The Exhibitor (1952)

12 EXHIBITOR The International Scene Canada The “Pay As You See” Television scheme of the International Telemeter Corporation has been bought by Famous Players Canadian Corporation for Canada. The company, under Jchn J. Fitzgibbons, president-managing director, acquired ex¬ clusive Canadian rights to manufacture and distribute Telemeter Community An¬ tennae equipment. The announcement was made after the details had been discussed by Barney Balaban, president, Paramount Picture Corporation, and Fitzgibbons at a luncheon for all Famous Players’ exec¬ utives following a meeting of the board. As a result of the purchase, a new depart¬ ment in Famous Players, the Telemeter division, has been set up with Jean A. Pouliot, a Canadian scientist, named chief engineer. This is the first franchise granted by the Telemeter organization. It is not yet known whether Famous Play¬ ers will arrange the manufacturing of the equipment itself or have it jobbed out. Meantime, Pouliot is in Hollywood with George Cuthbert, Famous Players’ tele¬ vision engineer, where they are visiting the Telemeter plant studying the methods of manufacture and operation. Managers of Canadian theatres which have been hit with an outbreak of rob¬ beries are being told to pay more atten¬ tion to the preventive measures. Each day brings new reports of theatre breakins, burglaries, and boxoffice stickups. Letters have gone out to managers to tighten up. With each report of crime there seems to be a spectacular play by the press with accompanying pictures, which executives feel is psychologically bad. What worries executives is the pos¬ sibility of uppance of insurance rates. Some suggestions have been put forward as to how these crimes might be pre¬ vented by theatre managers. Included are: keeping the office door locked and chained, and being opened only to some¬ one known to the manager; keeping boxoffices cleared regularly; that money not in the boxoffice be kept in a safe and Jean A. Pouliot recently was named chief engi¬ neer, Telemeter division, Famous Players Cana¬ dian Corporation, Toronto. Famous Players has bought the exclusive distribution and manufac¬ turing rights for Canada from the International Telemeter Corporation, the first such franchise. Paramount's "Son of Paleface" attracted crowds when it bowed recently at London's Carlton. the safe locked at all times; varying the times and route of delivery of money to bank, and making sure house is clear at lockup times. Extended facilities for Variety village were assured when the Variety Club, Tent 28, picked up a total of $60,000 from its annual baseball game. A crowd of 17,416 attended to yield in excess of $27,000. Another $3,000 came from dona¬ tions, and $30,000 was netted from the pro¬ gram put together by Jim Nairn and Bert Brown. The evening was climaxed with the presentation of a car by Chief Barker Rube W. Bolstad. Construction and alteration contracts worth $608,000 were awarded in Canada during July for five theatres. Of these, four in Alberta were valued at $551,000 and one in Quebec for $57,000. Current building developments showed Max Shiner opening his 400-car Circus Drive-In. Portage La Prairie, Man.; work starting on Mrs. J. McLaughlin’s house in New¬ castle, N. B., and a permit being issued to interests in Peace River, Alta., for the erection of a theatre. Sunday movies are a fact in Camrose, B.C., and Red Deer, Alta. They are shown outdoors under the sponsorship of local organizations. Vancouver sees outdoor movies free on Tuesday and Thursday evenings through park showings spon¬ sored by the Film Council. Vancouver back room workers went out on strike as a result of the failure of wages negotiations. Many of the com¬ panies are not involved in the strike. Consideration is being given to the possi¬ bility of consolidating the revision and shipping requirements under one roof hut so far nothing positive has been done toward that objective. A luncheon was held for Don Gauld, former Odeon supervisor, who left for the Lakehead cities of Fort William and Port Arthur. The affair, held mainly by his fellow employes, was arranged by Jim Hardiman. . . . Joe Marks resigned from Audio. . . . U-I’s Alf Perry has gone to the west coast, as did Nat Taylor, head, International Film Distributors and Twentieth Century Theatres. . . . Variety Club’s mortgage-burning night will be Sept. 16. . . . Gordon Dann’s resignation as Odeon Quebec chief is effective on Sept. 6. . . . Dick Main, Sutton, Ont., exhibitor, has acquired a radio dnd elec¬ trical store. . . . James A. Cowan, adver¬ tising-publicity chief, Odeon Theatres, did a piece for Saturday Night magazine on motion picture production in Canada. The Montreal festival “Cinema Under The Stars”, was washed out on opening night, after which a strong wind crashed the 30 by 40 screen to the ground. Five to six thousand people turned up to see “The Big Day”, French comedy, were turned back. . . . The Rio, Victoria, dark for the past year, has been opened by Simmons and McLaren. . . . Mike Biakiv has taken over the 350-seat Buchanan, Sask., from Frank Harhura. . . . The New Community, Parksville, a 300-seater, opened. . . . Dick Letts, Cinema, Van¬ couver, has moved over to the Strand, and Slingsby Norman has taken over the Cinema, moving over from the Strand. The Premier of Nova Scotia will open the Sackville Drive-In, near Halifax, a Franklin and Herschorn house. . . . Starr McLeod is manager, Midway Drive-In, near Sydney, N. S. . . . The Lesters are presenting talent nights at the Studio, Toronto. The appointment of Angus MacCunn as secretary, Famous Players, succeeding the late N. G. Barrow, was confirmed at a meeting of the board. Directors present were Barney Balaban, Gaston Pratte, Norman S. Robertson, John J. Fitzgibbons, R. W. Bolstad, and Angus MacCunn. The board also approved a 30-cent dividend. Balaban discussed some of Paramount’s new product when he talked to the board of Famous Players and the top executives. He referred to the group of scientists now associated with Paramount through Affili¬ ated organizations whose inventions have already proved of tremendous importance to television and motion pictures. A1 Hartshorn is undergoing treatment at the Gravenhurst Sanitarium, and ap( Continued on page 18) 21 Theatre Kenjiro Matsushita, managing director of a Japa¬ nese film distribution company, recently was honored by Monogram-Allied Artists vice-presi¬ dent Harold Mirisch at a dinner on the coast, and pictured at the affair are, from left, Richard Heermance, assistant to executive producer Walter Mirisch; producer Vincent Fennelly, Matsushita, producer Ben Schwalb, and producer Jerry Thomas. September 3, 1952