Canadian Film Weekly (Jan 27, 1960)

January 27, 1960 Page 4 ; CANADIAN FILM WEEKLY GLOBAL SURVEY (Continued from Page 1) organized by the International Centre of Films for Children and offered in Brussels last Fall. It is of special interest in Canada, where the Canadian Film Institute is leading in the organization of a Canadian Centre of Films for Children. In the introduction Mary Field of Great Britain, who will attend Canadian organization meetings this year as International president, explained that six experts, each from a different country, were nominated by UNESCO to view and assess all the programs. In her own report she observed that ‘‘Certainly a film must be made before it can be shown, although there is a saying among film people that ‘any fool can make a film, but it takes a clever man to get it shown.’ ”’ The length of a children’s film is gradually being fixed at an hour, she said. Miss Field proposed an_international conference of exhibitors, commercial and otherwise. ‘‘There is a world market for children’s films and tremendous goodwill goes into their production and distribution. But before it is too late the many problems involved must be given clearer thought by all who are interested in the influence , of films for children.” Andre Basdevant of France drew the conclusion from this very extensive presentation “‘that there is no standard type of performance for children.’ Adam Kulik of Poland said that in some countries cinema proprietors are guided by commercial considerations in choosing programs and in others data from educators is a factor. Mrs. Elsa Brita Marcussen of Norway wrote: “One could feel the gratitude of the young Belgian audience whenever the children were given a chance to laugh. Many of the programs did not seem to offer the kind of simple fun children crave for.’’ She suggested something like children’s juries to judge the worth of a film. ‘‘Some of the greatest film artists of our time’”’ should see the special films at the same time as the children. “Such people should have a personal and direct experience of the enormous responsibility, the great challenge, and the immense joy to be found in the making of good _ entertainment films for the young generation!” Odeon Movie Clubs for children have declined from 39 about 10 years ago to 19 now and in most cases the special morning show is now combined with the regular Saturday matinee, which starts earlier. The sing-song and some of the stage work has been cut down, Children’s Film Foundation product from the UK is still booked, says Bob Gardner, director. Canada’s Children’s Film Library is now inactive, although the former officials still look at films to help prepare the lists for printing jn Friday’s papers. THE BBG 55% Canadian content ruling for TV made it tougher for Telemeter to plan live programming. The freeTV stations have made passes at local legit houses and sports setups, who now have a let’s-wait-and-see attitude... So go know what happened to Paul Nathanson’s announced 50% buy into Columbia of Canada. Not one word has been said publicly about it after all these months . . . Harry Horner, who directed a batch of C-C’s RCMP TV series, will do one of CBC-TV’s The Unforseen ... It's a crazy story, I know, but I heard a rumor about a teener who trained a slide camera on a local screen and now has fun showing scenes from a blockbuster to his friends .. . One thing I’m sure wasn’t fixed—our recent weather. I understand someone tried to give the country back to the Indians but they were all in Florida spending their Treaty Money . . . I have a $1.50 107-page pocket-sized digest of the Gordon Report, Canada 1980, made by Albert E. Shea. It’s as readable a study of economic prospects as you'll ever encounter, although it only makes a passing reference to the entertainment arts in The Service Categories . . . More Telemeter notes: Gen. Fitzpatrick of Madison Square Garden looked the shop over. Larry Henderson and Rick Campbell haye been picked for news commentaries. 7f SID SNIDERMAN is now sales manager for Astral’s 16 m.. department. He served AA in that capacity until it transferred its small-gauge product to 20th-Fox for distribution, along with that of IFD . . . George Jessel, narrating Holiday in Brussels, says: ‘Romeo and Juliet met on a balcony. They had to—it was the only place they could smoke” . . . New subscriber: Centralnaja Biblioteka, Vneshtorga, Smolenskaya pl. 32, Moscow 200, USSR .. . It’s always being implied that movies, unlike the legit theatre, misrepresent things in advertising. Yet I observe that touring companies or a local one advertise that their play ran a year or two on Broadway. They don’t tell you that this isn’t the same company and that it didn’t have the same director. There’s too much holierthan-thou attitudes by legiters ... I’m so dying for some Gilbert & Sullivan that I'll even take it the way T. Ernie serves it up on TV . ... Grapevintage has one important company giving up its distribution to a larger company, along the lines of a similar arrangement in the USA recently . . . Wonders of Ontario, 30-minute Columbia short in the making of which O, J. Silverthorne co-operated for the Province, will be the biggest tourism boost in years. It’ll go into Radio City Music Hall, NY, and 150 theatre prints will be used. ALMOST everyone is off the payroll at Trans-Video where none of the grand production plans seem to have gotten under way as scheduled, and people are wondering what next. Grapevintage has it that the girl to play the lead for its projected series, National Velvet, was chosen in NY and that the pilot, made by Robert Maxwell in Hollywood, was financed by Rexall. Joe Dunkelman, who ran the company until his resignation a while back, has been in Britain and is said to have some projects . . . Pepsi-Cola’s Syd Koffman, transferred to Montreal, will be given a party by trade pals at the Variety Club on Feb. 8. Call Harry Sullivan at Theatre Confections if you'd like to make the scene . . . Local distributor called the theatre where a picture of his was playing and asked how business was. The cashier, there only a week, was unacquainted with such proceedings and answered that it was (atte he you ask me, what we need in here is a new picture” The Miracle Worker, a Broadway hit, has revived interest i Helen Keller, now 80. The 1919 movie, Deliverance was b d on her life. Blind and deaf, she was asked at a lecture (thro at ner ingens pam ae “Do you close your ayes when you sleep?” e answered qui 6 awake to eae sustlye: SE never siayed Columbia's *Sappho' Kerwin Mathews will star in Columbia’s Sappho. Fox’ Sons and Lovers, Fox' "Sons And Lovers' Trevor Howard will star in 20th FIRE DAMAGE (Continued from Page 1) fire-free years since the end of the war. As is usual, there have been several minor blazes in the under-$1,000 category but in no case reported have any fatalities or injuries to a patron occurred, continuing Canada’s unblemished safety record for the 28th consecutive year. Official figures for theatre fires, which come from the Dominion Fire Commissioner’s office in Ottawa, are usually issued from 10 to 11 months after the end of the year. However, the statistics for 1958 have not been released yet. Of the three theatres burned out last year two were in Alberta and one in Quebec. The Alberta houses destroyed were John Lopatka’s six-day, 256-seat Midway in Rosedale and Mike Milo’s four-to-sixday, 275-seat Star in East Coulee. ‘Both fires occurred in May and both theatres were the only ones in their communities. The Quebec theatre, which was gutted in December, was John Trudeau, Jr.’s 300-seat, seven-day Quyon, the only one in the town of that name. Plans have been announced for its rebuilding. The theatre that suffered the $100,000 blaze last June and was forced to close for six weeks for repairs was Odeon’s 2,000-seatPalace in Hamilton. The fire was believed to have been set to cover theft and conversion of money and tickets. Also in June, a blaze in Aubrey Lent’s Gem Theatre in Toronto caused $12,000 damage to the stage and screen. The 657-seat, six-day house has been closed since and is now up for sale. Paramount's ‘G.I. Blues’ Norman Taurog will direct Paramount’s G.I. Blues. WPG. PIONEERS (Continued from Page 1) of the Winnipeg branch is Robert D. Hurwitz and Dave Wolk is secretary. The eighth annual bonspiel will be held at the Maple Leaf Curling Rink on Monday, Feb. 29 and will be called the Leap Year Bonspiel. Chairman is A. Smith of Western Theatres and head of the prizes committee is Harry Hurwitz of Odeon Morton Theatres. The curling and luncheon fees together are $3.50 and those who wish only to join the curlers at the luncheon will be charged $1.50. The dance is the 15th annual one and will be held in the New Marlborough Hotel’s Skyview Ballroom on Thursday, March 10. This enjoyable event, always a big success, will be held cabaret style. The annual preview show for the Trust Fund will be at the Capitol on Sunday midnight, May 22. Winnipeg has one of the most active branches in the Pioneers — organization and won the national service award. All its events raise money for the Trust Fund.