Canadian Film Weekly (Dec 27, 1961)

ee 1 ee CON eee —— Christmas Number George Formby, OBE, 59, one of the UK’s leading movie comedians who toured Canada in 1955 under the auspices of the Variety Club of Ont., dies of a heart attack in Preston, England. Ontario branch of the Canadian Picture Pioneers holds its annual meeting in Toronto and elects the 1961Board of Directors, who later return Frank H. Fisher as president, Dan Krendel as vicepresident and Lionel Lester as secretary-treasurer. The board also acts as the national executive of the CPP. Dept. of Trade & Commerce reports that in 1960 in Canada $3,300,000 was spent on new theatres and equipment and repairs to old ones and their equipment’ but estimates that total outlay for 1961 for these purposes will amount to $1,000,000 less. Odeon Theatres closes its Saint John, NB, office and names Fred Leavens NS supervisor with headquarters in the Casino, Halifax. Bryan Rudston-Brown is named to succeed Hank Heck as Vancouver branch manager for Empire-Universal Films. April Famous Players and Odeon Theatres, in a move to eliminate uneconomic competition, announce the closing and transfer, by mutual agreement, of a number of theatres in locations where both had been represented, thus making closed situations of them. Involved in the first of these deals are four communities, two of these becoming FP operations exclusively and the other two Odeon. Gordon Lightstone, managing director of Affiliated Pictures, is elected to succeed I. H. (Izzy) Allen as president of the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association at the annual meeting in Toronto. Robert E. Myers, general sales manager of Warners, is named vice-president and Clare J. Appel continues as executive director. In Sept., when Lightstone leaves Affiliated, he resigns from the CMPDA and Myers steps up as president. Local 873, Motion Picture Studio Technicians, a Toronto unit of the IATSE, announces that it is actively advocating a quota system for Canada “to promote more film production.” Many in the industry oppose the idea. P. W. Mahon, 83, veteran Westeran Canada showman whose immense popularity both in the industry and outside it earned him the election in 1959 as Prince Albert, Sask.’s ‘Citizen of the Year”’ from 27 nominees, dies of a heart attack in his home in that city. Re-elected board of directors of the Motion Picture Association of America returns Eric Johnston as president, Canadian Society of Cinematographers holds its third annual meeting at the National Film CANADIAN FILM WEEKLY News Roundup x At The Pioneer of the Year Award Banquet In the top photo Reuben W. Bolstad (left), receives The Pioneer of the Year plaque from John J. Fitzgibbons, Sr., CBE, the first recipient of that honor nine years ago, while Frank H. Fisher (right), president of the Cana dian Picture Pioneers, looks on. The second photo shows guests congratulating Mr. Bolstad. Four winners of special CPP awards are shown in the bottom photo. From left to right they are J. F. (Jimmy) Davie, Vancouver; len B. Johnson, Vancouver; David Ongley, QC, Toronto, CPP legal counsel; and Robert D. Hurwitz, Winnipeg. The banquet took place in the King Edward Hotel, Toronto. Board in Montreal and elects Don Wilder president. Famous Players’ annual report shows a decline of $401,807 to $1,857,251 in net profit and a drop of $1,808,246 to $10,354,770 in current net assets. ‘While theatre re ceipts fell off a bit in 1960 the decrease is accounted for by preliminary expenses and operating losses on Telemeter, the report states. Timmins and Cochrane are the first two Ontario communities to Page 33 take advantage of the liberalized Lord’s Day Act and show Sunday movies, At various times during the year some 30 other centres begin Sunday exhibition, with mixed results. The general concensus is that it is not too great a help at first but theatre operators expect that when patrons get used to the idea of going to a show on Sunday and the weather turns cold again business will pick up. By the fall and early winter this proves true. Some 30 other communities hold plebiscites by the end of Dec. UA’s The Apartment and _ its two stars, Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, are named best film from any source and best foreign actor and actress respectively in the 1960 awards of the British Film Academy. A Canadian short, the NFB’s Universe, is selected as the best animated film. Construction gets under way in Toronto on a dual auditorium 16 mm, theatre. Being built by Principal Investments on the second floor of its Yonge St. Arcade next to a nightclub, the theatre has a common lobby and_ projection booth and is arranged in the shape of an L. It is opened in Nov. with Son of the Sheik, a silent film, in one auditorium and newsreels and shorts in the other. Price for the first week is 5c — the 1920 admission fee. Annual Tri-Bell live show at the O’Keefe Centre brings Variety Village $9,000. Of 489 films reviewed by the Ontario Board of Censors in 1960 only 43 per cent were from the USA, although 75 per cent of Canada’s screen time goes to American films, the Board’s annual report shows. The Board also points out that unless the rising tide of criticism against “the unsavory in film presentation” is heeded “increased restraint on distribution, to the disadvantage of distributor and exhibitor” could be expected. Odeon Theatres continuing its moves for diversification anounces that it will enter the field of curling with the erection of a 20sheet rink, to cost $750,000, in Hamilton, Ont. UA’s The Apartment is selected as the best film, Elizabeth Taylor as the best actress and Burt Lancaster as the best actor in the 33rd annual Academy Awards. Annual Heart Award of the Toronto Variety Club goes to John J. Fitzgibbons, Jr., the immediate past Chief Barker. May Bob Hall of the Toronto tent is named by Variety Clubs International as the winner of first prize for his campaign in behalf of Variety Week at the annual convention in Miami. The award is made to him later at a regular meeting of the Toronto Variety Club. The London, England branch