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—
—
FPC Head Criticizes
Ticket Levy Moves
(Continued from preceding page)
a branch in Vancouver under Kevin Fitzgibbons
and would shortly open another
branch in Winnipeg under the direction of
Ken Wells.
Fitzgibbons pointed out that the company
spent about $1,200,000 a year in newspaper
advertising and another $600,000 in other
forms of advertising. The company now has
an annual pay roll of about $6,000,000, he
said.
"It might interest you to know that oiutheatres
are not used exclusively for the
presentation of motion pictures," said Fitzgibbons.
"Recently a church was burned
down in Sudbiu-y and our manager turned
our theatre over to the congregation without
charge until the people can build another
house of worship. Om- theatres were used
for public benefits on nimierous occasions.
In Cornwall we helped with the disaster
relief benefit. During the period of the
miners' strike in Glace Bay we distributed,
through civic agencies, free tickets to provide
entertainment for people who could not
afford to pay for theatre tickets. We have
cooperated with the government. Red Cross,
Salvation Army and other agencies by presenting
appeal messages on our screens without
charge."
The board of directors and officers were reelected.
Ask Soviet Film Ban
TORONTO—The Ontario division of the
Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire
has asked the Ontario censors board to
impose a total ban on the public and private
showing of Soviet films. The request was
adopted at the annual convention attended
by representatives of 385 provincial chapters.
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_
Student Ban on Theatres
Is Lifted at Sackville
SACKVILiLE, N. B.—The coeds of Momit
Allison imiversity here exercised their feminine
prerogative to change their minds almost
overnight. Soon after joming with the male
students to vote unanimously to continue
their boycott on the Vogue and Imperial,
when demands for reduced prices were refused,
another ballot was taken. All the
coeds voted to lift the ban, whereas all
or practically all the boys favored continuance
of the strike aimed at the two boxoffices.
The all-student margin was very
slight in favor of lifting the ban.
Some of the students advocated resimiption
of the boycott when the college reopens
in September. The lifting of the boycott is
of minor value to the theatres since the
college will close for the summer this month.
The boycott was effective about three weeks.
Sackville high school students also abandoned
their boxoffice boycott. The girls found
abstaining from film shows too tough to prolong.
They deluged both theatres for several
days after the boycott was vacated.
There had been no compromise negotiations
between M. E. Walker, head of the Walker-
Affiliated chain and the Students union.
Denis Mm-phy manages both Sackville houses.
Bad Weather Assists
Calgary Business
CALGARY—Unseasonable and wet weather
continued to keep Calgarians show-minded
and theatres were doing nice average business.
Even a four-day engagement of "Ice
Cycles" did not make much of a dent in
theatre receipts. Most of the "Ice Cycles" seats
had been booked in advance and each patron
only went once so that motion picture fans
did not interrupt their showgoing. The arrival
of belated warm weather, showing signs
of coming, is going to give theatres an awful
setback.
Capitol—Magic Town (RKO) Fait
Grand—Master of Bankdam (EL); I'll Be Your
Sweetheart (EL) _ Good
Palac^High Woll (MGM) Good
Vancouver Managers Glum;
'Naked City' Opens Strong
VANCOUVER—Managers of first rim theatres
were crying the blues last week, though
two of the season's top grossers managed to
top average.
Capitol—Cass Timberlane (MGM) Fair
Cinema—Bambi (RKO) Fair
Orpheum-The Bishop's Wife (RKO), 2nd wk Good
Park and Plaza Song of My Heart (Mono). ...Moderate
Paradise Intrigue (UA); Carnival (EL) Fair
Strand—Night Song (RKO); Blondie in the
Dough (Col)
Poor
Vogue—The Naked City (U-I) Excellent
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'
Says 25-Cycle No Bar
To Video in Ontario
TORONTO—Television programs can be
picked up at limited distances in Ontario
despite the fact that the province has 25-
cycle power, the Canadian Institute of Radio
Engineers was inforined last week by Orin
Dakin of the Canadian General Electric Co.
He said video sets can work on 25-cycle
power and that such sets will work equally
as well on 60-cycle power. It will be about
ten years before Ontario completes the
switch from 25 to 60-cycle power.
Though television has not started in Canada
yet, several areas are in close proximity
to television stations in the U.S. Among
these cities is Windsor, across the river from
Detroit, and Niagara Palls and Hamilton,
which are near Buffalo. Toronto, 55 miles
by air from Buffalo, is out of the present
range.
H. Goldin of Gaumont-Kalee of Toronto
reported to the meeting that televised entertainment
will be available to 75 per cent
of the population in England by 1952 and
will be on a regular basis in London theatres
by the end of this year. Tests in London
have shown that theatre patrons are
enthusiastic for video programs both for information
and entertainment, Goldin said.
ST. JOHN
per many years Johnny Farr toured theatres
as a ventriloquist, then settled down
as owner-manager of the Rivoli in North
Sydney about as far east as he could go
without swimming. After about 21 years as
an exhibitor he sold out to Odeon a few
years ago and went into the wood products
business. He couldn't stay aloof from the
theatre, however, and he now has returned
to his old house, the Rivoli, as manager for
Odeon ... If the Maine Hotel Ass'n succeeds
in a campaign to have U.S. citizens spend
their vacation money within the U.S. this
year, there will be an unfavorable reaction
on maritime theatres. The drive is in reprisal
for the Canadian government's limit of
$150 annually on what Canadians can spend
in the U.S. The rule will cost Maine about
$10,000,000 this year.
Completion of the Bond Theatre, at Carbonear,
Nfld., is expected in the very near
future. Seating capacity will be about 450.
The seating capacity at the Strand in Carbonear
has been reported inadequate lately
to cope with the demand and there is a plan
for its enlargement. The first in a series of
improvements at the Capitol in Yarmouth,
N.S., has been the opening of two new
convenience rooms. Both are on the ground
floor. They are finished with knotty pine
board walls and plaster ceilings. The floors
are of ceramic tile. Connected with the
larger room in each case is a toilet room with
tiled walls, ceiling and floor.
Winnipeg Theatre Robbed
WINNIPEG—Robbers smashed open the
Oak Theatre's safe and made off with $300,
receipts of a Monday night show. When
staff members arrived at work they found the
rear door of the theatre standing open and
the emptied cash box lying on the floor.
\
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108
BOXOFFICE
:
: May
15, 1948