Canadian Film Weekly (Nov 7, 1956)

November 7, 1956 Vol. 21, No. 43 November 7, 1956 HYE BOSSIN, Editor 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 WAlInut 4-3707 Price $3.00 per year. COPLAN COMPANY (Continued from Page 1) I’ve been doing in the United States, England, France and Canada,” said Coplan in an interview. Times Theatre Advertising brings together into one unit all the important elements of screen advertising: the finest theatres in Canada; first-rate film production facilities in Canada, the United States, Britain and France; complex and efficient facilities for scheduling and distributing films; organization of research into the value and effect of the medium as applied to Canadian advertisers; and the most experienced people in Canada to operate the company. Many members of Audio Pictures, Alexander Film Company (Canada) Limited and GSA Films Limited each of which is now represented by Times Theatre Advertising, form the nucleus of this new company. Frank Markey has been associated with screen advertising in both Canada and the USA for 27 years. Ben Ellis, founder of GSA Films, was previously in screen advertising in England. Neil Sneyd was in the advertising business for several years before co-founding Publicity Film Distributors Limited, which was eventually bought by J. Arthur Rank. Sneyd and one of his partners joined Rank as joint general managers of the new screen advertising company. “This combination of companies and talents is the beginning of a new era in Canadian screen advertising,’ says Coplan. “It’s a boon to both theatres and advertisers. Advertisers will receive better service and, through Times’ research department, will gain an increasing knowledge of screen advertising and its effectiveness.” Bochner, Couch Join Astral In Toronto Marty Bochner, formerly of Theatre Posters Limited, has joined Astral Films Limited as head booker at the Toronto office and Harold Couch, who is new to the film business, has been taken on as his assistant. Astral recently acquired for Canadian distribution the product of Associated Releasing in the USA and first films under the deal will be Three Outlaws, Blonde Bait and Frontier Gambler. CANADIAN FILM WEEKLY Uzehlm Press Stake In Show Biz (Continued from Page 1) A. D. Dunton, chairman of the CBC, said there was little objection to newspaper ownership of broadcasting outlets, although the government agency didn’t care for multiple ownership by private interests. Apparently radio and TV are regarded as a natural extension of the business of publishing news—and of entertainment. It happens, of course, that applications for licences from Show Business sources have been very limited. Famous Players is a half-partner in the Kitchener and Quebec City stations and RKO has 30 per cent of the Windsor station. Approval last week of five new TV stations by the CBC Governors included an English-language station in Quebec City, the second for Famous Players and its partner in the provincial capital, and a satellite station in Argentia, Newfoundland, for CJON-TV in St. John’s. Of Canada’s present 37 TV transmitters nine are owned wholly or in partnership by interests with newspaper publishing affiliations. When the CBC-owned eight TV stations are deducted from the 37, it leaves the newspaper publishers with some say in the control of 30 per cent of the 28 private stations. Southam Newspapers, which has a number of daily and weekly papers, also has a substantial interest in CHCT-TV in Calgary, Alberta, where it publishes the Herald, and in CHCH-TV in Hamilton, Ontario, where it issues the Spectator. Roy H. Thomson, who has a chain of newspapers, and Senator W. Rupert Davies, who owns the Kingston, Ontario Whig-Standard and the Peterborough, Ontario Examiner, are partners in CKWS-TV in Kingston and CHEX-TV in Peterborough. The Lethbridge, Alberta Herald owns 50 per cent of that city’s CJLH-TV and Hugh Buchanan is president of both companies. The London, Ontario Free Press Printing Company owns both the London Free Press and station CFPL TV. Clifford Sifton is president of — Transcanada, which owns CKCKTV in Regina, and is head of Sifton newspapers, publishers of the Regina Leader-Post. He also has a minor interest in CHCH-TV in Hamilton. President of CJON-TV in St. John’s, Newfoundland and of its newly-approved satellite station in Argentia is also publisher of the newspaper in St. John’s and the same interests own CHLT-TV and La Tribune in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Some briefs submitted to the Royal Commission had urged that newspaper-broadcasting __relationships be broken up. Another interesting story about combined press-Show Business activity has to do with John G. McConnell of the Montreal Star and Weekend Magazine, who controls the North American Newspaper Alliance. It was said months ago that NANA intends to get into TV production and now it’s heard that the McConnell interests are with Crawley in the present negotiations with the CBC for production of an RCMP series. In "10,000 Bedrooms’ Anna Maria Alberghetti and Dewey Martin have been signed by MGM for roles in Ten Thousand Bedrooms, starring Dean Martin and Eva Bartok. The film is now before the cameras. Famous Players Buys Into Vending Co'y An interest in Carlton Automatic Vendors Limited, Toronto, of which Gurston Allen of Premier Operating is president, has been acquired by Famous Players, with J. J. Fitzgibbons and R. W. Bolstad, respectively president and vice-president of the last-named company, added to Carlton’s board. Famous Players, which has a partnership in Theatre Holding Corporation with the Allens, maintains its own supply company, Theatre Confections Limited. Gurston Rosenfeld is secretarytreasurer and general manager of Carlton Automatic Vendors. from ASN* Christmas New Years Order your holiday trailers In Eastmancolor or black and white In English, in French or bilingual Order now without delay. * ASSOCIATED SCREEN NEWS 2000 Northcliffe Ave., Montreal Page 3 Our Business 4M A Taylor MOTION picture producers seem finally to have become aware of our youthful and teenage patronage and seek increasingly to slant their attractions toward this segment of the public. This is the group which knows most about the new young players and current “heart throbs,” and according to statistics has a great deal of money to spend on entertainment. Extra money is also spent at the confection counters, thereby raising greatly the per patron average for such theatres as they attend. There are presently in release, in production or in the planning stage, a great many films expressly directed to this type of audience. It is sensible and logical to present to the patrons who buy tickets at our boxoffice the type of entertainment they want to see but greatly hypoed production in this direction can start a cycle gg may eventually be harmul. There was a time when moviegoing was a family habit. A common scene at the boxoffice was father buying tickets for mother, several children and himself and institutional ads for motion picture theatres were usually illustrated with such a picture. This is now a sight seldom seen and a habit which seems to be forgotten. It is either no longer considered a treat for dad to take the family to the local theatre or there is not the urge to go. More commonly one _ sees groups of young people or couples of older ones but seldom the family together. Dad does not seem to go very often any more but we know that he and mother and the whole family are missing some really wonderful entertainment — more wonderful than they can get anywhere else. Our job is to convince them of this. Important people in our business in the United States are presently seeking a plan which will bring back to the boxoffices of the country millions of paying guests who in recent years have ceased to attend the movies. Since the “time waster” habit can no longer be credited to motion pictures we must not assume that we can re-establish a motion picture habit in these people. However, if we can bring back millions to occasionally considering a movie when they have time to spare, we shall, indeed, have made a giant step toward insuring that the motion picture theatre is here to stay.