth $645,000, Alberta seven for $551,500, Quebec four for $397,400, the Maritimes three for $442,000, British Columbia one for $154,900, Manitoba two for $31,000 and Saskatchewan none. Only one of the Ontario awards was in Toronto and it was valued at $20,000. None were let in Montreal. During last December six contracts were given and these were worth $599,000. Five for $203,000 were in Ontario and one for $396,000 was in New Brunswick. ONTARIO INCORPORATIONS Three companies—one each in production, distribution and exhibition—received Letters Patent of Incorporation in Ontario since the first of the year. Manitonna Pictures Corporation, Gananoque, was formed by Melburn Ernest Turner, motion picture producer, Village of Rockford, and three Gananoque men; Albert Gerald Woodley, merchant; Gerald Albert Scott, publisher; and John Edward Cliff, solicitor. It has an authorized capital divided into 2,000 cumulative redeemable preference shares with a par value of $100 each and 20,000 common shares without value. Turner’s most recent production is The Little Canadian, now being distributed by Astral Films. Canada Israel Film Distribution Company Limited, Toronto, was formed by Evelyn Pearl Allen, secretary, and Alex Minden, student-at-law, to carry on the general business of a distributor of motion picture films. It has an authorized capital of $40,000 divided into 3,600 preference shares with a par value of $10 each and 4,000 common shares with a par value of $1 each. Solicitor is Edwin John Pivnick. Kent Theatres (Hamilton) Limited, was formed by Arthur Kent Craig and Mildred Eleanor Craig, Burlington, and Clifford Archibald Perry, bank manager, Hamilton, as a private company “To carry on the general business of theatrical agents, theatre proprietors, builders, operators and managers.” It has an authorized capital of 300 non-voting non-cumulative redeemable preference shares with a par value of $100 each and 10,000 common shares without par value. Craig, recently resigned as manager for United Amusements, Hamilton, a Famous Players affiliate, to assume operation of the McKean houses, Delta, Empire and Queen’s. ROBABLY no other business in the world plays the tune so much by ear and so little by actual cost or facts as the motion picture theatre. Since the inflation of the last decade it seems safe to say that admission prices in the majority of theatres operating in this country are, to say the least, unrealistic. This ™ is not the first time this opinion has been voiced; and since the last time many have raised prices. In key run and sub key towns there has been a general admission price increase somewhat in keeping with and bearing some relation to the economic facts. It is interesting to note in this connection that a great deal of this increase has been due to the insistence on the part of certain distributors that their outstanding attractions be not undersold. For a while we witnessed a see-saw of prices until the public started to complain—more from the uncertainty occasioned by this policy than a resistance to the higher tariffs. In more important situations this phase has been passed and, while admission prices still compare unfavorably with those of a decade ago in the light of current prices and _ overhead, there has been, nevertheless, a marked increase. It is, however, the small-town exhibitor—the one who is presently encountering the greatest difficulty in surviving—who has been the most unrealistic in the appraisal of his own situation. I met one such exhibitor a little while ago. He told me that even with the installation of a wide screen and CinemaScope he continued to charge the same 35cent admission he had_ been charging for the last 10 or 15 years. I told him that I could understand his reluctance to raise prices on the theory that each increase has a tendency to decrease attendance and that. while we were in a market where attendance is presently on the decline his own prices were geared to maximum attendances which could no longer be expected. The public has come to expect increases in all other goods and services and there is no reason to feel that motion picture theatres should not increase their admissions on a similar basis. The exhibitor should examine the relative costs of shoeshines, haircuts, bowling and other goods and services in relation to those of 10 years ago and chart his price scale accordingly.