Canadian Film Weekly (Nov 28, 1956)

Page 8 Columbia, NY, In New Quarters Recent move of Columbia Pictures’ home office to its new building at 711 Fifth Avenue, New York is the second change of address in the 36 years the company has been doing business. It was from a single room at 1600 Broadway in 1920 that the Cohn brothers, under the title of the CBC Films Sales Company (Cohn, Brandt & Cohn), sold their very first film, a tworeel comedy entitled They Did it on $8 Per. A year later the company distributed its first feature, Heart of the North, starring Roy Stewart and Louise Lovely. In those days CBC Film Sales operated through states right exchanges but it wasn’t until 1925, a year after the name was changed to Columbia, that the Allens were successful in securing the Canadian franchise of the hustling new outfit, an association that still continues today. By 1924, the year the name was changed to its present one, Harry Cohn had gone to Hollywood to take charge of production and studio operations, the company had left the states rights field to establish franchises in key cities. In that year three people joined the organization who are still Columbians. They are Rube Jackter, assistant general sales manager; Harry Foster, head of Eastern production; and Rose Hand, chief telephone operator. With the feature schedule reaching 16 a year, Columbia in 1926 began to open its own branch offices in key cities. Three years later, before the nationalization plans were completed, the home office became overcrowded. At this point the llth floor of 729 Seventh Avenue was rented and the headquarters moved there. Jack Cohn and 14 others who made that move are still associated with the company. By the summer of 1935, in the midst of the depression, Columbia had air-conditioned all of its three floors, the first motion picture home office so equipped at that time. A year later, a fourth floor had been acquired and almost 400 persons were working in the home office. Twenty years later the staff had just about doubled and another move was in the offing. The building at 711 Fifth Avenue was acquired and a complete renovation and modernization program taking 16 months was undertaken. Today experts claim that it can be matched against any new office structure in New York for equipment and facilities. The decor and color schemes on the nine floors reserved for Columbia and Screen Gems, its subsidiary, are the last word but vary from floor to floor to achieve the utmost in beauty and luxury. Two other floors will be available for renting. CANADIAN FILM WEEKLY } On The | “SQUARE THANKS TO those who wrote us notes about our Year Book . . . Earl Wilson’s observation: “Nowadays a movie short is a film that only runs two hours”... A certain guy everybody knows has discovered how to make instant whiskey. He’s so saturated from his long-time daily dipso into the drink that all he has to do to start the day off drunk is to have a glass of water when he gets up... . In town looking things over: John McMillan of Associated Rediffusion, England . . . Al Easson told me about the country boy who was told several times that he wouldn’t be paid for his hauling job uniil he submitted a statement. At last he did: “Three goes and three come backs at four ' bits per went—$3” . . . Lady asked her hairdresser to have her hair dyed a titian hue. “My husband told me yesterday that I ought to have my head read,” she explained. Read “read” for “red” .. . Don Fevreau, on closing the Ottawa Valley circuit’s drive-in managed by him, stuck this sign on the marquee: “Pretty soon the snow from sky she falls/ You watch’m shows, you freez’um eyeballs!/ Closed for the winter . . ./ See you in the Spring!” COULDN’T GET my sights on the Chrysler Festival, literally and otherwise, since a TV show in a theatre is a hybrid — neither stage nor screen entertainment for those in the house. I heard afterwards from home viewers that the camera work was spoiled by confusion, head and leg cutoffs and not enough closeups. My only impression was that much of the program lacked novelty, with Eartha Kitt repeating her unmoral melodies in her almost comic, quavery voice; Shirley Jones doing the same old Oklahoma! stuff and Edmund Hockeridge singing the soliloquy from Carousel against the same old fisherman’s paraphernalia. Some dancers from the National Ballet cavorted in a way that seemed to puzzle most of the audience, Eileen Grand did her quiet little bit of question asking and Hume Cronyn, as the emcee, displayed a cold geniality. Mind you, it was a stupendous undertaking. Was it a good TV show? I’ll tell you after I ask more people who saw it ... What a great musical could be made of the life of Sir C. B. Cochran, the English producer and sports promoter! The late “C.B.”” — or “Cocky,” as others called him — worked both sides of the Atlantic in the sports and theatrical fields and was probably the greatest showman of all time. There’s a lovely romance, success, bankcruptcy and a great comeback in the story. The English haven’t done well at musicals but here’s one that’s a natural for them . . . Congratulations to the Irving Hermans, Toronto, and the Tom Clearys, Montreal, on fine heir-male deliveries. CONDOLENCES to Dave Brandston of JARO on the passing of his mother . . . Paul Gormley, Ottawa mugg for Variety, left the Department of Agriculture to be assistant general manager and handle public relations for the Canadian Highway Safety Conference . . . Ross McLean, who quit Unesco in Paris and wants to come home, should make a valuable executive for any company. He’s the former National Film Commissioner . . . The man to head the government’s Canada Council is working for them now: A. W. Trueman, chairman of the National Film Board . . . Although Kirk Douglas isn’t shown cutting his ear off in Lust for Life, a 27-yearold male patron of the Towne Cinema fainted when the painter uttered that shriek of pain and had to be lugged out for first aid . . . The mental image of the old-time vaudeville backstage, such as the Uptown, was of ropes, ropes, ropes. Now it’s of cable and more cable. They had eight miles of it for the Chrysler Festival .. . Got a funny feeling as I picked up my Crest Saturday Night tickets for The Three Sisters at 8 p.m. and was swamped by the crowd coming out of the 5.30 matinee. Just like a movie house: one crowd out and the other in. At that, they’re now talking about the movies becoming a two-a-day operation generally in the future. November 28, 1956 News Clips Largest theatre chain in the USA, American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres, Inc., which operates 580 houses, will enter film production despite the Government ban through a_ subsidiary company, Am-Par Pictures Corporation... Winnifred Stokes has been appointed managing editor of the Niagara Falls Review, following the death of James M. Cowan, editor for the last 34 years. W. B. Leslie, son of F. H. Leslie, the publisher, becomes editor of the daily paper as well as manager. Quebec division of the Canadian Picture Pioneers will hold its annual meeting in the Rialto Hall, Montreal on November 27, the day before the annual meeting of the Quebec Allied Theatrical Industries . . . General convention chairman of the 1957 conference of the National Association of Concessionaires, scheduled for the Americana Hotel in Miami on November 17 to 21, will be Van Myers, first v-p of the NAC and concessions head of Wometco Theatres of Miami. New Chief Barker of Tent 5, Detroit of the Variety Clubs is Ben Rosen, manager of Confection Cabinet Corporation . . . Guest speaker at a luncheon meeting of the Saskatoon Kiwanis Club was James Cameron, Lakehead supervisor for Famous Players, who pointed out that a movie theatre is an essential part of the business life of a community... Rowdyism has caused Odeon Theatres to cancel student prices and ban members of two high school clubs at the Odeon and Sapperton theatres in New Westminster, BC. Complete renovation and_ rebuilding is under way on Hyman Bessin’s Glebe Theatre in Ottawa, which is closed for alterations... One of the featured lecturers of the ASN film production course in Montreal was Robert J. Wade, who created the settings and art for many top TV shows in the USA and authored the manual, Designing for TV... Latest in the National Film Board’s Perspective Series for TV is Sable Island, which was produced by Julian Biggs. A policy of vaudeville along with its regular film program is now in effect at Odeon Theatres’ Mercier in Montreal . . . Newly-elected officers and managers of the Rochester Section, which includes Eastern Canada, of the SMPTE are Walter I. Kisner of Eastman Kodak, A. E. Neumer of Wollensak Optical, Richard E. Putnam of General Electric, Rodger J. Ross of the CBC, Jasper N. Chandler of Eastman Kodak, Sheldon Holland of Holland-Wegman and John L. Forrest of Ansco.