Canadian Film Weekly (Feb 22, 1956)

February 22, 1956 REVIEW HELEN OF TROY (From The Film Daily, NY) with Rossana Podesta, Jack Sernas, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, \ (CinemaScope-WarnerColor) Warner Bros. 118 Mins. VISUALLY SPECTACULAR VERSION OF THE TROJAN WAR. EPIC BATTLE SCENES, THOUSANDS OF EXTRAS. IF PAST PUBLIC TASTE IS ANY INDICATION, SHOULD BE BIG AT THE BOXOFFICE. And still another one. The big, historical epics keep unfolding across the CinemaScope screen. ~ This one, from a visual point of ' view, is among the most spectacular. The Greek army which marches across the Trojan plain is mammoth, and as Andromache puts it, as she watches the Greek ships sailing into reclaim Helen, “There must be at least a thousand.” Since the moviegoing public appears to have found this sort of saga its dish in the past, chances are Helen of Troy will be very big at the boxoffice. For sheer magnitude, it’s got most of them. beat. Some of the major credit must go to photographer Harry Stradling. His shots of armies in action are highly impressive and the European countryside which backs most of the film has a breathtaking quality as caught by his cameras. CinemaScope is ideal for the subject and the WarnerColor is generally very good. Director Robert Wise has handled the battle scenes and individual duels, particularly the one between Achilles and. Hector, very well. The screen rings with action, the only trouble being that it’s all on such a spectacular level that the effects tend to cancel one another out. If he is less successful with the intimate scenes, the blame belongs in part to scripters John Twist and Hugh Gray, who have created no characters to match the magnificence of the surroundings and who, by altering perfectly good history, have eliminated a good deal of the excitement inherent in the tale of the Trojan Wars. CAST: Rossana Podesta, Jack Sernas, Sir Cedrick Hardwicke, Stanley Baker, Niall MacGinnis, Nora Swinburne, Robert Douglas, Torin Thatcher, Harry Andrews. CREDITS: Director, Robert Wise; Screenplay, John Twist and Hugh Gray; Adaptation, Hugh Gray and N. Richard Nash; Photography, Harry Stradling. Warners To Release "John Paul Jones’ Warner Bros. has completed arrangements for the presentation of John Paul Jones as the first production. of Admiralty Pictures Corporation, newlyformed company of which Samuel Bronson is president. John Paul Jones will be based on Clements Ripley’s book, Clear For Action. Jesse L. Lasky, Jr., is writing the screenplay, CANADIAN FILM WEEKLY News Notes "RICHARD III' UK BEST-FILM CHOICE Sir Laurence Olivier and the film, Richard III, which he produced, directed and starred in, won three of the 1955 awards, it was announced in London last week by the British Film Academy. It is being distributed in Canada by IFD and opens at the International Cinema, Toronto on March 1. The film, adapted from Shakespeare, was voted the best from any source, as well as the best British film. Sir Laurence’s performance in the title role was declared the best by a British actor. The National Film Board’s cartoon, Blinkity Blank, produced by Norman MacLaren, won an award for Canada, being chosen the best animated film. Katie Johnson was voted the best actress for her role in JARO’s The Ladykillers, the film which got the award as the best screenplay. Three other awards will go to the United States after they are presented in London on March 1. Ernest Borgnine, star of Marty, won the prize for the “best performance by a foreign actor.” Betsy Blair’s performance in the same film was voted the best performance by a foreign actress, The Vanishing Prairie, from the Walt Disney Studios, was named the best documentary. The Academy’s award for the best film illustrating the principles of the United Nations Charter went to Children of Hiroshima, a Japanese film. NIGHT SHOPPING FAVORED More than two-thirds of the Canadian people favor night shopping, it was shown in the latest Gallup Poll, which was taken by the Canadian Institute of Public Opinion. Two out of three polled said they would approve provided it didn’t mean longer working hours for employees. The percentage in favor of being open one or two evenings a week was 59 and that for those opposed 27. The Poll noted with surprise that 68 per cent of the farming population favored night shopping, whereas the same was true of only 53 per cent of those who lived in large cities. The Maritimes, with 79 per cent for, led the voting, the other percentages being 62 for Quebec, 59 for Ontario and 50 for the Prairies and BC, Among the reasons for opposition were that it did not increase sales volume, that it was a return to an old practice and that people would spend money they couldn’t afford. GANANOQUE'S DELANEYS HONORED A special program in the theatre which they built was used ‘by residents of Gananoque, Ontario to honor Mrs. Eva Delaney and her family on their completion of 45 years in show business. Mayor James G. Lawson reminisced about the early days of motion pictures and spoke of the coming of the Delaneys to Gananoque and their purchase of the McKenzie Opera House in 1910, from which grew the modern Delaney Theatre. Mrs. Delaney, who has been seriously ill for the last two years, was able to attend and played a number of selections on the organ. Also present were her daughter, Mrs. Ada Blair, and her six sons, Harry, Dan, Fred, Bill, George and James. The lastnamed, now an alderman in Brockville and tormerly a manager of the theatre, also spoke on the program, FINED FOR SUNDAY SHOW Presentation of a live show by the Paragon Theatre, operated by Paragon Theatres Limited and Hugh C. Vassos in Melville, Saskatchewan, brought a fine of $50 for violation of The Lord’s Day Act. The defense counsel, I. Grotsky, contended that the majority of people in the province favored localized observance and pointed out that there is Sunday baseball, skating, curling and golf in Melville, The charge was based on a stage show, Top Bananas, and a second, growing out of a presentation of The Mikado, will be fought. Vassos was also fined on two charges of permitting his employees to carry out a Sunday performance in a place other than a church. Penalty for a second conviction for the same offence is $100 minimum and $500 maximum. The Paragon, a new theatre, has loveseats and single seats in three color-sections that indicate different-priced locations for stage shows, It has smoking lounges, a crying room, a party room and a mural drawn from different scenes in great movies. These are part of the ideas of Vassos, a veteran exhibitor, and the theatre has attracted the interest of others in the field in both ‘Canada and the USA. Page 7 OUR BUSINESS (Continued from Page 3) overcome by negotiation. If a realistic plan were evolved to play off areas by saturation bookings, consultations with the various provinces might make this possible. Many theatres could thereby be helped—which in turn could mean greater returns for the distributors. Another problem is the lengthy clearances in some of the larger cities and the bottlenecks created by certain theatres. Our business demands shorter clearances today. This is what is happening in the United States and TV competition will force it here. We must speed up the availability of our entertainment to the public. We cannot hope at this time to emulate the instantaneous showing achieved by TV but we can do a great deal to make our shows available sooner. [ee | Shooting Under Way On ‘Not For Money’ Production is under way in England on Not for Money, a topical comedy starring Bob Hope and Katharine Hepburn, which will be released by MGM. Betty Box is the producer and Ralph Thomas is directing. The supporting cast of English players includes James Robertson Justice, David Kossoff and Robert Helpmann. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE Prepare Your Projectors For Magoptical or Magnetic Prints Order Now All Your Fox Hole Sprockets & Nylon Pad Rollers PERKINS ELECTRIC COMPANY LIMITED Montreal Toronto Vancouver Moncton Headquarters for Magnetic Single Track Equipments, as recommended by 20th Century-Fox