Canadian Film Weekly (Dec 27, 1961)

Christmas Number CANADIAN FILM WEEKLY Page 35 is named the winner for the second time of the VCI Heart Award and the Humanitarian Award is voted to Dr. Tom Dooley posthumously. Edward Emanuel is returned as International Chief Barker and his complete slate of officers are re-elected with him. Mrs. Jean Uttley of Affiliated Pictures is elected to succeed Florence Long as president of the Toronto branch of the Women of the Motion Picture Industry at the annual meeting in Toronto. Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers holds its 89th convention in Toronto and hears guest speaker J. J. Fitzgibbons, Sr., talk about Telemeter. I. H. (Izzy) Allen, president of Astral Films, dies at 65 in a Toronto hospital after a lengthy illness. The National Film Board’s Universe is named Film of the Year in the Canadian Film Awards, which also presents Dr. A. W. Trueman, director of the Canada Council, with a Special Award for his “contributions to the art of film making.” Annual report of the Dominion Fire Commissioner for 1959 shows that there were 19 theatre fires and a total loss of $113,381, a very good year when compared with the ten-year average of 31 fires annually with damage of $234,658. Decision to ask the Board of Broadcast Governors to include made-in-Canada TV commercials in its requirement of 55 per cent Canadian content is taken at the 13th annual meeting in Toronto of The Association of Motion Picture Producers and Laboratories of Canada, which elects Henry Michaud of Montreal to succeed Gerald S. Kedey of Toronto as president. One of Hollywood’s best-liked and greatest stars, Gary Cooper, dies of cancer at his home in Hollywood at the age of 60. Graduates of Variety Village form an alumni association and elect Harvey Rosen its first president. Guy Upjohn of Odeon Theatres’ Vancouver office is moved to Toronto as aide to W. E. H. Hunt, director of booking and buying at head office. Mike Rabchak’s 200-seat Grimshaw Theatre, the only one in the Sask. community of that name, is destroyed by fire. Celebration by Odeon Theatres of its 20th anniversary takes the form, among other things, of a big intra-company competition among its managers and a separate one for the public with big Cash prizes for winners. W. A. (Wib) Perry is named v-p and general manager of Meridan Films by Ralph Foster, president. Paul Hanner leaves Odeon Theatres to take the newly-created post of head of ad-pub-exploitation for Astral Films and his position as ad-pub director at Odeon News Roundup is filled by Charles Mason, who held the same position with Rank Film Distributors. Frank Lawson moves over from Hanner’s assistant at Odeon to fill Mason’s place at Rank. The NFB’s 30-minute short it produced for the CBC, The Days of Whisky Gap, wins the top award for a TV documentary at the Cannes Film Festival. ROBERT E. MYERS Becomes president of the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association on the resignation of Gordon Lightstone. June Canadian Film Weekly check shows that 22 standard theatres in Canada have closed since the beginning of the year. Mrs. Sophie Allen succeeds her late husband, I. H. Allen, as president of Astral Films Ltd., with Jerry Solway moving up from general manager to managing director and Martin Bockner taking over as general sales manager. Warner Bros. holds a ‘Jubilee of Films” in which the company flies some 200 topflight newsmen to Hollywood to screen the latest product and to see at first hand the activity in the studio. DBS preliminary report for 1960 shows that standard theatres in Canada grossed $66,232,378, a drop of 3.1 per cent from 1959, and admissions were down by 8.6 per cent at 10,395,117. Art Bahen, president, and the whole executive of the Que. Canadian Pictures Pioneers are returned at the annual meeting in Montreal, which sees three men honored — John Levitt and Auguste Grandchamp, for over 50 years of service each, and Wm. Eckstein, local pianist, for his contribution to the film industry. Que. Legislature passes bill allowing children into certain approved movies at certain times, but admits that it is of a provisory nature and will be revised with the entire Motion Picture Act. After a couple of weeks exhibitors express their dissatisfaction with the changes, since the special censorship required for the children’s films plus the other restrictions make is profitless to run matinees. Automatic Canteen Co. of America purchases Carlton Automatic Vendors Ltd. through its Canadian subsidiary Automatic Canteen Co. of Canada. Film industry people, who were heavily interested and made up the officers of the old company, resign from the board, July TV commercials or material for them made in the USA on film or videotape for Canadian use are made subject to a 20 per cent duty on the cost of production. Canadian producers expect the move to help domestic production but a review of the situation at the end of the year finds that it has been of little or no help and in some instances has caused USA producers to open a branch in Canada, thus competing for what is available. Exchanges are adversely affected by the action taken by the Federal Government to drive the value of the Canadian dollar well below that of the USA one. Remittances to head offices south of the border, previously worth roughly about five per cent more because of the premium on the Canadian dollar, will now be worth much less because of the discount. Supply houses also have their troubles, equipment and goods purchased in the USA costing more and forcing them to raise their prices. A veteran of 55 years in the motion picture industry and a member of the Canadian Picture Pioneers, George F. Law passes in Toronto at the age of 78. An international distribution deal is set by Taylor-Roffman Productions with Warner Bros. for the Canadian company’s recently-completed film, The Mask, which has several 3-D sequences and was produced and directed in Toronto by Julian Roffman. The film is given a posh premiere at the Warners Theatre on Broadway. Wm. Elman of Astral Films is elected to succeed Romeo Goudreau of Affiliated Pictures as president of the Montreal Film Board of Trade. For nine years head of Famous Players’ real estate department, Harold E. Roberts leaves to accept a position with the Ontario Municipal Board. President of Local 173, IATSE and boothman at the Imperial, Toronto, James Sturgess, 67, dies of a heart attack. Toronto technicians of Local 873, IATSE submit a request to the Government for the imposition of a 35 per cent tariff duty on color prints as a measure to in At the Variety Club's Salute to The CBC The smiles on the faces of the listeners to J. Alphonse Ouimet, president of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., are more truly indicative of the character of his remarks than his own seemingly serious countenance. Ouimet, replying to the Variety Club‘s salute to the CBC on its 25th anniversary, spoke in a lighter vein for the most part and won much laughter. On the right side of Ouimet (at the microphone) is Chief Barker Phil Stone and L. W. Brockington, CMG, QC, who, speaking after Ouimet, brought enjoyment to all. On the left side of Ouimet are First Assistant Chief Barker Frank Strean, El Cid actor John Fraser and Property Master Chet Friedman,