The Exhibitor (1955)

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10 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR The International Scene Canada Kiddies Contest Seen As Offsetting Video Toronto — Keeping the juveniles away from TV sets is a big problem these days, but a scheme cooked up by Famous Players with The Telegram here looks successful in doing just that. The plan, first suggested by Harry Sullivan, Theatre Confections, Ltd., and enlarged upon by Bert Brown, Famous Players, is based on a safety theme. The plan of 10 weeks’ duration tied in with the paper, which along with the Toronto Traffic Safety Council sponsors the safety symbol of Elmer. Not only are Famous Players suburban theatres tied in, but also those of B and F, to give the campaign city-wide coverage. The theatres supply the prizes, and each week 10 are given. A total of 2,500 prizes were obtained, including such items as watches, dolls, gun-and-holster sets, wallets, toys, and pair of guest tickets for father and mother. The candy companies cooperate by giv¬ ing free candy to the first 150 kids through each theatre each Saturday, with the manufacturer who cooperates on a particular Saturday giving a special prize of his product in addition to the regular prizes. The children attending five Saturdays during the series and knowing their safety rules are provided with special Elmer the Elephant safety crests, with the words: “I’ll never forget,” and the numbers one to five. All the printing is being supplied by the newspaper with some 50,000 Elmer cards distributed throughout the city. All those children who have attended the whole series are eligible at the end for a special prize, a bicycle given away in addition to the regular prizes. The theatres are using one-sheets and a trailer to plug the special shows. The value of such a promotion cannot be minimized with every manager greeting the project with enthusiasm. Canadian Comment Film board elections are with us again. In Winnipeg, the 1955 officers are presi¬ dent, P. Geller; vice-president, S. Pearlman; secretary, N. Norrie; fire marshal, B. Meyers, and assistant fire marshal, F. Davis. The Maritime Film Board consists of president, Graydon Matthews; vicepresident, I. J. Davis; and secretary, L. J. Simon. A more vigorous operation is announced by Associated Screen News with the appointment and realignment of staff. In complete charge of the company’s opera¬ tions will be Murray Briskin, executive assistant to the president. Maxwell Cum¬ mings. William J. Singleton, who has been associated with the company for the past 30 years, becomes director of sales and *■ .rvices. Transferred to Toronto, where Huge crowds turned out recently for the London, England, premiere of Warners "A Star Is Born" at the Warner. The opening was for the benefit of Variety Club and attracted top celebrities, with a broadcast over BBC. he was located for many years, is Jack Chisholm, as Ontario sales manager and production unit chairman. Chisholm, as¬ sisted by Ken Cooper, will set up a pro¬ ducing unit to service the large and ever-growing TV market in the Ontario area. Assuming a more active position in the company’s administrative affairs will be Russ Prazak, who will work closely with Briskin on such matters. CINE CHATTER: The Ontario Board of Censors put the “Adult” label on eight films during the month of February. These included “Battle Cry,” “Notor¬ ious,” “Other Woman,” “Private Hell 36,” “Six Bridges To Cross,” “Ugetsu,” “Verwinita,” and “Wyoming Renegades.” . . . Disappointment in the tax reduction offered by the Ontario Government has caused the executive of the Motion Pic¬ ture Theatres Association of Ontario to tui'n the matter over to the committee to see what further might be done to give relief to exhibitors. . . . Newest member joining the MPTAO is the Capitol, Meaford, whose pilot is Gordon Rowe. . . . An address on showmanship resulted in Bob Christie, manager. Royal, Aurora, obtaining a two-page spread in the local weekly including a biography of himself and a feature story on his staff. . . . Visitor to Toronto was Jack Barron, Odeon partner in Calgary. . . . Newcomer to the foreranks of the Odeon Better Management Contest is the Oxford, Hali¬ fax, according to a bulletin issued by Jim Hardiman, ad pub chief for Odeon. In second spot is the Hastings, Vancouver, while the Fairlawn, Toronto, picked up third spot. In the district managers’ .stand¬ ing, H. Hurwitz is first, G. A. Sutherland is second, and Chris Holmes holds down third place. . . . July will see yet another rise in the cost of amusement advertis¬ ing in the city with The Telegram, Tor¬ onto, upping their rates from 45 cents a line to 50 cents. . . . Alex Solomon, father of Blind River exhibitor Norman Solomon, died recently. . . . First drive-ins to open this season were those owned by Joe Dydzak, Waterdown and Windsor. Several have already opened in the sunny province of British Columbia. — Harry Allen, Jr. CinemaScope Credited With 20th-Fox Surge New York— Twentieth Century-Fox last week reported consolidated net earnings of $8,044,524 for the year ended Dec. 25, 1954. The company credited the increase of $3,483,437 over the previous year’s figiire of $4,560,887 to the world-wide acceptance of CinemaScope and the re¬ vival of the motion picture as the most popular form of public entertainment. Earnings for the year ending Dec. 25, amounted to $3.04 a share on the 2,644,486 shares of common stock outstanding, earnings for the same period ended Dec. 25, 1953 were $1.65 on the 2,769,486 shares of common stock then outstanding. The net earnings for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 25, 1354, was put at $2,312,461 as compared with net earnings for the same period in 1953 of $3,127,850. The net earnings for the third quarter of 1954 were $2,635,518. The company reported that amortiza¬ tion of film costs had been taken on the same basis as in previous years. The consolidated profit and loss state¬ ment showed income from film rentals o^ $106,355,068 in 1954 as compared to $105,662,266 in 1953. Total income for 1954 was put at $115,715,815 and total expenses listed at $100,171,291, against total income of $113,513,260 and total expenses of $105,302,373 in 1953. Provision for federal taxes on income was $7,500,000 in 1954 as against $3,650,000 in 1953. Youngstein Heads Cinema Lodge New York — Max E. Youngstein vicepresident, United Artists, last week was elected president. New York Cinema Lodge, B’nai B’rith. He succeeds Burton E. Robbins, National Screen Service ex¬ ecutive, who has held office for the past two years. The installation of officers will be held at an industry-wide luncheon scheduled for the Hotel Sheraton Astor on April 19, it was announced. Elected as vice-presidents were Marvin Kirsch, Milton Livingston, Sol Rissner, Norman Robbins, Cy Seymour, Robert K. Shapiro, Jack Wiesman, A1 Wilde, and Lou Wolff. Other officers are Jack Hoffberg, treas¬ urer; David Kelton, secretary; Burton Robbins; chaplain; and trustees Max Blackman, Julius Collins, Harold Danson, Lee Jaffe, Moses L. Kove, Joseph Maharam, Louis Nevins, and Arthur Schwartz. AB-PT Denied New Theatre New York — American BroadcastingParamount Theatres last week was denied the right to acquire a theatre in Tucson, Arizona, to replace one that it lost in 1953. The order, believed to be the first one of its kind, was signed by Federal Judge Irving Kaufman, who ruled that AB-PT had no right to acquire an equiv¬ alent theatre for a period of five years unless the Attorney General gives his consent. AB-PT had informed the court that one of its subsidiaries had operated the State, Tucson, until 1953, when the lease expire 1 and the owner decided to convert the property to a commercial enterprise in¬ stead of a theatre. April 6, 1955