Canadian Film Weekly (Apr 24, 1957)

Page 8 CANADIAN FILM WEEKLY April 24, 1957 WEEKEND PAPERS (Continued from Page 1) Mail, to be sold on Saturdays, makes its debut. The conclusion of film men at the moment, however, is that the major beneficiary of the greater need for entertainment material is television. The papers are gathering heaps of movie material but so far they haven't used much of it but the editors, still wrestling with the new formats, are expected to arrive at what they’re looking for soon. When they do, some of them have said, they’ll provide the same boost for motion pictures as they have for TV. So far only one chain has provided any additional advertising for the weekend papers. : Most film men are agreed that the coming of the weekend papers will eventually prove of great benefit to the industry. One stated that previously the dailies did not have the space to devote to movie news in spite of the proven readership interest but felt that with the amount of material now required this would no longer be a problem. He pointed out that the papers were not only seeking news about current films in theatres and ones due to open within a week or two but were asking for advance information and publicity about films being planned and starting production. He believed that if this policy were sustained it could not help but create more interest in moviegoing, just as fan magazines do. Another mentioned that in his opinion serialization of coming films was another means of awakening interest and he stated that he had had several discussions with one of the papers which was toying with the idea. He was sure that if one adopted the idea, in time, the other two would follow suit. In general, the belief among trade folk is that the papers, as far as they have been able up to now, have been most co-operative and that, eventually, they will be of tremendous help. One dissident opinion was that, comparing the amount of advertising from TV and legitimate theatres to the amount of space devoted to them, movies were not getting a fair shake. However, he hoped that the extra advertising, which is now on a sevendays-a-week basis instead of the former six times weekly, would cause the papers to adopt a more liberal policy. Dana Andrews Set For "Zero Hour" Dana Andrews has been signed by Bartlett-Champion Pictures for the top starring role in Zero Hour. This marks the first star casting in the first picture to be made by the newly-formed production company in partnership with Paramount Pictures. Zero Hour is from a story by Canadian-born Arthur Hailey, with the screenplay by Hall Bartlett, John Champion and Hailey. Present Toronto Variety Club's Heart Award Reuben W. Bolstad (centre), vice-president of Famous Players, is shown being presented with the onyx-and-gold plaque emblematic of the annual Heart Award of Tent 28, Toronto of Variety Clubs International by James Nairn, director of advertising, publicity and exploitation for Famous Players, who won the Award in 1956. Looking on from the left is N. A. Taylor, Chief Barker of Tent 28. ON THE SQUARE (Continued from Page 5) — without a single word about the Stratford Festival. Or perhaps I missed it . . . Stan Helleur gave the National Film Board a bad time in a recent Sunday Telegram piece headed “Intrigue Rife at NFB.” His concluding sentence: “For it’s a mess, a real mess”... Lou Mackenzie is in St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, and would like to hear from friends . . . It’s a boy at the Jackson Samuels. He’s the busy newsreeler. And the Wannie Tyers’ new son has three sisters to help mummy take care of him . . . Bert Pearl, the one-time Happy Ganger who owns the show, and Bob Farnon, a HG grad now a leading English composer, stopped off in New Orleans while I was there. Bert has his visa and will live in Hollywood, where the boys were headed. One day, while on the road headed for New Orleans, the Bobby Gimby-Johnny Wayne hit, Cricket, was followed on the radio by Farnon’s Woodland Parade. Music by Canadians is getting around... Local drive-ins now sell Pizza. I can’t wait for them to offer spaghetti, so that I can observe its eaters trying to watch the screen at the same time .. . Condolences to Art Chetwynd, producers’ association president, whose father died in Victoria . . . There are some season baseball parking tickets left for Molson’s lot and industry folk who want one had better get it in a hurry . .. It’s a third lad at the Ron Leonards. Daddy is the Odeon ad-pub chief. NAC CONVENTION NOVEMBER 20-23 Annual convention of the National Association of Concessionaires, formerly the Popcorn and Concessions Association, will take place at the Hotel Americana in Miami Beach, Florida from November 20 to 23. It will be held at the same time as the annual Motion Picture Industry Convention and Trade Show, also set for the Hotel Americana, in which the Theatre Owners of America, the Theatre Equipment and Supply Manufacturing Association and the Theatre Equipment Dealers Association will be included. NAC will participate with TOA-TESMA in presenting the ‘“Greatest Concession Trade Show on Earth” as a special section of the convention. Chairman of the Canadian Region of NAC is J. J. Fitzgibbons, Jr. of Theatre Confections Limited, who for several years was on the international executive of NAC. Vice-chairman is Syd Spiegel of SuperPufft Popcorn Limited and secretary-treasurer is T. Moran. As in past years, a number of Canadians are expected to attend. MISSION HOUSES (Continued from Page 1) How is it done? Evangelism for a silver collection at 3 and 7.30 p.m. on Sundays, and at 4.30 for children and 7.30 for adults on weekdays. Sponsor is the Brendel-Roy Evangelistic Team of Seventh Day Adventists, which rents the theatres for ‘‘A series of Evangelistic Meetings.’’ The team, comprised of and described as The Bros. Brendel & Roy, also provides sermons. It is likely that it has arrangements with local Seventh Day Adventist congregations regarding help and profits. At present the team is operating at Odeon Theatres’ Windsor in Hamilton, where they have a 23-day lease with an option for extending their stay. Previously they had taken over Twinex Century Theatres’ Esquire in Brantford for a month. The former has _ seating accommodation for 520 and the latter for 987. In both cases Bros. Brendel & Roy agreed to do their own cleaning and smartening up of the closed houses, as well as to leave them in tip-top condition. The two circuits stated that the team had lived up to the agreement 100 per cent. In the case of the Windsor in Hamilton the Brothers ran teaser ads on the movie page of The Spectator in advance of the opening telling the readers to watch for free movies at the theatre. Then ads advising that ‘“‘The motion picture Martin Luther will be screened in three parts’”’ were run. These also stated the dates and times, as well as the fact that there would be ‘‘No Admission’’ and all would be welcome. ‘‘Movies for school children every afternoon at 4.30” was another feature given prominence in the ads. Martin Luther, evidently only one of the films dealing with religious themes in the repertoire of the Evangelistic Team, had previously been distributed in Canada by International Film Distributors and had played many top houses to good grosses across the country. It ran into trouble in Quebec, where it was banned on religious grounds, but later was given showings privately in a number of churches. There seems to be an increase in the use of dark theatres by religious organizations and groups across the country and this revenue is welcomed by their owners. In some cases houses have been leased for considerable periods strictly for their auditoriums, without the showing of films entering into the deal at all. In one instance, that of the Savoy in London, it is leased on a monthly basis by a USA evangelist, Reverend Marie Mowat, because no church was available to her in the area she desired. No films are being shown by Rev. Mowat and she has intimated that she may eventually be interested in acquiring the 520-seat house outright.