The Exhibitor (1959)

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January 7, 1959 15 Canadian Scene Exhibs Hope For End To Ban On Children TORONTO — Hints and hopes are wrapped together that the Province of Quebec’s ban on children under 16 being admitted to movie theatres will be dropped. The hint was dropped during the recent annual meeting of the Quebec Allied Theatrical Industries, Inc. Paul Vermet, executive secretary, said in his bulletin to the membership that some big moves were afoot after Doris Robert, presi¬ dent, had made some comment on the subject. The moppets were banned from theatres in 1927 after a tragic Montreal theatre fire. Dr. Paul LaCoursiere, of Three Rivers, president of the Quebec section of the Junior Chamber of Commerce, suggested, “Would it not be more opportune and advisable to let the youngsters in the cinemas and let them see pictures that the Censor Board would have previously approved for their age? A poster with For Adults Only or For the Entire Family, placed from time to time somewhere under the marquee would be in our opinion, one of the happy solutions.” Dr. LaCoursiere, who praised the Provincial Government for reducing the amusement tax, said that movies would do much to keep Quebec youth out of places without super¬ vision, of a type injurious to the formation of character. Canadian Comment Wonderment has been expressed by a prominent theatre executive that the Cana¬ dian motion picture industry has ignored “Bingo” in its recent deliberations. Nathan A. Taylor, Twinex Theatres head and film dis¬ tributor, writing in his capacity as president of the company which publishes The Cana¬ dian Film Weekly, expressed his chagrin. Taylor wrote how Bingo has flourished in Canada, describing it as “an outright form of gambling and one which has many, many thousands within its grasp — mostly women.” He said he didn’t think Bingo addicts would necessarily go to the movies if deprived of the excitement and pleasures “of this num¬ bers game.” But, “the point is that it should not be continued under such a flimsy cloak of legality. Either it should be outlawed com¬ pletely or permitted without strings attached.” Newest sweepstakes being played in Canada is the guess on whether and who is going to purchase the majority holding in Famous Players Canadian Corp. from Paramount. Plenty of names are being mentioned in the trade, and it is no secret within the trade that the stock owned by Paramount was offered to a large brokerage firm to be sold at the market in one block. There were no takers. Meanwhile, the name of one of the company’s executives is being mentioned as one who is eager to organize funds for con¬ trol of the company. Another name is that of a financier still active in control of a segment of the industry. Still another name associated with the purchase offers is that of a man whose family was once associated with the company. There are a couple of others known to be interested but just who they may be fronting for is the big question. It is known that Paramount would like to sell the Famous Players Control so that it might purchase the offering of General Aniline and Film Corp., now held by the United States Government. MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR The NEW YORK Scene By Mel Konetoff NOTED IN THE NEW YEAR: Ed Hyman, vice-president, American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres, came through with something ex¬ hibitors can use in 1959, a special edition release schedule compiled again in the interest of orderly distribution of product. It supplements the schedule issued last September and reflects some changes that have been made in releases the end of 1958 and confirms dates for the first quarter of 1959. He thought its release would help maintain as accurate a picture as possible of availabilities in the immediate future. The next complete release schedule is due next March. Copies can be obtained by addressing Hyman at his office at 1501 Broadway, New York 36. RECEIVED AND NOTED: More holiday greetings in from United Artists Associated, Jack Silverman, Ralph Donnelly, Bob Rothafel, Patti Alicoate, John Bergen, Jr., Les Dinoff, Mara¬ thon Newsreel, Carl Foreman, Harry Mandel, John Cassidy, Lynn Farnol, Harry Goldberg, Mike Hutner, Phil Gerard, Charlie Simonelli, Mort Nathanson, Harvey Matofsky, Charlie Levy, Steve Edwards, Jack Levin, Lars McSorley, Ed Gollin, Dan Terrell, Marvin Levy, the Gene Pleshetttes, Charley Franke, Bernard Lewis, Alan Bader, A1 Picoult, Monroe Goodman, Leon Roth, Bill Gorman, Charles Okun, Marc and Edith Absinthe, Jeff Livingston, Hortense Schorr, Si Seadler, Fortunat Baronat, Ralph Meyer, Paul Street from Turkey, and others. . . . Newsweek picked as its 10 best “A Night To Remember,” “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof,” “Gigi,” “Me And The Colonel,” “My Uncle,” “Separate Tables,” “The Defiant Ones,” “The Horse’s Mouth,” “The Old Man And The Sea,” and “Witness For The Prosecution.” SHORT NOTE: Todd-OA is out with a short entitled “The March of Todd-AO” calculated to be a curtain raiser to regular showings of “South Pacific.” The flexibility of the camera shows in interesting fashion activities of the Sixth Fleet at sea and in the air; the Brussels Fair; and scenes from the Coronation of Pope John XXIII. It’s 15 minutes in length. COLUMN COVERAGE NOTE: Bob Perilla has volunteered to serve as eastern column liaison for the Academy Awards telecast and he will service them with special material. This phase was particularly effective last year. NEWSPAPER STRIKE NOTES: Varying claims have been made as to what effect the recent newspaper strike had on Broadway business, but actually we think it had little effect. The good pictures were sought out, the others fell behind, especially in a period that was normally dull. Premieres and openings were affected in that celebrities who normally make it a prac¬ tice to show up for the publicity value stayed away, figuring it was a waste of time to come. What they have done in the past in some cases is to go into the theatre, and when the film has gotten under way, they duck out an exit door. And they get in for free, too. As a service to movie-page editors, Warners delivered a round-up of film news to the dailies when they reopened. Some of the companies took to posting one sheets around in the city, in subway cars, etc. Some theatre chains had newsy looking heralds distributed on a citywide basis which naturally plugged pictures. The import of the printed word was felt by public and press agent alike. PARTY NOTE: The annual holiday luncheon of Associated Motion Picture Advertisers was held as usual at the Hotel Picadilly, and we wound up with no door prize, which is also as usual. Horace McMahon and Harry Hershfield supplied the talent, with the latter coming through quite well with some amusing gags. Prexy Bob Montgomery was in fine form as usual. Hans Barnstyn, ditto. HAPPY NEW YEAR! Meantime, profits of the company for the first nine months are up 19 per cent over the same period last year. According to a statement from J. J. Fitzgibbons, president, net profits are $1.20 a share or $2,084,174. For the same period last year they were $1,752,264 or $1.01 a share. Fitzgibbons said the improve¬ ment over 1957 and 1956 reflects the better quality of pictures released this year and more efficient operation as a result of elimi¬ nating unprofitable theatres. Results for the first few weeks of the fourth quarter also compare favorably with a year ago. Famous Players now has a third installation of the Todd-AO equipment, the latest being in Van¬ couver’s Stanley Theatre where “South Pa¬ cific” recently opened with great success. Work of the motion picture industry to infuse glamor into the business has worked to its own disadvantage, the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors say. In a brief presented to the Special Advisory Board set up by the Province of Alberta to study suggested changes to its amusement act, the CMPDA said the industry has attracted the attention of some taxing branches of government. As a result, “tax burdens” were placed that were thought by the taxing officials as “without serious damage to its financial structure.” The "Defiant Ones" Tops Critic Poll NEW YORK— United Artists’ “The Defiant Ones” last fortnight won the sixth annual award of the New York Film Critics as the best film of 1958. United Artists’ releases also won two other top awards: David Niven was voted best actor for his role in “Separate Tables,” and Susan Hayward best actress for her role in “I Want To Live.” Jacques Tati’s “My Uncle,” French-made film released by Continental Distributing, was voted the best foreign language import. The 24th annual balloting of the film critics was held at the New York Newspaper Guild Press Club, and awards will be presented at the group’s annual reception on Jan. 24 at Sardi’s Restaurant. distributors said the original purpose of the censorship fee, that of paying only the cost, has been lost, and its use as a means of pro¬ ducing tax revenues for the general fund of the Province will “be regarded as unfair and discriminatory” when brought to the formal notice of the government. Reduction of ex¬ penditures is essential and one of the dis¬ tributors’ major expenses is the provincial censorship fee.