The Exhibitor (1960)

CANADIAN Highlights By Harry Alien, Jr. WITH 13 OF 17 COMMUNITIES in Ontario approving Sunday movies, it will be after Easter before any action is taken on the request to the Province of Ontario for necessai-y amendments to legislation. The Province has already delayed action on Toronto’s request until Easter Sunday or later. The city applied for the legislation two days after a plebiscite Dec. 5 indicated Toronto electors favored Sunday movies two to one. Attorney General Kelso Roberts said the government had not yet formulated a policy on Sunday movies. If the cabinet agrees to permit Toronto to have movies on Sunday, it will introduce necessary amendments in the legislature. Two acts have to be amended — the Theatres Act which now prohibits exhibition on Sunday, and the Lord’s Day Act. Both have to be amended by the legislature and cannot be amended by cabinet action. It is expected that the legis¬ lation will be introduced towards the end of the spring session of the legislature. It would receive royal assent after the legislature adjourns. The amendments would be worded to take effect either upon receiving royal assent or 60 days after the assent is given. The additional communities in Ontario which voted for the legislation with the per¬ centage of the vote for each are Timmins (66), Cochrane (62), Kapuskasing (52), and Rich¬ mond Hill (53). Though Bradford and North Bay disapproved, those who were for Sunday movies made up 45 per cent of the vote in each place. Three communities have already applied to the province for the necessary enabling legislation. The results in Ontario are being spread throughout the country. “Unquestionably we are not going to remain content with the progress made in Ontario,” said E. G. Forsyth, president. National Committee of Motion Picture Exhibitors Associations of Canada. “We want every exhibitor in Canada to have the right to serve the public on Sunday if that is its desire.” ALBERTA EXPECTS that the Restricted category will soon be introduced to permit exhibi¬ tion of certain films with less treatment because people 18 and under are banned from their showings. This was one of the conclusions of the annual convention of the Alberta Theatres Association which reelected Douglas Miller president. The 17th annual meeting, held in Ed¬ monton, attracted renresentatives of the British Columbia Exhibitors Association, Maynard Joiner, of Famous Players, and Gerry Sutherland, of Odeon, both of Vancouver. C. S. Chap¬ lin, Canadian general manager for United Artists, was the guest speaker at the dinner which closed the convention. He presented an upbeat picture of the industry. Frank Troy, Theatre Confections, Ltd., spoke on the place of concessions in theatre operations during one of the sessions. Other officers elected at the meeting were — Bert Wiber, Edmonton, Dan Doyle, Fort MacLeod, vice-presidents; Douglas Shackleford, Lethbride, secretary-treasurer. COMEDY AND FAMILY pictures were sought by Canadian theatre-going public over the New Year and Christmas holidays, according to a survey by circuit executives. Famous Players, which with its partners operates 350 theatres in Canada, reported business excellent every¬ where. Odeon Theatres of Canada reported business down five per cent. Standout in the Famous Players offerings were “Spartacus” in Montreal, “Swiss Family Robinson,” “Cinderfella,” “North to Alaska,” and “Three Worlds of Gulliver.” The pre-Christmas business dropped below last year, but business Dec. 26, traditionally a holiday in this country, picked up, as it did Jan. 2, a holiday because New Year’s fell on Sunday. . . . Telemeter offered its first major live attraction, using Warner Bros, recording artist Bob Newhart. The show was presented three nights with the first done before an invited live audience of almost 100 at the Telemeter studio. The second and third night audiences saw a taped version of the Thursday night show which ran more than an hour. Assisting Newhart was Leon Bibb, balladeer. Telemeter patrons paid $1.25. There are almost 6,000 Telemeter boxes operating in the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke. Col. Stockholders Meet NEW YORK — At a stockholders meeting to be held Jan. 17 in lieu of their annual session, the grant of options for shares of the common stock of Columbia Pictures and subsidiaries to A. Schneider, president of Columbia and Screen Gems; William Dozier, Screen Gems vice-president in charge of west coast operations; Mo Rothman, execu¬ tive vice-president, Columbia Pictures Inter¬ national Corporation and vice president of Columbia Pictures in charge of foreign dis¬ tribution; Rube Jackter, vice-president and general domestic sales manager of Columbia Pictures; and Jonas Rosenfield, Jr., advertis¬ ing-publicity vice-president of Columbia Pic¬ tures, was to be voted upon. At the same time the stockholders will be asked to okay a new contract for Schneider. The following directors will be offered for reelection: Schneider, Leo M. Blanche, A. Montague, Donald S. Stralem, Alfred Hart, Abraham M. Sonnabend, Mendel B. Silberberg, Leo Jaffe, and Samuel J. Briskin. N.Y. Critics Name Best NEW YORK— The 26th annual poll of the New York Film Critics resulted in two ties — for best English language picture and best director. United Artists’ “The Apartment” and 20th-Fox’s “Sons and Lovers” and their re¬ spective directors, Billy Wilder and Jack Cardiff, shared the honors in these categor¬ ies. The French-Japanese co-production, “Hiro¬ shima, Mon Amour,” a Zenith-International release, was named best foreign language film. Plaques will be presented to the winners at an evening reception Jan. 21 at Sardi’s East. Fire Hits Ky. Drive-In LEXINGTON, KY. — The 300-seat auditor¬ ium of the 1,200 car Circle 25 Drive-In was destroyed in a $50,000 fire. The plant has been closed by owner Walter Rhodes, Jr., for rebuilding. The recent opening of MGM's "Cimarron" at the Paramount, Hollywood, Cal., drew a starstudded premiere audience including, left to right, Edmund Grainger, Hope Lange, and Glenn Ford. Loew s Circuit Shifts ManagementPersonnel NEW YORK — The imminent retirement of Rodney Toups, long-time manager, Loew’s State, New Orleans, and the transfer back to its original owners of Shea’s Bellevue, Ni¬ agara Falls, have activated a series of per¬ sonnel shifts within Loew’s Theatres, Inc. Charles E. Kurtzman, Loew’s executive in charge of out-of-town operations, announced the following changes: Toups, manager of the New Orleans showplace for 34 years, will retire shortly. He will be succeeded by Frank Henson, manager, Loew’s State, St. Louis. Lou Brown, who has been handling ad -pub affairs for the theatre company in the Boston area, goes to St. Louis as manager of Loew’s new Mid-City Theatre. Brown will also oversee St. Louis advertising and publicity under the direction of city manager Russ Bovin, who will head¬ quarter at Loew’s State there. With the return of the Hayman Brothers of Shea’s Bellevue, 1450-seater in Niagara Falls operated by Loew’s over a period of years, Bellevue manager Lou Jaffe will assume man¬ agership of Shea’s Teck, deluxe Buffalo house. Teck skipper Charles McLeary goes to Shea’s Buffalo as house manager under Frank Arena. Arena was recently promoted to Buffalo, succeeding Edward Meade who has resigned to enter business for himself in the Buffalo area. Broidy, Rifkin Honored BOSTON — The Boston Cinema Lodge, B’nai B’rith, announces the dual selection of Steve Broidy and Herman Rifkin to receive their third annual “Man of the Year” Award at a luncheon to be held Feb. 14 at the Bradford Hotel. Previous Cinema Lodge Awards have been given to Joseph E. Levine and Jimmy Durante. Steve Broidy, who was born and brought up in Boston, started his film career there to work his way up to the presidency of Allied Artists Pictures. Herman Rifkin, the dean of Boston’s film row, marks his 50th anniversary in the motion picture industry this year. Rifkin, who has been active in every phase of the film business during the past 50 years, presently operates the largest chain of drive-in theatres in New England and is also a member of the board of Allied Artists Pictures. Both men have been closely associated with Allied Artists for many years. Carl Goldman, Lodge president, has ap¬ pointed Bill Kumins, Warner Bros, branch manager in Boston, general chairman of this event. 10 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR January II, 1961