Canadian Film Weekly (May 29, 1970)

Vol. 35, No. 18 Fd ws VOICE of the CANADIAN MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY FAMILY DEDICATION — In the name of the late John J. Fitzgibbons, charter member and first chief barker of Variety Club of Ontario Tent 28, a plaque was unveiled in his honor at the recent opening of the new gymnatorium and electronic limb centre at Variety Village in Toronto. On hand for the dedication were, Mrs. and Mr. J. J. Fizgibbons, Jr., standing beside the plaque, and Mr. and Mrs. Gene Fitzgibbons and Mrs. and Mr. Kevin Fitzgibbons. shop will be operated by the Ontario Crippled Children’s Centre and maintained -by the Variety Club. The shop, the first of its kind in the world, is an electron ically-powered artificial limb components manufacturing plant which could benefit up to 10,000 handicapped children in Canada. —Photo by Bob Cunningham CAPAC wins judgment against Sask. drive-in Judgment was delivered recently in the Court of Queen’s Bench, Saskatchewan by Mr. Justice M. A. Macpherson in an action against Star Dust Drive-In Theatres Ltd. and Hugh Vassos of Melville, Sask. Plaintiff in the action was Composers, Authors and Publishers Association of Canada Ltd. (CAPAC). The trial took place recently at Melville, Sask. and the court held that the exhibitor Hugh Vassos infringed CAPAC’s copyright by performing in the Star Dust Drive-In Theatre the songs “Wrap Up Your Troubles In Dreams’, “Sweet Leilani” and “Pagan Love Song”. An injunction was granted restraining the exhibitor from performing in public, without the CAPAC license, any musical works the copyrights in which are owned by CAPAC. Damages and the costs of the action were also assessed against the theatre operator. According to Charles Matheson, licensing manager of the Composers organization, CAPAC has been licensing theatres for 40 years and the annual license fees of from 10¢ to 20¢ per seat, depending on the size of the theatre, are approved each year by a federal government board known as the copyright appeal board. Matheson said that the operator of the Melville theatres was notified on many occasions that it was unlawful to perform copyright music in his theatres without the license of the copyright owners. All warnings were ignored and action followed. their entirety, Like the village, the electro-limb © Toronto, May 29, 1970 Censor’s annual report lashes out at trailers Of the 586 feature films submitted to the Ontario Censors Board in the past fiscal year, ending March 31, five were banned in 145. were rated “Restricted” and eliminations were ordered in 90. But it was in regards to trailers that O. J. Silverthorn, director of the Theatres Branch of the Department of Tourism and Information, said provided the most vexing problem. Trailers for “Restricted” films are being shown when children are present, and his department received serious and recurring complaints, Silverthorn said in his annual report. The board of censors eliminated erotic and violent scenes in 56 trailers last year, compared with 43 the previous year. “We realize that trailers are an essential part of a theatre’s advertising sales campaign, “he said, “nevertheless, we may be forced to adopt stricter controls if some theatre maagers do no exercise more discretion in the use of certain trailers. Particularly when they are shown in conjunction with a feature classified as general and children are most likely to be in the audience.” Silverthorn also cautioned theatres to me more careful about the size of classification symbols in newspaper ads. He said classifications for films rated “Adult Entertainment” or “Restricted” often are obscured by art work, or are so small that they are illeligible. A total of eight theatres in Ontario closed last year. To offset the gloomy aspect of this situation, six new theatres were built, one of them a drive-in. There were six reconstructions, one of which was the Uptown in Toronto which now houses five auditoriums. The Ontario Censor Board received 16,389 pieces of advertising for approval in the past fiscal year, and rejected 380. This compared favorably with the figures for the previous year. “The ever-increasing number of ‘Restricted’ movies being shown at drive-in theatres poses a potential problem: in that under-age persons might be able to view the screen from vantage points around the theatre,” Silverthorn reported. “We are aware of this peculiar situation which is causing concern among parents. We are also, on occasion, unjustly accused of not enforcing the age requirement on ‘Restricted’ movies. Most complainants are misled by observing patrons buying tickets at a common box office for two or more auditoriums, and for a mixed program. Our inspectors constantly check attendance at these theatres and immediately act upon substantiation of any complaints. “By and large, theatre owners and their staffs are aware of and anxious to accept their responsibility in this matter.” Screen Gems executive Lloyd Burns, 60, dies Lloyd Burns, executive vicepresident of Screen Gems and president of Screen Gems _ International, died Monday, May 11th, in London, England. He was 60 years old and lived in New York City. Canadian-born, Burns was a pioneer in the television film distribution business in Canada. He served as general manager of Telepix Movies Ltd. in Toronto before joining Screen Gems (Canada) Ltd. as vice-president and general manager in 1955. In 1958 he moved to New York where he assumed responsibility for Screen Gems’ entire international operations; he was named president of that division in 1966. In 1969, with the merger of Screen Gems, Inc. and Columbia Pictures Corporation, he became vice-president of Columbia Pictures, Inc. He was named executive vice-president of the Screen Gems division in January of this year. A graduate of McMaster University of Hamilton, Ont., Burns is survived by his widow, Mrs. Goldie Burns; a son, Michael, and three daugthers, Wendy, Barbara and Catherine; his mother, Mrs. Elsie Bernstein and a sister, Mrs. Joy Laski, both of Toronto, and a brother, Vernon, of London, England.