VARIETY TENT NO. 28 OF ONTARIO WINS GREAT HEART AWARD

SYDNEY NEWMAN, a profile

Government Film Commissioner and Chairman of the National Film Board of Canada, Syd Newman has come a long way since that day in 1941 when he got a job with the N.F.B. as an assistant film editor.

A native of Toronto, prior to join- ing the N.F.B. Mr. Newman practiced commercial and fine art as well as professional photography. Following his experience in film editing he was given directorial status which included the direction of films produced for the Canadian Armed Forces and war infor- mation shorts. As a full producer in 1945 he was in complete charge of the CANADA CARRIES ON series, out- lining the country’s war efforts, and shown commercially in nearly every theatre in Canada. From 1947 to 1952 he was named Executive Producer in charge of all films designed for theatri- cal use. During this period he super- vised the production of over 300 documentaries. For a brief period, in 1949-50 he was on loan to NBC-TV in New York.

In 1952 Syd Newman joined CBC-TV in Toronto as Supervisor of remote sports and features, and pro- duced the first N.H.L. games and Grey Cup games. From 1954 to 1958 he took on the chore of Supervisor of Drama, which included such items as the General Motors Theatre, Arthur

2

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Hailey’s FLIGHT INTO DANGER, the Ford Theatre, Canada bond shows etc. Syd spent the years between 1958 and 1970 in England, first from 1958 to 1962 as Head of Drama for ABC- TV, where he produced such hits as ARMCHAIR THEATRE, THE AVENGERS, etc. In 1963 he moved over to the BBC-TV as head of their Drama Group, in charge of all drama, some 720 individual drama programs a year with a budget of over $19,000,000.00. Among his successes he fondly recalls THE FORSYTE SAGA and CATHY COME HOME.

In 1969 he joined Associated British Picture Corporation as an exec- utive director of feature films, and in 1970 moved back to Canada at the invitation of the C.R.T.C. as special advisor to the chairman Mr. Pierre Juneau, and acting director of the Broadcast Programs Branch.

On August 24th, 1970 he was appointed Government Film Commis- sioner and Chairman of the National Film Board of Canada.

Syd Newman picked up many honours along the way, including the Desmond Davis Award from the British Society of Film and Television Arts (1967)...the Zeta Award for outstanding service to writers, pre- sented by the Writers Guild of Great Britain (1970). He has also been

named a Knight of Mark Twain by the Mark Twain Society of America, a Fellow of the Society of Film and Television Producers of Great Britian, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Art in Great Britain.

No greater compliment could pos- sibly be paid to Syd Newman’s envi- able status in the industry than the following, written by Maurice Wiggins of the London Times, one of London’s leading T.V. critics. ‘British Television will never be the same again without Mr. Newman who has had more influ- ence on Television than any single individual with the possible exception of former BBC chief Sir Hugh Green”. Welcome back to Canada Syd, and may your stay be a long and fruitful

one.

Sydney Newman makes his home in Montreal, is married and is the father of three daughters aged 17, 21 and 23.

UNIVERSAL NAMES BRAGER TORONTO BRANCH MANAGER

William Soady, National Sales Manager for Universal in Canada has confirmed the appointment of Michael Brager as manager of the Toronto branch.

Mike Brager joined Universal in the Calgary office in 1948, serving in shipping, booking, selling and finally as Branch manager. From 1965 to 1970 he moved to the Calgary office of Twentieth Century Fox, then on to Toronto to head the Universal branch.

We wish Mike Brager every success in his new and important assignment.

CcConadian

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IN THIS ISSUE

Sydney Newman of the NFB N. A. Taylor—Our Business First Canine Star a Canadian Variety Village Graduation

Theatre Inspection Branch Appointments

‘Babe’ Coval Retires Major Production Plans

Canadian Participation at Cannes

EDITOR DAN KRENDEL

Asst. Editor HARRIET BERNSTEIN

Published Monthly by

Film Publications of Canada Ltd.

175 Bloor St. E. Toronto 285, Ont. Telephone 924-3701

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Registration No. 2587 Postage Paid in Toronto

CANADIAN FILM DIGEST

iqe =) Cc A MONTHLY COMMENTARY ON THE CANADIAN MOTION PICTURE SCENE

WE’RE STILL IN BUSINESS AND GOING STRONG

Following publication of our initial Spring Product Issue we ran into a number of complicated and frustrating problems, which | am happy to report at this time have now been resolved and we are back on the tracks again. | think | am safe in promising that there will be a regular issue of the Digest each and every month in the future.

At the risk of sounding immodest | can tell you that the response to our first issue was overwhelmingly enthusiastic, and we have dozens of letters from every part of Canada, from newspaper feature writers, presidents of Film Societies, Independent and Circuit exhibitors and projectionists, and retired industry leaders, complimenting us and offering constructive suggestions for the improvement of this publication. All have been carefully scrutinized and steps taken to implement those suggestions which have a practical signifi- cance.

To make it more interesting and informative to everyone, not just the Big City slickers, we plan to carry as much regional news as we possibly can, but unless we are kept constantly informed of what is going on in your particular bailiwick there is no way we can give you proper exposure. The simplest and best way to achieve this is to name someone knowledgeable on the local scene as a sort of ex-officio correspondent to keep feeding us copy. | promise most of it will find its way into these pages. So let’s hear from you... the Maritimes, Quebec, the Prairie Provinces, Alberta and the West Coast. We’ll take care of Ontario.

And just a reminder ...if you want this magazine to keep coming your way we must have your subscription. No more complimentary copies. So, if you haven't already done so, please mail your cheque to our Subscription Department right now, before you forget and get taken off the mailing list.

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EDITOR

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WHAT’S THE HANDLE?

There is now a burgeoning feature film industry in Canada. Many individuals are presently seeking to produce films with or without the aid of the Canadian Film Development Corporation. Their ideas of what to produce are as varied as their names.

Anyone with experience in the mechanics of motion picture production can make a feature film, but it seems that few can make attractions which will sell tickets at the box-office. Even television, which does not charge for its entertainment, has a continuing problem of attracting sufficient viewers. When ratings are not sufficiently high or when they drop to a certain level, shows are taken off the air on the premise that the size of the audience has failed to equate to the cost of such shows.

There was a time, in our business, when experienced producers had a sixth sense for knowing which films to create in order to sell tickets and return a profit. It is becoming extremely more difficult to find audiences sufficiently large enough to generate returns which will pay for negative costs and, hopefully, earn a profit. There are no more geniuses in our business.

Many producers and directors fall in love with a story or a script and decide that if it is made into a feature film, a large audience will be attracted. Sometimes they are right, but the odds are that they will be wrong. There is no room for mediocrity in our business today,

Before a feature production is started, a potential film-maker should say to himself: ‘‘What’s the handle?”” A handle is something which the distributor and exhibitor can use to help generate a campaign, and, hopefully, attract an audience of some size. It can be one or more of many things, viz: an established bestseller book; a classic story; a successful play; an entirely new type of subject; one or more stars with some draw at the box-office; a fascinating title; etc., etc.

Frequently, when a Canadian produced film fails to get off the ground, the producer will blame the distributor for poor handling and more particularly, theatre owners because they are allegedly not supporting Canadian made feature productions. Before he blames others, the producer should examine his own position more carefully. Canadian exhibitors are delighted and anxious to present Canadian made features, but only if they will attract audiences in sufficient numbers. In the last couple of years some theatres have sustained enormous losses by showing Canadian films which the public refused to buy. One must not forget the old adage—’‘When there is no business, one goes out of business."’

Our government can pass legislation which will help finance and create motion picture features. However, there is no way to legislate that people must buy tickets to see motion picture features which have been created in Canada. In point of fact, they have not yet found a way to guarantee that the Canadian populace will necessarily watch Canadian produced television shows.

Our producers should not be bitter—they should be better. They should make certain before they undertake production that they are going to create something which at least will have a chance to be saleable. Instead of making the tea pot first and then asking somebody else to seek a handle, they should find the handle first and then make the tea pot. All production starts with a pencil and paper. It should also start with the producer asking—‘’What’s the handle?”

CANADIAN FILM DIGEST

BIG DOLL HOUSE STUNT PAYS OFF

Prior to the recent, very successful engagement of BIG DOLL HOUSE at the Downtown and two Drive-In theatres in Toronto, Pat Harris of |.F.D. used a unique street stunt which was so successful that it will be used in all key situations across Canada.

A cage-like structure was mounted on a Jeep Universal, which inciden- tally, was promoted from a local Jeep dealer, enclosing two attractive girls formerly members of the HAIR cast, who were driven around the city on opening day, passing out heralds im- printed with ‘Lucky Numbers’.

6,000 heralds were distributed and 100 lucky winners were chosen to be guests of the management on opening day.

This was a unique and wildly suc- cessful promo, and just goes to show what a little imagination can do to bring in extra B.O. bucks.

DAVID V. PICKER NAMED TO HEAD A.D.L. LUNCHEON

President of United Artists, David V. Picker has been named general chair- man of the annual luncheon of the Motion Picture and Amusement Divi- sion of the Anti-Defamation League Appeal to be held in October.

The A.D.L. Appeal is seeking seven and a half million dollars to support a nationwide program of human and community relations conducted by the Anti-Defamation League of B’Nai B’Rith. The League, founded in 1913 has been in the forefront of the con- tinuing fight for civil liberties and the improvement of inter-group and com- munity relations.

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CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR FILM FESTIVAL

Not to be outdone by its foreign counterparts, Canada held its own Amateur Film Festival in Hamilton during the early part of April. In addition to seventeen entries from Canadian filmmakers, there were

Canadian filmmakers, there were eighteen from the U.S., four from Brazil three each from Japan and Spain, and two from France. One entry arrived from each of Belgium, England, Finland, Italy, Portugal and Zambia. The judging was handled by a jury consisting of Gerald Pratley, director of the Ontario Film Theatre, Lucien Marleau a filmmaker with the NFB, Victor Pirkl, a Czech film amateur, Logie Donaldson, Film officer with the NFB office in Hamilton and Edgar Daniels, professor of English at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

Canadian films captured two of the nine awards, both for animated subjects. The major award, the Canada Trophy went to Howard Lester of Topanga, California for his AIRPLANE GLUE ! LOVE YOU. Best documen- tary film award was won by William Lipper of Los Angeles for his A PART- TICULAR MAN. ULTIMO PAGINA (The Last Page) by Rolf Mandolesi of Italy knocked off the Best Scenario Award. Awards for best film by a teen under 16 went to Doug Smith of the U. S. A. for THE WAD AND THE WORM, and 16 to 19 to Hiroshi Takano of Tokyo.

The winning films were shown in Hamilton on May 16th, in Ottawa on May 19th and in Montreal on May 26th. All were shown at the Ontario Science Centre earlier this month.

The Canadian Amateur Film Fest- ival is sponsored by the Society of Canadian Cine Amateurs, a federally incorporated organization.

M.P.T.A.O. ELECTS OFFICERS

At a recent meeting of the Board of Directors of the Motion Picture Theatres Association of Ontario, the following were elected officers for the coming year.

President, William Sullivan Vice-President, Frank Lawson .. . Secretary, Jack M. Fine, and Treasurer, David Axler.

CANADIAN FILM DIGEST

‘BABE’ COVAL RETIRES FROM WARNERS

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An old friend, Irving ‘Babe’ Coval, longtime Toronto Branch Manager for Warner Bros. finally tossed in the towel and retired from active industry association on June 5th, after a career spanning some thirty five years with the same company.

Babe, now 71, began his film career as a salesman for Empire Films in Winnipeg in 1929, and seven years later, in 1936 moved to Vancouver to head the W.B. branch in that city. From Vancouver he moved to Mont- real in 1942.

During W.W. 2 he was moved to Trinidad to supervise his company’s operations throughout that area. His late wife couldn’t stand the intolerable heat and they returned to Montreal, and in 1946 Babe was appointed Tor- onto Branch Manager, a position he has held since.

All of us in the industry wish Babe well in his retirement, and hope it will be a happy and satisfying one for someone who has been as active and well-liked as he is. Incidentally Babe is a long-time member of both the Cana- dian Picture Pioneers and the Variety Club of Ontario, and plans to continue his association with both organiza- tions. Good luck Babe.

ASTRAL ANNOUNCES PERSONNEL SHIFTS

A release from Jerry H. Solway and Martin Bochner of Astral Films an- nounces the following changes within their organization.

Morley Mogul, former Toronto Branch Manager becomes assistant to the General Manager Martin Bochner.

Norman Simpson, Astral’s Montreal Branch Manager will move to Calgary as Branch Manager and will also co- ordinate operations between the three Western branches of Astral.

Brian Bingham, for many years manager of the Calgary branch will move to Toronto as Branch Manager.

Claude Chene who has served as booker-salesman in the Montreal branch has been appointed Branch Manager.

Miss Marilyn Kennedy has been appointed Director of Advertising and Publicity, and in addition to being fluently bilingual brings with her many years of experience with Paramount, 20th Century-Fox and MGM where she directed group sales in the Toronto area.

In announcing these appointments, Solway and Bochner stated that “With the many specialized features already in the Astral library, and with many new productions on the current release schedule, the need to strengthen our sales force, particularly in the Head Office was imminent. The addition of Bingham as Toronto Branch Manager will enable us to give increased respon- sibility to Mogul in his new post, which in turn will prove of consider- able benefit to the servicing of our product.”

C.S. DOIDGE RESIGNS FROM FAMOUS

C.S. DOIDGE RESIGNS

Mr. George P. Destounis, president of Famous Players Limited has an- nounced the resignation, effective April 16th, of Clare S. Doidge, vice- president and _ treasurer of the Company.

Mr. Doidge joined Famous Players twenty one years ago in charge of the accounting and statistical departments, and a few years later was elevated to comptroller of the company. In 1970 he was appointed a vice-president and treasurer.

Clare and Mrs. Doidge plan a brief vacation to celebrate their 25th an- niversary after which he plans to return to his first love - taxation, in which field he is considered to be quite an expert - as an income and corporate tax consultant.

20th CENTURY-FOX CONCLAVE

The first 20th Century-Fox Corporate Planning Conference of the new man- agement team has been called by Dennis C. Stanfill, President, and was held over a three and a half day period at the Company’s Century City studio in Culver City.

Members of the new management team attending the sessions chaired by Stanfill were, from the Home Office, Jerome Edwards, Vice-President and General Counsel; John P. Meehan, Vice-President and Controller; Peter S. Myers, Vice-President of domestic dis- tribution; David Raphel, Vice-Presi- dent of foreign distribution, and Jonas Rosenfeld Jr. Vice-President and direc- tor of Advertising, Publicity and Exploitation. Representing the studio were William Self, Vice-President, Television, and Elmo Williams, Vice- President and Director of Worldwide Production.

William T. Gossett, newly-elected Chairman of the Board and other top executives from home office and the studio also attended this series of meetings covering a broad-range study of all areas of Fox operations, includ- ing Marketing, Production and Subsidi- aries. This was the first official meet- ing since the recent proxy contest, a victory which the management team consider a mandate and intends to carry it out in the broadest sense.

8

TERENCE M. LYND NAMED F. P. VEEP & TREASURER

Mr. George P. Destounis, president of Famous Players has announced the appointment, effective April 16th, of Mr. Terence M. Lynd, B.Comm., C.A. as a vice-president and treasurer of the company.

A native of Whitby, Ontario, Mr. Lynd at 44 comes well qualified to handle his new responsibilities. After graduating from Whitby High School in 1944 he went on to the University of Toronto where he obtained an honours Bachelor of Commerce degree. He articled as an accounting student with Price Waterhouse and Company, obtaining his C.A. degree in 1952.

Terence Lynd was executive’ Vice- President of Columbia Records of Canada Limited prior to taking on his new duties at Famous Players. He is married and lives in Thornhill with wife and two sons aged 11 and 13.

He is an ardent golfer and fisher- man, but at this point we have no way of verifying the veracity of his claims in both departments.

F. R. CRAWLEY HEADS FILM CANADA

Following the complete reorganization of Film Canada Presentations Limited, Mr. F. R. Crawley, president of Crawley Films Limited has assumed the presidency of the new company.

Mr. Harvey Hunt, with a long his- tory with Famous Players and Odeon, who retired a couple of years ago has been appointed Vice-President.

JACK WARNER - COLUMBIA IN JOINT DEAL

Jack Warner who recently sold out his interest in the Warner studios is a long way from the mothballs. He has just concluded a deal with Columbia to co-finance and produce the prize- winning musical ‘’1776" which is ex- pected to go before the cameras on the Columbia lot in the fall of 1971.

In commenting on the deal, Jack Warner who with his brothers pioneered the first talking pictures, said ... “‘l am delighted with this opportunity to join forces with Columbia because | am so impressed with its high degree of professionalism. | hope that ‘1776’ will be the fore- runner in a series of many pictures | will co-produce with that company.”

On their part, Leo Jaffe and Stanley Schneider, on behalf of Columbia expressed their gratification with their new association and stated that Jack Warner is regarded by them as not only a long-time and valued friend, but also as one of the industry’s most respected filmmakers.

CANADIAN PICTURE PIONEER GOLF TOURNEY AUGUST 26th

All members of the Canadian Picture Pioneers and allied industries are re- minded that this year’s annual golf tournament will be held at the Cedar- brae Golf and Country Club on Thurs- day, August 26th.

This is the one big event of the year for members of our Industry, and as has been the case for many years, tickets will be at a premium if you delay purchasing yours until the last moment.

The price of admission is $6.50, and as in the past will include dinner, a door prize, and a chance to win one of several glamorous and costly prizes. Oh yes, you may golf too if you wish.

The following will be pleased to take your order for tickets... Zeke Sheine, 363-9021...Andy Rouse, 368-2618...Morris Appleby, 922-3113... Harry Green, 964-5824 ...Graydon Hulse, 364-8323 ...and May Chinn at 929-0865.

For golf starting times please con- tact Andy Rouse AFTER Civic Holi- day, August 2nd.

DECEASED

It is with deep sorrow that we record the passing of a number of industry members within the past few weeks. To their families we extend our deep and sincere condolences.

GEORGE H. BEESTON, Vice- President and Treasurer of Empire Films Ltd. died on Thursday, May 20th while vacationing in Florida. Mr. Beeston was most active in Canadian Picture Pioneer affairs, and will be sadly missed as that organization's fin- ancial advisor.

HARRY WALLACE a long-time employee of Famous Players who re- tired in 1963, passed away at his home in Orangeville on Thursday, May 20th. Harry was 66 at the time of his pas- sing.

ARCHIE FRASER projectionist at the Capitol theatre in Brantford died at the age of 67. He started in the industry in Paris, Ont. in 1918 working in the booths of the Gem, Allen’s and the Capitol. In 1927 he moved to the Brant in Brantford and two years later to the Capitol where he remained until his death.

W. D. GEAR projectionist at the Stanley Theatre in Vancouver, died at his home at the age of 72. Prior to joining the Famous Family Bud Gear occupied similar positions in a number of theatres throughout British Colum- bia.

MICHAEL REIDY, well known sound technician died in Toronto on April 19th, 1971 at the age of 73. Mike first joined General Theatre Sup- ply Company in 1937, left for two years in 1948 and rejoined the same

- company in 1950. Failing health

prompted his retirement from active business in 1960.

ANOTHER $50,000.00 GRANT FROM THE C.F.D.C.

It has been announced that the Cana- dian Film Development Corporation has made a grant of $50,000.00 to L'Association cooperative de Produc- tions Audio-Visuelles, a filmmakers’ co-op. The grant is intended to assist the co-operative in providing adminis- trative and technical services in the area of feature film production, in- cluding scripting and production plan- ning.

The co-operative with headquarters

CANADIAN FILM DIGEST

in Montreal was established by a group of filmmakers who decided to work together to acquire a more detailed knowledge of the administrative and technical skills required in film pro- duction. The Corporation believes that the lack of such administrative know- ledge and ability to plan effectively has been one of the principal stumb- ling blocks faced by young film- makers. One of the major purposes of the co-operative is to assure such ser- vices at a reasonable cost.

Established just three months ago, the co-op has about forty members— directors, editors, film technicians, set designers and others involved in film production. According to its constitu- tion membership is open to anyone presently working in film production, either on the actual production or technical sides of the industry, includ- ing those people concerned with labor- atory and sound recording services.

IN CURRENT PRODUCTION

Leigh Taylor-Young stars opposite Jerry Orbach in the Jimmy Breslin best-seller THE GANG THAT COULDN'T SHOOT STRAIGHT. Big Mama is Jo Van Vleet who helps carry the load in this most amusing tale of

. gang warfare in New York. M-G-M will

release.

United Artists is putting the finishing touches to CHATO’S LAND, a western nearing completion on loca- tion in Spain. Charles Bronson, Jack

Palance and Richard Basehart star.

Principal photography has begun in Rome on ROMA BENE, the Dino de Laurentis production for Columbia re- lease. The picture stars Alberto Sordi, Virna Lisi and Irene Papas.

Currently filming in New York is 20th Century-Fox‘s offbeat’ comedy MADE FOR EACH OTHER, which stars Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna.

DIRTY HARRY, a Malpaso Com- pany production for Warner Brothers is currently filming on location in San Francisco, with Clint Eastwood star- ring and Don Siegel producing and directing.

Scheduled to start production this summer in New York, is BULLET- PROOF, second feature to be filmed in the U.S. by Czech director Milos Forman. A Columbia release.

IN THE CAN AND READY FOR DATING

Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Caine, Susannah York and Margaret Leighton have completed filming X, Y and ZEE in London. Check with your Columbia man for available dates.

SCRAPING BOTTOM, starring George Segal is the story of a con-man junkie who exists only to support his habit. Paula Prentiss plays Segal’s es- tranged wife, and Karen Black por- trays his affluent, victimized girl friend. The picture is now in the can, and United Artists are looking for dates.

Principal photography has been completed on LIVING FREE, a sequel to “Born Free,” in Kenya. Columbia Pictures will release this attraction featuring Elsa the lioness and her three cubs.

Filming of SKIN GAME, a Chero- kee production for Warner Brothers has been completed, and stars James Garner in this comedy which was directed by Paul Bogart.

Shooting has been completed on TO FIND A MAN, in New York. This is a Columbia Pictures-Rastar Produc- tions attraction, and will be distri- buted by Columbia.

Sanford Howard’s MAN IN THE WILDERNESS has completed prin- cipal photography on location in Spain. Richard Sarafian directed the Richard Harris-John Huston drama for Warner release.

N.A.C. CONCLAVE

IN CHICAGO

Officers and directors of the National Association of Concessionaires held a most successful Midyear Board Meet- ing at the Sheraton-Chicago Hotel re- cently.

The agenda included in-depth dis- cussions of many important industry matters, and reports were heard from the various committee chairmen. High priority was given such subjects as the N.A.C. Convention and NATO-NAC- TEA trade show scheduled for the end of October at the Americana Hotel in New York, Membership Service Ex- pansion, and plans for staging future N.A.C. Regional Meetings throughout the U.S.A. and Canada.

With many N.A.C. directors in Chicago attending the National Res- taurant Show, the meetings attracted one of the largest attendances in N.A.C. history.

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ODEON BUILDING PIGGY-BACK IN HAMILTON

| have a nice note on my desk from Frank Fisher, Vice-President of Odeon Theatres of Canada, first offering his congratulations on the first issue of CANADIAN FILM DIGEST, and then, gently, oh so gently, informing us that in the story on theatre construction in Ontario we neglected to mention pro- jects which Odeon has under way.

We stand corrected Frank, but ‘Frank’ly the lines of communications must have clogged somewhere along the line, as | can’t recall receiving any information from your office in regard to theatre construction or anything else, despite my frequent pleas for some editorial material.

However, to correct the uninten- tional omission, this will serve to advise our readers that Odeon have a Piggy-back dual under construction on King St. E. in Hamilton, scheduled to open on September 1st of this year. The lower auditorium will seat 750 and the upper 450. Incidentally, as of that date | believe that Odeon will give up the Capitol and Palace theatres in that city.

Oh yes...! also understand that Odeon have just opened the new Hy- land theatre in Kitchener. Good luck, and much success on your new ven- tures from the editorial staff and readers of the DIGEST.

TV AGREEMENT A joint statement by CBC president

George Davidson and NFB Commis- sioner Sydney Newman advises that an agreement has been signed between the two National bodies for exclusive English television network broadcast rights for a minimum of 13 programs to be produced by the board. 30, 60 and 90 minute programs in colour and black and white will have their content determined through consultations be- tween senior officials of both organiza- tions, and are to be telecast between March 15th, 1971 and August 31st, 1972. The first program under the agreement, SAD SONG OF YELLOW SKIN was televised on March 23rd.

This new agreement is in addition to the existing arrangement between the French network of the CBC and the NFB.

CANADIAN FILM DIGEST

Mr. Newman stated “In our films we are hoping to show, in peak viewing time, some of the grandeur as well as the idiocies of being Canadian in a world that’s painfully trying to pull itself up by its own bootstraps.”

Mr. Davidson expressed his satisfac- tion by saying that he was pleased to enter into a renewed agreement with the NFB. “It will provide our English network with a number of programs from a Canadian organization with an International reputation for the excel- lence of its productions. This agree- ment can’t help but strengthen the bonds between the CBC and the NFB.

In addition to the current agree- ment, the CBC and NFB will soon begin discussions for productions and scheduling of a similar number of film programs for the two television sea- sons ending in August of 1974.

PLAYBOY PRODUCTIONS— COLUMBIA IN JOINT FILM DEAL

Playboy Productions and Columbia Pictures have announced a three year multi-film production schedule calling for a minimum of four feature pictures during the term of the deal.

The first joint venture will be Roman Polanski’s MACBETH which Columbia and Playboy will co-finance and Columbia distribute. The film, budgeted at three million dollars will star newcomers John Finch and Francesca Annis. Polanski is finishing interior filming in London, following location shooting in Northumberland and Wales. The film is scheduled for late 1971 release.

Hefner’s Playboy company entered film production as a joint venture with Jerome M. Zeitman Productions in 1970.

EMI-MGM ANNOUNCE PRODUCTION SCHEDULE

The newly-formed EMI-MGM Film Productions Ltd. based in London have announced the following attrac- tions scheduled for early shooting.

THE BOY FRIEND, Ken Russell’s adaptation of the hit stage musical will star ‘Twiggy’ in her motion picture debut, and will be released in Britain by MGM-EMI Film Distributors Ltd., and throughout the rest of the world by MGM. It is scheduled for Christmas ‘71 release.

Starting in the fall, a new comedy version of TRILBY AND SVENGALI starring Julie Andrews will be directed by Blake Edwards. Negotiations are under way to sign Jack Lemmon to co-star with Miss Andrews.

Toward the end of the year produc- tion is expected to begin on TRADER HORN with exterior shooting in Africa and interiors at the EMI-MGM Elstree Studios.

More properties are expected to go into production in quick succession.

BALDASSARIS CELEBRATE FIFTIETH

Fred Baldassari, recently retired as a projectionist at the Tivoli in Hamilton after fifty years with the same com- pany, and his wife, celebrated their Golden Anniversary on Sunday, June 27th. They were At Home to their many friends and relatives at their church on that date. Congratulations folks, and here's to the next fifty.

11

12

NO one Ever

) No Heaven.. No Hell..

No Guilt!

Eternal life is the only

reality!

~ REINCARNATE

a fascinating tale of the occult «

staring JACK CRELEY - JAY REYNOLDS - TRUDY YOUNG with HUGH WEBSTER « GENE TYBURN « TERRY TWEED « REX HAGON Written and Produced by SEELEG LESTER = Directed by DON HALDANE Executive Producer N.A. TAYLOR + Music by MILAN KYMLICKA A Tower Productions Release - COLOR

|] Through LONDON RECORDS: a “REINCARNATE THEME” by Howard Cable Orcnestra

“NO ONE EVER DIES” by Howard Cable Singers

OXOFFICE Gets New Lifel

In BIG Cities and SMALL Towns ~ he audienees Cove tl!

WORLD PREMIERE, UPTOWN 2, TORONTO Week Record!

MANAGER M. APPLEBY REPORTS: 6-Week Run! “Excellent business! Each day | spoke with the crowds and 7 out of 10 enjoyed it. 90% of

the patrons are under 25 years of age. | quote one family man about 40, with wife and 2 children — ‘I enjoyed the movie. Time went so fast .. . the movie was too short’.””

- Further Manager Comments - YORKDALE CINEMA, TORONTO - 3 Smash Weeks!

“Had good response from teenagers who showed real interest in it during its three week run.’

WESTWOOD CINEMA, TORONTO - 3 Great Weeks!

“Comments were good .. . particularly from the younger set.””

NORTHWEST & SCARBORO DRIVE-INS- Top Grosses day-and-date!

“A good picture with a theme that intrigued patrons and garnered good comments.”

CENTURY, HAMILTON - Smash 3 Weeks! . . . despite bus strike!

“Comments very good from predominantly young audience!”

CENTURY, LONDON - 2 Top Weeks!

“Very good comments. Photography was excellent.””

PARAMOUNT, PETERBOROUGH - Another Great Gross!

“Good comments — Very well received!’

LAMBTON MALL CINEMA, SARNIA - Solid Grosses!

“Photography and acting very good. Most people found the picture entertaining.”

EMPIRE, SUDBURY - Socko Hold Over Business!

| “‘Appealed to young audiences. We had lots of students.”

CENTRE, TRENTON - They loved it here too!

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CANADIAN FILM DIGEST

MAJORS ANNOUNCE PRODUCTION PLANS

Slated to go before the cameras in the immediate future, or presently in various stages of production, the fol- lowing attractions will hopefully be available to exhibitors before the end of the year.

From Warner Brothers we may expect GLIMPSE OF TIGER which will star Barbra Streisand and ex- hubby Elliott Gould, with Kim Darby. A Joe Wizan-Booth Gardner action- adventure drama LLOYD WILLIAMS AND HIS BROTHER, based on an original screen play by Walter Hill. THE COWBOYS, naturally starring John Wayne, with Bruce Dern as the heavy is being shot on location in New Mexico. Scheduled for late Fall shoot- ing is Stanley Kubrick’s TRAUM- NOVELLE. THE EXORCIST, on the occult scene is being readied by Paul Monash. William Peter Blatty the author, will write the screenplay and produce.

Columbia Pictures announce the following in various stages of produc- tion. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WANDA JUNE, based on the successful Broad- way play will star Rod Steiger and be directed by Mark Robson. Academy Award winner Stirling Silliphant is writing the screen play for THE NEW CENTURIONS, Joseph Wambaugh’s highly acclaimed novel about the L.A. Police Department. FAT CITY, being produced by Ray Stark will star Stacey Keach (The Travelling Execu- tioner) and will mark John Huston’s first directorial assignment in the U.S. in ten years. The screen play for FATHER’S DAY, the successful Broadway play by Oliver Hailey is being readied by Eleanor Perry. Robert Shaw has been signed to play the coveted role of Lord Randolph Churhill, father of Winston Churhill, and will be ably supported by Anne Bancroft. YOUNG WINSTON will be directed by Richard Attenborough from a screenplay by Carl Foreman who will also produce. THE WIDOWER, starring Academy Award winner Maggie Smith is scheduled to start production in Europe this sum- mer, with Alan J. Pakula directing under producer Donald Lange.

20th Century-Fox has announced that Robert Radford will head an all- star cast in its THE HOT ROCK which

14

will be directed by Peter Yates from a script by William Goldman. It may be remembered that Redford and Gold- man were responsible for the highly- successful ‘’Butch Cassidy.”

Scheduled to start shooting this month is the Walt Disney production NOW YOU SEE HIM, NOW YOU DON’T, a comedy to be produced by Ron Miller for the Disney Organiza- tion.

From United Artists we will be getting Paddy Chayefsky’s HOSPI- TAL, starring George C. Scott, being produced by Howard Gottfried. THE HONKERS, starring James Coburn is a dramatic story of the rodeo circuit and is being filmed on Western locations. Should be ready for release this Fall.

M.G.M.’s trio includes CURSE OF DARK SHADOWS $sstarring David Selby, Grayson Hall, Nancy Barrett and Lara Parker, all of whom are household names to the millions of “Dark Shadows” fans. Irving and Har- riet Ravetch have been signed to write the screenplay for ACASE OF NEED, which delves into the operations and functions of the medical profession within today’s society. Yul Brynner has been signed to portray the title role in CATLOW, Metro’s western adventure produced by Euan Lloyd, and now being filmed in Spain.

Universal offers MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS which will star Glenda Jackson and Vanessa Redgrave. Shooting is scheduled for mid-May.

ISRAELI AND SYRIAN JOIN FORCES

A former Israeli army officer-turned- author, and a former Syrian army officer-turned-actor, once deadly enemies, have teamed up as technical advisors to N.Y. film producer William L. Snyder on his upcoming film ver- sion of THE SHATTERED SILENCE, based on the exciting career of Israeli master-spy Eli Cohen who was execu- ted in Syria in 1966. Daniel Mann will direct the film in Israel later this year.

The Israeli is Zwi Aldouby who knew Cohen and wrote the book on which the film is based. The Syrian is Garry Malkonian who witnessed Cohen's execution.

TRAVEL INDUSTRY ASS‘N. OF CANADA PRESENTS ANNUAL AWARDS

The Travel Industry Association of Canada conducts an annual competi- tion to encourage the production of more and better films on travel and recreation in Canada. The following awards were presented at the T.1.A.C. convention held recently in Montreal. The Maple Leaf Award, or first prize went to the Quebec Department of Tourism, for QUEBEC-SKI, pro- duced by the Quebec Film Board. Fernand Dansereau directed, with Raymond-Marie Leger as producer. Second prize went to ONTARIO A LA CARTE, produced by Drege Audio of Toronto for the Ontario Depart- ment of Tourism and Information. YUKON...GET AWAY COUN- TRY, produced by Canawest-Master Films of Calgary for the Yukon De- partment of Travel and Information received an ‘Honourable Mention.’ Pictured, left to right are, L. J. Adams, president of the T.I.A.C. pre- senting the Maple Leaf Award to Robert Prevost, assistant Deputy Minister of the Quebec Department of Tourism, Fish and Game. Looking on is A. A. (Andy) McDermott, contest committee chairman.

GENEVIEVE BUJOLD HONOURED

From Barcelona comes word that Canada’s Genevieve Bujold has won the San Jorge Award for the best foreign acting performance of 1970-71, for her part in ANNE OF THE THOUSAND DAYS.

Miss Bujold was selected for the award in Spain by a jury consisting of Radio, T.V. and Press critics.

Zr £

FOR SUMMER BOX OFFICE SUCCESS...

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ON SUCCESS OF THE vean| SER now ingeneral release ——

CANADIAN FILM DIGEST

FIRST CANINE STAR A TRUE CANADIAN

A popular misconception, even among the better informed, seems to be that Rin Tin Tin was the first canine star to crash the movies. Not so, states Jack Chisholm whose memory goes back to the early days of Holly- wood when he was an extra and a stunt man among other things.

Strongheart is the name of the first dog star, and he was raised and trained by Lawrence Trimble, who also. directed all his pictures. A collection of still pictures, newspaper clippings and scenarios found in Trimble’s summer cottage in Eastern Ontario verifies the facts.

The first Strongheart series was produced around Banff in the winter of 1922 by the Trimble and Murfin

STi le PARC |

company of Los Angeles. Trimble wrote the scenarios and directed for First National. Production manager for Trimble was Bill Winterton Sr. late father of the present Bill who was so well known when he was with Associated Screen News and is now in business for himself in Montreal.

In the accompanying picture is seen Larry Trimble with Strongheart (on the left) and his mate Lady Jule. The two young ladies are unidentified. No contract was valid without Strongheart’s paw mark, which is also reproduced.

Readers are invited to send in items of interest from the ‘Good ole days.’ All photographs will be returned.

PHIL CARLTON UPPED AT WARNERS

Word comes from Irving Stern, Warner G.M. in Canada, that Phil Carlton erst- while Branch Manager in Winnipeg, has succeeded recently retired Irving ‘Babe’ Coval as manager of the com- pany’s important branch in Toronto.

Carlton will be succeeded in the Winnipeg branch by Terry Segal, pro- moted from Salesman-Booker of that branch.

16

1971 BIG AWARD

YEAR FOR N.F.B.

The National Film Board of Canada continues to pile up awards in Inter- national film competition, including victories at some of the world’s most prestigious festivals. In its fiscal year, just ended, the board added an addi- tional 79 trophies to bring its collec- tion to well over one thousand.

The awards were divided between 56 N.F.B. productions, and were pre- sented in 10 different countries. Among the victories were nine awards from the Internationally famous New York Film Festival, and 17 from Canadian film awards. Other major competitions included those held in La Plata, Argentina; Rome, Venice and Washington.

Top award winner for the year was Norman McLaren’s PAS DE DEUX which took two major trophies in New York, one in Panama and one in Salerno, Italy. This unusual and in- novative film on the dance has now piled up an impressive total of 17 first prizes.

One film, LES ROCHASSIERS was successful at three different festivals while another eight took awards in two separate competitions.

The British Film Academy honour- ed two N.F.B. productions this year. The coveted Robert Flaherty went to the television film SAD SONG OF YELLOW SKIN, while RISE AND FALL OF THE GREAT LAKES was judged the best specialized film.

SHAKESPEARE’S TEMPEST TO BE FILMED LOCALLY

Double-Jay Productions, a Toronto group, is planning to produce a film based on Shakespeare’s romantic comedy THE TEMPEST, to be shot in Southern Ontario late in September.

The film version which will be titled UP EVIL was conceived by Jack Cunningham and Jon Lidolt who use the original text as a point of depar- ture for creating an easily identifiable story line set in a present day situa- tion.

Both Cunningham and Lidolt have had considerable experience in film making, the latter having worked for many years with N. A. Taylor's Twentieth Century Theatres and Film Canada.

We wish them luck and hope they come up with a real block-buster.

Scene from A MATTER OF FAT

SOME INTERESTING SCENES FROM THREE UPCOMING NATIONAL FILM BOARD RELEASES,

“A MATTER OF FAT,” “MON ONCLE ANTOINE,”

and COLD JOURNEY

—

i

|

MON ONCLE ANTONE

Scenes from COLD JOURNEY

CANADIAN FILM DIGEST

ON THE CANADIAN PRODUCTION SCENE

By Harriet Bernstein

There are several feature films sche- duled for production this summer in various locations throughout Canada. Many of them are still in early pre- production stages, and castings for these are not set yet. ‘With a little help from my friends’’, Sam Jephcott of the Director’s Guild and Lillian Gauci at the C.F.D.C. here, | have been able to gather some information that should be of interest to anyone with an eye on the Canadian Pro- duction scene. The best way to do this thing is probably province by pro- vince, so we'll begin with British Col- umbia, specifically Vancouver, where most of the action is this summer.

Four Star Productions plan to begin filming at the end of July with a feature motion picture for C.B.S. Tele- vision. The only information available at the time of writing this, is that Richard Rosenbloom is producing.

An independent production en- titled ANOTHER SMITH FOR PARA- DISE began filming the end of June in Vancouver. Jim Margellos is producing this one, with Tom Shandell directing. The C.F.D.C. is financially involved.

A feature film production of Aldous Huxley’s prophetic novel BRAVE NEW WORLD is expected to arrive at Simon Fraser University for location shooting in August. This Anglo-Italian production will be pro- duced by Dmitri de Grunwald, and directed by Peter Hall.

A Galanty Productions film will begin shooting in July on ECSTASY OF RITA JOE, with C.F.D.C. involve- ment once again. Darryl Duke is pro- ducing and directing.

Calgary has one film going this sum- mer, PRIME CUT, in which Lee Marvin is starring. Director is Mike Ritchie, whose last film was DOWN- HILL RACER.

News in Winnipeg is that Darren McGavin may be in the process of setting up a feature production studio, with support from the Manitoba gov- ernment. As far as we know now, the only feature film for Winnipeg is one which supposedly will begin shooting in August. Norman Werbuk will pro- duce, from a screenplay by Toronto writer lan Ross. More on this in our next issue.

18

Quebec has two feature films scheduled to begin production within the next month or so. For one, Quest Film Productions is in pre-production stages with JOURNEY, which Peter Carter is producing and Paul Almond is directing. The casting is not set on this one.

The other Quebec film is from Kino Productions, and is entitled LIES MY FATHER TOLD ME, which has to be a far-out, great title. Harry Gulkin is producing, and Jan Kadar is directing. Kadar, by the way, is probably best remembered for his direction of the Czech-made SHOP ON MAIN STREET. LIES MY FATHER TOLD ME is an original screenplay by Mon- treal’s Ted Allen. The film will star Zero Mostel, and the C.F.D.C. is finan- cially participating.

Last, but oh not least, is Toronto, which also has a couple of films in the offing. Director Tony Richardson is expected in Toronto the beginning of August for casting on THE EDIBLE WOMAN, to be shot here later in the year. Script is based on Canadian writer Margaret Atwood’s book.

And the Bond-Moore Corporation will begin filming this month on STOP ME (originally entitled THE BABY- SITTER). Timothy Bond is directing, and Roy Moore is producing the film, which has C.F.D.C. money in it. The original screenplay is by Roy Moore, and is described as a ‘’Psychological Thriller’. The shooting schedule is ap- proximately six weeks, and cinema- tographer Bob Saad heads the N.A.B.E.T. crew on this one. Signed for roles are Quebec’s Genevieve Deloir (THE CROWD INSIDE), and Christian Robert (THE LAST VAL- LEY): it is still tentative at this time, but Elizabeth Ashley may be starred. STOP ME will be filmed entirely on location in Toronto. Cinepix will dis- tribute the film in Canada, and Dennis Friedland’s Cannon Group is handling distribution in other parts of the world.

Also filming this month in Toronto is SIMON LOCKE, M.D., a half hour series for Television, produced by Val- Jon Productions Limited. Stars are Jack Albertson and Sam Groom. Wilton Schiller is Executive Producer and Chester Krumholts is producer. Series is filming at the CTV studios, for primetime showing, come Septem- ber.

An item of interest for budget- minded people—rates for Canadian Production Assistants and Assistant Directors have dropped; both changes should benefit lower-budget films.

FRANKENHEIMER IN TORONTO

You know, people are really incred- ible. One of those things that | think most of us share is a frustration with ideas that zap into our minds at ran- dom, and then, because we are hassled, or we become too boggled with daily coping, those ‘great ideas’ are never realized. Which is why it’s so great when someone can actually get it to- gether enough to make their ideas actualities.

Last month, John Frankenheimer came to Toronto to promote his new film for Columbia THE HORSEMEN. While he was here, he assisted in the making of another film. Bruce Pitman, who works at Allan King & Associates here, and Central Media Productions got together a scrip outline for a docu- mentary film about Frankenheimer. Maureen O’Donnell, publicity director at Columbia, and John Skouras, U.S. exploitation manager, both liked the idea of the scrip, and as it happened, Skouras passed it along to Franken- heimer in New York, a few days prior to his trip to Toronto.

Meanwhile back home, Bruce Pit- man and George Wright were research- ing Frankenheimer and his films to determine how best to approach their subject. They decided that their film would be about how John Franken- heimer sees, and their outline was simply to film an interview with him, with questions so designed that Frankenheimer’s answers could serve as the sole narration to the film. Their key idea was to present Franken- heimer with a cliched situation, that of a girl in a park being eyed and approached by a Stranger passing by, and to film through Frankenheimer’s ideas. Bruce and George got together a crew, consisting of people who, like themselves, are just very into film making. Fraser Boa of London, Ontario was soundman, and Arnaud Maggs handled the lighting and still photography. Maureen was the girl on the bench, and Bob Simms played the guy with the eyes.

(CONT)

»

FRANKENHEIMER

Then came the great surprise. Upon Mr. Frankenheimer’s arrival in Tor- onto, he stated that he so much liked the idea, he wanted to personally direct the park scene. He said that he had recently completed a year of editing on THE HORSEMEN, and that doing some shooting would be refresh- ing. Simply, the concept of creatively directing such a trite, everyday, cliched situation, appealed to him.

And that’s how it happened that one sunny Saturday, John Franken- heimer, a man whose career includes such noted films as THE MAN- CHURIAN CANDIDATE, BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ, THE FIXER and GRAND PRIX, was in Queen’s Park, lugging benches, shooting 16mm film, and convincing passersby and some willing winos to play extras in this film.

Where things stand now is, the film has been edited by Bruce and George. It is approximately 30 minutes long, in 16mm colour film. Columbia wants to fly Bruce to New York soon, with a finished work print for them to see. Which just goes to show you what can happen when someone grabs onto one of those ideas that come zapping through the mind. ’

EMI-MGM FORM NEW PRODUCTION COMPANY

From London comes news that EMI and MGM plan to expand their very successful relationship with the forma- tion of a new company, EMI-MGM Film Productions Ltd. This announce- ment follows closely two successful features produced jointly by EMI and MGM, GET CARTER and THE GO- BETWEEN. The latter picture was an official entry at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

CANADIAN FILM DIGEST

The new company will be headed by Nat Cohen, chairman of Anglo-EMI as Managing Director, and Robert Litt- man, MGM's Director of European Production as Deputy Managing Direc- tor. James T. Aubrey, Jr., President of MGM will be Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Bernard Delfont, Chairman and Chief Executive of EMI Film and Theatre Corporation will serve as Deputy Chairman.

This announcement will not affect the normal film programs indepen- dently produced by EMI in the U.K. or MGM's independent production schedule.

MASH: CELEBRATES FIRST ANNIVERSARY

Twentieth Century-Fox’s irreverant comedy which was nominated for five Academy awards has completed a full year of engagements in the same theatres in Toronto and Vancouver. In Toronto it is still playing to big houses at the Hollywood, and in Vancouver, the Park Theatre has been its home since it opened over a year ago.

M ASH is the first non-roadshow attraction to have played over a year in the same theatre in either area.

In Vancouver, Director Robert Altman was the guest of honour at an Anniversary celebration at the Park, where he was joined by all the players on the B.C. Lions football team, as well as reps. from the newspapers, T.V. and Radio.

COVER STORY

The highest accolade Variety Interna- tional can bestow on a local Tent is the coveted Heart Award for outstand- ing Humanitarian work. This year’s highly prized award went to Tent No. 28 of Ontario for its establishment of an electro-limb centre in a new building erected on a site adjoining Variety Village in Scarborough ata cost in excess of $300,000.00.

This is not the first time that Tent 28 has won this award, although last time, in 1949 it had to share honours with the Miami Tent.

On our cover is shown Sam Shopso- witz (Shopsy) receiving the award from beautiful and glamorous screen star, and top-ranking executive of the Pepsi- Cola Company of America, Joan Craw- ford, while Edward Emanuel, chair- man of the Awards Committee looks on admiringly.

CLASSIFED ADS

We are planning a classifed ad column in future issues, which we feel will be a distinct service to members of the industry. The cost will be $10.00 per column inch, and a remittance in full must accompany all copy.

Your ads should be mailed to CLASSIFED ADS. C/o this mag- azine.

BUYING UNEXPOSED SHORT ENDS. 50 feet and up. 16 mm., 35 mm., B & W and Colour. Write to Canadian Film Digest.

DICTIONARIES WEBSTER

Library size 1970 edition, brand

new, still in box. Cost new

$45.00.

(WILL SELL FOR $15)

Deduct 10% on orders of 6 or more. MAIL TO

NORTH AMERICAN LIQUIDATORS 58-158 2nd Ave. N. Dept 0-544 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

C.O.D. orders enclose $1.00 per volume good will deposit. Pay balance plus C.O.D. shipping on delivery. Be satisfied on inspec- tion or return within 10 days for full refund. No dealers, each volume specifically stamped not for resale.

AL HARTSHORN BACK IN HARNESS

It is good to be able to report that veteran theatre manager Al Hartshorn who has been on the sick list these past few weeks has been given the green light and is back on the job managing the twin-auditorium Oshawa Centre Cinemas. Al has been a member of the Famous Players family for near- ly fifty years.

VARIETY VILLAGE GRADUATION—1971

On Wednesday evening, June 9th over 350 Barkers and guests gathered on the spacious grounds of Variety Vil- lage to witness the graduation of eight students. Past Chief Barker Morris Stein, chairman of the Variety Village School Board and a member of the Variety Village Council since 1949 presented graduation diplomas to the following: Frank Provenzano of Tor- onto, Richard Nugent of St. Cathar- ines, George Wilson of Sunderland, Ton Van Dusen of Scarborough, Howard Byers of Bay Ridges, William Phillips of Whitby, George Hnatuk of Woodstock and Michael Fortner of London.

Chief Barker of Tent No. 28, Sam ‘Shopsy’ Shopsowitz chaired the cere- monies, and First Assistant Chief Barker Jerry Solway introduced the platform guests. The following special awards were presented.

BEN OKUN Award to the boy making the greatest progress during the school term, to Frank Provenzano by Dough Guy Andy Rouse.

WILLIAM G. MILLER Award to the student making the best progress in spite of his handicap, to George Wilson by Mrs. Miller.

CATHERINE C. LINDABURY award of a book to the student show- ing the greatest interest in reading, by the late Mrs. Lindabury’s grandson Rod Beattie. A duplicate of the book goes to the V. V. Library.

SWIMMING AWARD presented to Rich Nugent winner of the swim mara- thon in 1971 by Doug Wells Crew Member of Tent No. 28.

THE HYE BOSSIN AWARD for the best presentation by a student on the subject “‘What Variety Village Means to Me” to George Hnatuk by Jerry Solway.

The Valedictorian of the 1971 grad- uating class was Richard Nugent.

20

The evening culminated with the official presentation of the Great Heart Award to Tent No. 28 by Inter- national Chief Barker Mr. Sherrill Corwin who flew in from San Fran- cisco for the occasion. The accom- Panying picture shows Mr. Corwin flanked by Chief Barker of Tent No. 28 Sam Shopsowitz and Robert Hall, past Chief Barker and for the past three years an International Vice- President.

RAPHAEL ETKES TO UNIVERSAL IN HOLLYWOOD

Mr. Ned Tanen, Vice-President of M.C.A. has announced that after a five year assignment with the company in London, Mr. Raphael Etkes has re- turned to the Universal Studios in Hollywood in a supervisory produc- tion capacity.

Mr. Etkes will be closely associated with Ned Tanen in his projected series of independent feature pictures for Universal release, including the cur- rently-shooting John Cassavetes film MINNIE AND MOSCOWITZ and the Douglas Trunbull-Michael Gruscoff production SILENT RUNNING.

SAM BINDER MAKES GOSSIP COLUMN

The following is gleaned from Barry Westgate’s chatty column in the Edmonton Journal, and is dated May 19th.

“Genial area G. M. for Odeon, Sam Binder is always up with the birds—has been ever since the days he was an usher at the old Empress Theatre. But now comes the truth. Maybe he’s up EARLY, but he isn’t always AWAKE.

Binder was ankling down Jasper to work the other early A.M. when he ran into one of life’s embarrassing mo- ments. A kindly passerby drew atten- tion to it.

No, he hadn’t left his teeth in the glass at home, forgotten to comb his hair, or slipped his suit jacket over Stanfield Reds. Worse than any of that. Along with the $200.00 single- breasted, he was wearing the $40.00 shoes. Trouble was, one was brown and the other black.”

C’est la Vie, Sam...at least you didn’t have them on backwards.

ROYAL SCREENING OF WUTHERING HEIGHTS FOR LONDON VARIETY

H.R.H. Princess Alexandra and the Hon. Angus Ogilvy attended the Royal gala premiere of the American- International film WUTHERING HEIGHTS at the ABC 2 in London, England, on June 9th.

This premiere was sponsored by the London Daily Mirror in association with the Variety Club of Great Britain in aid of the National Union of Youth Clubs and Variety’s Heart Fund. Nat Cohen was chairman of the organizing committee, and Michael Havas, man- aging director of MGM-EMI, by special arrangement with James Nicholson and Samuel Arkoff provided the at- traction at no cost. The theatre also was provided gratis by Bernard Del- font, chairman and chief executive of EMI Film and Theatre Corporation, and Peter Young, managing director of EMI Cinemas and Leisure Limited.

Both Mr. Nicholson and Mr. Arkoff flew to London for this Royal charity screening. 5

“FIDDLER” PREMIERE TO BENEFIT WILL ROGERS HOSPITAL

An announcement from United Artists states that the world premiere of FID- DLER ON THE ROOF, the film ver- sion of the international musical hit will be held at the Rivoli theatre in New York on November 3rd. This will be in the nature of a tribute to the 35th anniversary of the Will Rogers Memorial Hospital, and it was further announced by David Picker, president of U.A. that all proceeds will go to the fund.

A dazzling first night audience of civic notables, celebrities of the enter- tainment and social worlds and leaders of industry will attend this perform- ance and the champagne supper dance following.

Originally presented on Broadway in September, 1964, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, has since been produced in some 25 countries and has played to a total in excess of 30,000,000 paying customers. Still going strong in the U.S. and overseas, and the film version is expected to tumble all existing film records.

. a |

Soft young girls

behind | hard prison | bars...

Vedi

for aman— or to him!

FORA BIGID OLA

DISTRIBUTED IN CANADA BY:

INTERNATIONAL FILM DISTRIBUTORS LTD.

20 BLOOR STREET WEST, TORONTO, ONTARIO

CANADIAN FILM DIGEST CALGARY MONTREAL

ONTARIO THEATRES BRANCH APPOINTMENTS

Mr. O. J. Silverthorne, chairman of the Theatres Branch of the Department of Tourism and Information of Ontario has announced the appointment of Doug Walker, Wendi Enright and Joe Cunningham to the Classification Board of his department.

Joe Cunningham

IMPRESSIVE CANADIAN PARTICIPATION AT CANNES

The Cannes Film Festival is long past, but it is still timely to make mention of the tremendous contributions made by the C.F.D.C., the N.F.B. and the Department of Industry, Trade and Commerce. This is the second consecu- tive year that the three government departments have joined forces to help promote the Canadian film industry abroad.

In view of the remarkable expan- sion of the feature film industry in Canada—some 70 features had been undertaken since January 1970—and the fact that there is no Canadian organization specifically responsible for the promotion of the private film industry in this country, the Corpora- tion set up a special advisory group last December including members from the C.F.D.C., the N.F.B., the Department of Industry, Trade and Commerce, the Exhibition Commis- sion, Information Canada and the private sector, to study the organiza- tion of Canada’s participation at Cannes in 1971.

22

Mr. Cunningham has had extensive business experience and will be direct- ly responsible for the examination of all advertising matter. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto.

Miss Enright, at 24 probably the youngest member of any board in Canada has an enviable background as a popular and efficient member of the

Wendi Enright |

In addition to the services it pro- vided last year, two major innovations were introduced. One was the rental for the entire duration of the festival of a downtown theatre, the VOX Cinema, where 35mm Canadian films were presented. The cost of the rental was borne by the producers who pre- sented their wares at this festival.

In addition the sponsoring group set up a permanent P.R. and Press office in the Carlton Hotel, where Canadian delegates met and availed themselves of the various facilities. A full-time staff of eleven, mostly Cana- dians, was on hand to cater to their needs.

Among the 40-odd titles shown were, MON ONCLE ANTOINE, THE CROWD INSIDE, DEUX FEMMES EN OR, FORTUNE AND MEN’S EYES, BREATHING - TOGETHER, FOXY LADY, GOIN’ DOWN THE ROAD, QUESTION DE VIE, THE AP- PRENTICE, MADELINE IS, LES MALES, A MATTER OF FAT, LA NUIT DE LA POESIE, 7 TIMES A DAY and TIKI TIKI.

The Department of Industry, Trade

University of Toronto Law Library staff.

Doug Walker with over twenty years experience in management with Famous Players, Premier and Twinex brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge of films and the per- forming arts which will stand him in good stead in his new position.

and Commerce, as last year, was re- sponsible for the two publicity stands in the Carlton Hotel and the Palais des Festivals, and also undertook the pub- lication of an information booklet on the Canadian films being presented. Additionally the private sector and the N.F.B. jointly contributed to a major publicity campaign in support of the Canadian industry.

CANADIAN POET MAKES THE SCENE

Leonard Cohen, one of Canada’s budding young poets who turned to music a few years ago with his first album, has been signed to provide the background music for THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH WAGER, retitled McCABE & MRS. MILLER, the Warner Bros. pic starring Julie Christie and Warren Beatty.

This will be the first time that Cohen’s widely-known work will be heard in a motion picture, and will include a number of selections from his first album... ‘’The Stranger’s Song”, “Sisters of Mercy” and ‘Winter Lady”’,

ONTARIO VARIETY’S

NEW PROJECT

The Variety Club of Ontario since its inception nearly twenty five years ago has successfully rehabilitated 265 phys- ically handicapped young men who last year earned in excess of one million dollars, and far from being a burden on society, as many would undoubtedly have been, contributed upwards of $100,000.00 in taxes to the National treasury. This is a true ‘success story’ and this alone justifies Variety’s ex- istence.

But ... instead of resting on its laurels, this tent began to look for other projects as an outlet for its su- perabundant energies, and after months of consultation with specialists in child care, Came up with a project, the first of its kind in the world.

One year ago, a new extension to the existing Variety Village was ded- icated in memory of the late John J. Fitzgibbons, founder and first Chief Barker of the Ontario Tent. One floor is a fully-equipped gymnatorium for boys at the Village, and the second floor has been turned into a manufac- turing plant for the production of components badly needed by the Pros- thetics Division of the Ontario Crip- pled Children’s Centre. The first item produced was an electrically-powered elbow especially designed for children deformed at birth. The components produced here will equip Canadian children, and after extensive studies and approval from New York’s Univer- sity Medical Centre, will be made available on a world-wide basis.

The next item to be produced will be an electric actuator, which acts as a motor and transmission, is hooked up to an artificial hand or ‘hook’ and permits greater mobility and perfor- mance. These devices have been re- searched and developed by engineers and technicians working under the direction of Dr. Colin A. McLaurin, director of Prosthetic and Orthotic research at the Ontario Crippled Child- ren’s Centre.

Manager of the Prosthetic Limb Manufacturing Center is Ed Caswell

CANADIAN FILM DIGEST

who is aided by a staff of four tech- nicians from the Crippled Childrens’ Centre. He hopes to set up a special program in Variety Village proper to train some of the students to follow this line of work. As a matter of fact, some of the elbow parts have already been made by students of Variety Village.

The new Prosthetic Centre and gymnatorium represents a capital in- vestment of some $400,000.00, raised in its entirety by members of the Ontario Tent, with a great big assist from the Prince Philip dinner three years ago. It is estimated that it will cost in the neighbourhood of $200,000 annually to keep Variety Village plus the new electro-limb alive.

Mr. Doug Wells (right) of Variety Club of Ontario, Tent 28, examines one of the first y powered elbow units produced at the Variety Village Electro-Limb Production

electrical

A steady cash flow is essential, and everybody even remotely connected

with the motion picture business in Canada must consider this as his own personal project. If you are not a mem- ber of Variety, this is the time to get your feet wet by contacting the mem- bership chairman and getting in on the action. If you are a member, support the various fund-raising programs. It will increase your stature in the in- dustry which gives you your liveli- hood, and provide you with an inner pride which can’t be bought with dollars.

| like this bit which | heard at one of the Variety conventions. ‘‘A man is never taller than when he stoops to help a needy child.” Think about it.

ws

Centre, Scarborough. Mr. A. E. Caswell, Manager, holds the battery unit which provides power to operate the unit at the Ontario Crippled Children’s Centre, Toronto. e

23

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