Canadian Film Weekly (Jul 10, 1957)

| | } ! | ’ producers, who find July 10, 1957 BiG FILM FIELD (Continued from Page 1) up of exhibitors and distributors connected with theatrical films from the United States, Great Britain and other countries. The other Industry has the firms which are members of the Association of Motion Picture Producers and Laboratories of Canada, most of them operating in the commercial film area. In the Motion Picture Field also are the government film units, federal and provincial, and the audio-visual services. Then there are the Film Societies and the Film Councils. The latter is a powerful movement which is national in scope. Certainly it is the most powerful part of the Canadian non-theatrical area. That area is of immense importance to the National Film Board, which helped cultivate it in the first place, and to private exhibition there for sponsored films. The importance of the nontheatrical section of the Canadian Motion Picture Field is indicated in the survey of it which appeared in the annual report of the National Film Board for the fiscal year 1955-56: “At the end of the year there were close to 500 film councils in Canada. Each represents a number of groups made up of people who come together for various purposes generally related to community improvement. These groups frequently make use of films which they obtain either through the film council to which they belong or from a film library. Public libraries in most large communities now have a film section from which films may be obtained on payment of nominal service charges. There are also film libraries in universities, in regional high schools, in large city school systems, and in provincial departments of education. The Board assists in organizing film circuits to distribute programs of films, the product not only of the NFB, but of other producers as well. Throughout its non-theatrical film distribution program the Board continued its efforts to encourage effective film utilization, promoting the use of films as a means of information and.as a tool for group discussion. “Here are some statistics relating to the system of 16 mm. documentary film distribution in Canada, at March 31, 1956: Pilar councils 55. 496 Palm MDhavies: ks hake... 142 IDEPOIS . gk 297 Cingulise ec Cate meat 493 Points reached by circuits 5,995 Organizations belonging to film:, COURCHE (yi a3. 11,791 “It should be noted that the groups mentioned above have an investment of more than time and energy in the movement. There are, for example, nearly a thous CANADIAN FILM WEEKLY New Members of Famous Players’ 25 Year Club Those inducted into Famous Players 25 Year Club at the recent dinner which followed the head office picnic in Toronto are shown here. The top picture shows J. F. Brownsell, projectionist, (left) and William Collins, manager (right), both of Toronto, flanking R. W. Bolstad, Famous Players’ vice-president. In the centre of the bottom photo Bolstad is shown with Jule Allen, president of Theatre Holding Corporation, an FP affiliate, after the latter had inducted Abe Kaplan and Harry Atkins (right) and Max and Nathan Kaplan (left). The Kaplans and Atkins are pioneer exhibitors in Ontario’s North ond their circuit, which has its office in Kirkland Lake, is connected with Theatre Holding. and community-owned film projectors in Canada. “In spite of television, it is interesting to note that attendance, as indicated by reports, seems to be holding up well. The reported cumulative total attendance during 1955-56 in non-theatrical showings was 14,469,700, compared to 14,143,800 the previous year. “An analysis of the various means of attaining this audience shows that the most important single factor is the film library. Films from libraries across the country recorded a total attendance of 11,730,500. The Board’s basic program reached an attendance reported at 1,633,600. Urban circuit programs reached a total of 107,900 reported attendance, and promotional screenings recorded a further 997,700. Following is a breakdown of the reported 16 mm. non-theatrical audience by groups: Schoolet ete ak 7,374,900 Industrial and Trade Unione soe enews Tourist Miscellaneous “A few years ago the Board’s representatives inaugurated screenings of travel films for visitors to Canada. The films are screened at vacation resorts and other similar locations. They give an idea of parts of Canada not: yet visited and supplement films about Canada which visitors may have seen before leaving the United States. In this connection it is interesting to note that, in a survey during the year, 9.6 per cent of tourists said they had been attracted to Canada by films and television. “Thirty-nine projectors and seventeen generators were on loan to the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources, and to the Department of Transport, for shipment to settlements in the far North. Blocks of films were being provided to 75 settlements, missions and stations, In all, more than 2,500 prints were supplied to isolated points extending to both Atlantic and Pacific coasts and beyond the Magnetic Pole.” Quinn, Wallis Sign Contract Anthony Quinn has been signed to a long-term, mutiple-picture contract by Hal Wallis. ‘The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad’ Kerwin Mathews and Kathryn Grant will star in Columbia’s The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, an Arabian Nights adventure. Page 3 WRITERS BUSY (Continued from Page 1) years. The group includes the top names among writers for motion pictures, stage plays and television. Maxwell Anderson is writing the screenplay for Ben Hur, one of the studio’s most spectacular productions. Other assignments include Millard Kaufman, to write the screenplay for Never So Few, dealing with adventure in the Burma Campaign of World War II; Gore Vidal, author of the current Broadway success, A Visit to a Small Planet, to write the screenplay of Spectacular; I. A. L. Diamond, completing the screenplay of Sol C. Siegel’s Merry Andrew, story with a circus background starring Danny Kaye and Pier Angeli. Also John Patrick, to write the screenplay for Some Came Running, first novel by James Jones since his sensationally successful From Here to Eternity; Alan J. Lerner, who, with Frederick Loewe, wrote the score for Broadway’s My Fair Lady, to write the screenplay of Gigi, to star Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Eva Gabor and Hermione Gingold, with new songs by Lerner and Loewe. The remaining assignments comprise Ernest Lehman, to write the screenplay of Hammond Innes’ best-seller novel, The Wreck of the Mary Deare, to be produced by Alfred Hitchcock; Karl Tunberg, The: Blessing; Dorothy Kingsley, The Boy Friend, based on the Broadway musical success; Norman Krasna, Stay Away Joe; James Poe, to write the screen version of Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; and Rip Van Ronkel, for Bay the Moon. George Wells, Party Girl; Julius Epstein, The Reluctant Debutante; Rod Serling, Company of Cowards; Frank Fenton, The Valiant Strain; Audrey Lindop and Dudley Leslie, I Thank a Fool, starring Inger Stevens; Noel Langley, No Blade of Grass; Richard Berg, The Millionth Men; Norman Lessing, Chez Paree; William Bowers, Imitation General; Morton Fine and David Friedkin, Mock Trial; Oscar Brod ney, an untitled science fiction story; Robert Hill, an untitled melodrama; and George Beck, an untitled romantic comedy. 20th-Fox' 'A Certain Smile’ Bradford Dillman, Broadway stage actor, has been signed for a leading Role in 20th-Fox’ CinemaScope production, A Certain Smile. MGM's ‘Amphibian’ Dan Dailey will star in The Amphibian, to be released for MGM by Ivan Tors Pictures, Inc. The screenplay, by Gene Levitt, is based upon the underwater demolition exploits of Commander Fane. Andrew Marton will direct the picture, which will be filmed in the South Pacific with the co-operation of the US Navy.