Canadian Film Weekly (Feb 22, 1956)

Page 6 CANADIAN FILM WEEKLY By February 22, 1956 _ NEW TECHNIQUES (Continued from Page 1) ment Dealers Association, which had been organized a year earlier in order to provide affiliation with the MPICC. His remarks, which were followed by a questions-and-answers period, follow: “When drastic changes in technical development take place, it is very difficult to know where to stop or at what point standdardization should take place. Just suppose, for example, that the industry had decided to freeze development with synchronized two-projector 3-D. A year ago confusion did exist but we are happy to report that since then the industry has pretty well frozen itself on CinemaScope, WarnerScope and 1-1.85 ratio VistaVision as far as the recent projection developments for the regular theatre are concerned and so there is now a broad form of standardization, With standardization the manufacturers as well as the equipment dealers have developed accessories and methods to make it possible for a theatre to switch over to any of the existing systems within a matter of seconds with a minimum of confusion. “The theatre equipment dealers have used all the tools and knowledge placed at their disposal from various sources and have from time to time compared notes on the technical difficulties and how to best overcome them. As a result we are in close agreement on the general technique. This we hope will reduce the possibility of the exhibitor receiving contradictory advice in solving his technical problems. “Tt is regrettable to note that some of the exhibitors have not taken full advantage of the new technique, nor have they corrected some of the early mistakes made in adopting them. For instance, there are some that prepared for wide screen but not for CinemaScope and now are projecting a so-called CinemaScope picture that is not at all what the producer meant it to be. These exhibitors instead of benefitting from the new developments are actually worse off and are bound to be losing out. Of course, there are very narrow theatres where they just cannot make the screen wide enough. This is most unfortunate and there seems to be no solution other than major structural changes. There are _ exhibitors who have adopted the new developments in screens and lenses and product but are still using shaky or worn-out projectors and they too are losing the benefits of the new technique. There is still some very old or inferior sound equipment in use giving reproduction very poor in con HOLDER of the first motion picture operator’s licence in Ottawa and the first to take photographs from an aeroplane, Arthur Bateman, 62, died recently in a hospital there after a lengthy illness. He served as a photographer in various government departments before going into business for himself in 1945. APPEAL for funds for his favorite charity, the National Playing Fields Association, is the subject of a five-minute film recently made by the Duke of Edinburgh with Bob Hope as his costar. Previously the Duke had appeared in one-minute trailers in aid of the Association. WINNER of over $4,000 in prizes, including a 1956 automobile, in the recent six-theatre Foto-Nite awards in Ottawa was Lise Pelletier, 17. At first believed ineligible, Miss Pelletier was declared the winner when a checkup showed that her card had been filed wrong. DECISION to allow a carnival in connection with the annual celebration of the Ward Eight Central Executive Council by the Toronto parks board was overruled by the Board of Control on the grounds that it would not be fair to allow one and ban all others. The city ruled that starting in 1956 there would be no permits granted for carnivals in city parks, FOLLOWING the successful pattern set by The Glenn Miller Story, Empire-Universal held a special Sunday night press screening of The Benny Goodman Story at the Uptown Theatre, Toronto. More than 1,200 persons, many of them from press, radio and TV, were in attendance and most were outspoken in their comment on the fine qualities of the film. This, plus the special approach playing up Steve Allen’s TV popularity, plus the day-and-date booking into the Loew’s and Uptown — the first time time these two theatres have been used for such a hookup—seems to make it a certainty that the film will match its fine USA grosses in Canada. RESIGNATION of Nicholas Monsarrat as director for Canada of the United Kingdom Information Service on April 23 has been announced, Donald Kerr, head of the Toronto office, has been promoted to the British novelist’s position. The UK Information Service also distributes British 16 mm. films. MEXICAN Film Producers Association has set up a special film commission to study the matter of printing all foreign films in the country. Estimates are that this would mean about $1,200,000 annually and the plan would benefit studio and technical laboratory workers most. CONVENTION of 78 representatives of Loew’s International, which is responsible for distribution of MGM product to 40,000 theatres in 60 countries, was held recently in the Hollywood studios of MGM. It is the first such meeting ever held in Hollywood, according to the company. AMONG the Canadian winners of the Victoria Cross who will be part of the 400 invited to London next June for the 100th anniversary of the award is Honorary Air Marshall W. A. Bishop, CB, DSO, MC, DFC. A motion picture. about his life is now in preparation. trast to the new look in pictures. We regret to say that some of this equipment is so old that parts are no longer available to bring it up even to its original standard of reproduction and in addition a breakdown under these conditions could be disastrous. “The theatre equipment dealers or the Technical Advisory Committee are prepared to offer their advice to any exhibitor who feels that he is not getting the best out of his film presentations. “The great majority of the exexhibitors have been most progressive in taking part in the new projection look and many have installed full Magnetic Stereophonic Sound. It is a wellknown fact that with pictures presented with Magnetic Stereophonic Sound, and with full use made of the surround or fourth track the public obtains more entertainment impact from the film, “We have been watching with keen interest the new developments in the Todd-AO process and other new wide-film media which have been receiving a great deal of publicity lately in the trade papers. There has been some concern that they would further add to the exhibitors’ confusion. We of the Technical Advisory Committee are in agreement in that these processes will have little effect on the future equipment requirements of the average theatre, since they require very large auditoriums and special installations somewhat similar to those necessary for Cinerama. “Fortunately these new systems are compatible in that 35 mm. versions will be available for the regular theatres and in this way they should eventually reap benefits without having to install further equipment.” News Clips Fines of $100 and costs each were assessed against two men for showing obscene films in the basement of a home in Ville St. Pierre, Quebec . . . Sale of Buffalo’s last legitimate theatre, the Erlanger, has been consummated and the house will be demolished . .. Thirteen speakers attacked toll-Ty at a recent public hearing of the New York City Council’s Rules Committee and called on the Federal Communications Commission in a resolution “to protect the public against any threat to free television viewing” ... Tourist cars entering Ontario Pines: during 1955 totalled 1,549,942, a— new record and 57,564 higher than 1954. Assets of Four Star Productions, Inc. has been acquired in a transaction valued at an estimated $10,000,000 by Official Films, Inc, which gets rights to the Somerset Maugham stories and to 192 TV films, of which 129 are Four Star Playhouse programs. Among the owners of Four Star were Dick Powell, David Niven, Charles Boyer and Ida Lupino . . . Robert Christie of the Odeon, Aurora, Ontario, succeeds Scott Miller as manager of the Odeon in Kingston, Ontario . . . Refurbishing, including a new wide screen, has been completed at the West End Theatre in Toronto, CBLT-TV, Toronto outlet of the CBC, will be changed over to Channel 6 from 9 and the strength increased to maximum power by next fall without any interruption in service , . . Warner Bros. is offering its TV films to exhibitors in the United Kingdom as featurettes which can be hooked up with a WB feature, If the theatre owners decline to buy the films they will probably be sold to British TV . .. Many exhibitors in England believe that the antiquated films shown on TV are giving viewers a false impression of the standards of the modern film industry. United Nations Flags As Candy Premiums United Nations flags measuring 2”” x 3” and in full color are being distributed by Theatre Confections Limited to exhibitors to assist in the promotion of popcorn and soft drink sales. The silk flags cost one-half cent each in lots of 1,000 and each lot will have an assortment from 38 member countries. Additional costs will be borne by Theatre Confections. It is expected that the flags will help further interest in the UN, as children are sure to start collecting them.