Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1947)

SPOTLIGHT (Continued from page 36) toria and Eglinton. . . . "Notorious" played its third week at the Imperial, "Margie" two weeks at Shea's and "The Strange Woman" at Loew's Yonge Street theatre. ... In another three weeks Famous Players Canadian Corporation will have virtually a new string of first run arrangements in Toronto with the Tivoli pairing with the Eglinton, the Victoria teaming with the Capitol and the Imperial and Shea's playing individual bills as always. This will add two first runners and the move is intended to catch up on a stock of big pictures. For instance, the Tivoli-Eglinton team is expected to play a long engagement with "The Jolson Story" and prices will be upped, too. . . . Produced by Quebec Productions Corporation in Canada, "The Stronghold" has hit the screen in Montreal under the new title of "Whispering City." . . . The use of automobile parking meters at night in Brantford, Ont., has been protested by the Board of Trade because it interferes with theatre business. ... A visitor in Toronto has been George Archibald, managing director of Arthur Rank's Independent Producers in England. He said film producing in Canada was not scheduled for the immediate future. . . . The Niagara Peninsula Theatre Managers Association of which Jack Allen of the Tivoli, Thorold, is president, has launched a protest against the re-introduction of the 10 per cent amusement tax by the Ontario Government. . . . Count Jean de Hauteclocque, French Ambassador to Canada, has issued an "ultimatum" to the Provincial Government of Quebec charging "lack of courtesy" because the French film, "Les Enfants du Paradis," had been condemned by the French-Canadian censors of that Province on immoral grounds. . . . International Film Distributors, Limited, an independent company, has been formed at Toronto to handle Eagle-Lion's Hollywood product in Canada, distinct from Rank'; Canadian film exchange. VANCOUVER British pictures are getting a big play here. Five downtowners are playing them this week. "Bedelia" is playing day and date at the Vogue and Hastings. "Waterloo Bridge" is at the Plaza.. "Brief Encounter" is at the Paradise, and "Wanted for Murder" is at the Strand. . . . The British Columbia government's travel bureau will make a motion picture of marine life on the Pacific. . . . The Log Cabin theatre at Lillooet, B. C, is being operated by the Canadian Legion, playing weekend shows only at present. . . . Harry Page, former UA booker, has been appointed B. C. manager for Monogram Films, succeeding Joe Archer, who will be in charge of the Hanson 16mm exchange. . . . Eagle-Lion has also made a change in managers here. Frank Soltice, formerly Odeon head office booker, has succeeded Steve Rolston as Vancouver manager. WASHINGTON "It's a Wonderful Life" walked off with the honors this week and is being held ove-r for a third week at the theatre. The only other holdover in town was "Lady in the Lake" at Loew's Capitol. New entries, greeted by a driving snowstorm, were "The Jolson Story" at Warners' Earle; "The Beginning or the End" at Loew's Palace, and "Beast with Five Fingers" at Warners' Metropolitan. . . . All 60 motion picture theatres in the District of Columbia participated in the American Brotherhood Week campaign. ... A distinguished audience turned out for the global premiere of "The Beginning or the End" at Loew's Palace theatre February 19. Among them were David E. Lilienthal; Wallace White, Senate Majority Leader; Major General and Mrs. Leslie R. Groves ; Charles G. Ross, President Truman's press secretary, and Mrs. Ross ; Miss Grace Tully, late President Roosevelt's secretary; Admiral William S. Parsons; Walter S. Carpenter, Jr., president of Dupont, and others. New York State Weighs Local Taxing Power Special taxing powers, which would permit New York City and other cities and towns throughout New York State to place levies on theatre admissions among other things, were being studied by Governor Thomas E. Dewey last weekend in Albany. Under the plan the revenue would be used to finance permanent pay increases for school teachers. As the contemplated plan was announced semi-official quarters in New York City said theatre owners and exhibitors had little to fear in the way of additional taxes since "the mayor and comptroller have said they do not favor a city theatre admission tax." On the 20 per cent Federal admission tax question, meanwhile, Representative Harold Knutson of Minnesota announced in Washington last Friday that the House Ways and Means Committee would examine the entire tax structure, including the Federal admission tax, with a view to reducing future levies where there are inequities. However, he said, the study would not affect pending legislation to continue the excise tax indefinitely, as agreed by both houses. Taxes will also be the topic of discussion when the California legislature meets in Sacramento March 3. During the session theatremen will not only face a daylight saving time bill, but also a state admission tax measure. The two bills were presented at . the last session and were defeated. In San Francisco the Board of Supervisors of the city is considering the levying of an admission tax. Oklahoma theatremen are fearful of a bill which is expected to be introduced in the legislature to extend city tax powers in the state. Tulsa Jiad a 10 per cent amusement tax up for consideration last year, but it was killed when attorneys advised against it. Beginning April 1. the borough of Red Lion, Pa., will impose a two per cent on each admission for any amusement, except those sponsored by local educational and charitable organizations. Encourage Top British Films: Silverstone With 75 per cent of the foreign grosses of American film producers coming from the British Empire, U. S. industry should encourage production of top-quality British pictures that stand to make big money on the international market, Murray Silverstone, president of 20th-Fox International, told trade press interviewers this week. Mr. Silverstone last week returned from a month's trip through Britain and France. "The problem facing the British people is a very real one," he said, "and the agitation now going on as a result of their efforts to conserve vitally needed foreign exchange should not be misrepresented as an antiAmerican campaign. The British have no intention to curtail importation of U. S. films, we are faced with the threat of further restrictions on playing time." Mr. Silverstone then suggested two possible solutions to the problem. "If the American industry wants to protect itself in this important market, it should encourage the production of great British pictures with worldwide appeal," he said. "British producers should cut down on the number of films and concentrate on quality. These pictures would get all the playing time due them on the British market, while American pictures would make up the rest. At the same time they would get much-needed foreign currency into British pockets." A second alternative would be for American exhibitors to get together and show British product in their theatres, Mr. Silverstone stated. He endorsed the suggestion that leaders of the British and American industries meet to work things out among themselves and said Eric Johnston, president of the Motion Picture Associaiton, would stand a g_ood chance to persuade the British not to pass more stringent quota laws if he were backed up by a cooperation pledge from U. S. exhibitors. Attendance in the British Isles has dropped 15 per cent recently, he said. Legion of Decency Reviews Fifteen New Productions The National Legion of Decency this weei reviewed 15 new productions, approving ah but one. In Class A-I, unobjectionable for general patronage, were : "A Cage of Nightingales" (French), "Code of the West," "Heldorado," "The Farmer's Daughter," "It Happened in Brooklyn," "Last Frontier Uprising," "Law of the Lash," "Michigan Kid" and "Over the Santa Fe Trail". In Class A-II. unobjectionable for adults, were: "Backlash," "Queen of the Amazons," "Renegade Girl," "Suddenly It's Spring," and "That Brennan Girl". "Man's Hope" (Spanish) was placed in Class B, objectionable in part, because "suicide is presented as justifiable." 38 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, MARCH I, 1947