3^

~
AoocCM' ^cficnt
T^AVID COPLAN, who until recently was
managing director of United Artists in
Britain, has bought all the shares of a small
distributing company, International Film
Renters, in association with Sir Sidney Clift,
chairman of the 33 theatre Clift circuit, and
Major Andrew Holt, the banker and financier
who is a large shareholder in the company
which publishes the Daily Express. Sir Sidney
Clift will be chairman of the company's
new board of directors, and Coplan managing
director. Joining them as a director
is David Griffith, who is president of the
Kine Renters Society.
IFR will distribute Film Classics product
in Britain including Ida Lupino's picture,
"Not Wanted," and Louis DeRochemont's
"Lost Boundaries." In addition, four Cinecolor
subjects are on the books. These are
"The Daughter of the West," "Unknown
Island," "Miraculous Journey" and "State
Department." Coplan revealed that plans
are in hand to distribute British product
and they will either acquire films or produce
them here under his supervision. Coplan
leaves for the U.S. within the next week for
a three-week visit, during which time he
hopes to negotiate further deals with American
independent producers.
* « *
ONE CHEERFUL SIGN that the
business
may be getting back on its feet is the large
number of waiting lines at the big west end
cinemas during the past two weeks. Practically
every large house playing any kind
of a reasonable program had larg« crowds
waiting for admission and if the film were
a good one the queues were little short of
phenomenal compared with business during
the summer months. As an example, MGM's
showcase house, the Empire, which is playing
"The Barkleys of Broadway," was seen
by your correspondent to have people at the
pay box at 10:15 a. m. on a Saturday morning
waiting to go in and the same kind of
business is being done at the larger neighborhood
houses in the suburbs.
Although the Astaire-Rogers film is doing
very good business many of the pictures
playing the Empire recently have not enjoyed
such success and this
may be the reason
for the new policy which Sam Eckman
jr. announced last week. Very shortly this,
the largest cinema in London's west end,
will go over to a combination of film and
stage shows which will Include plans for a
32-piece orchestra, a corps de ballet and a
chorus of 26 precision dancers. In making
the announcement Eckman says "Our target,
frankly, is to make the Empire the
showplace of the nation, meaning to Britain
what the Radio City Music Hall, New
York, means to America. We shall continue
to present MGM's outstanding American
and Briti-sh films as in the past with other
leading British pictures also introduced in
the programs, but in addition we will present
stage shows and spectacles of every form
on a scale not previously seen in this country.
The Empire theatre originally opened in
1884 and it has been a cinema under MGM's
management since Nov. 8, 1928, almost 21
years ago. It seems more than likely that
the changeover to the new policy will be
timed to coincide with the 21st anniversary.
A pleasant coincidence is that the last live
46
By JOHN SULLIVAN
show there was "Lady Be Good," which
starred Fred and Adele Astaire and, as stated
above, the current attraction is Fred Astaire's
"The Barkleys of Broadway."
* • *
THE SECTION OF THE RANK organization
which makes films for children is one
that receives li,};tle publicity but does consistently
good work in supplying clean and
wholesome entertainment for the hundreds
of children's cinema clubs In existence in
Britain and overseas. At the Venice Film
Festival awards were announced recently to
three films produced by this unit. One of
them, "One More River," took first prize in
the section of films for children under seven
years and second prizes were won by "Riders
of the New Forest," made for children between
seven and 11 years, and "Trapped by
the Terror" for children of 11 to 15 years.
The only British feature film to receive an
award at Venice was Ealing's "Kind Hearts
and Coronets," which was cited for the best
art direction of the year. A more appropriate
award for this picture would have
been for the best screenplay and dialog, but
it is probable that the piercing satire which
is peculiarly English would have been lost
on the Italian judges. "Scott of the Antarctic"
was not entered for an award at
Venice but was shown there and the International
Catholic Cinema Organization
gave it a certificate of commendation, pointing
out that it demonstrated the best qualities
in humanity.
« « «
THE SYDNEY BOX PRODUCTION,
"Diamond City," which Is the first serious
attempt to make a "western" type picture in
Britain, will have its premiere on September
22 simultaneously in London, Johannesburg
and Kimberley.
This is a story built around the early days
of the Dominion of South Africa and the
tough diamond miners who were the first
settlers
there.
It is the first time that a J. Arthur Rank
picture has opened at the same time in
London and abroad. The film is of particular
interest to the inhabitants of Kimberley
since the location scenes were shot
there and many of the local police were
used in the picture. If the film is successful
it may mark the start of several other
outdoor action subjects by British companies.
George Minter of Renown, for one, is known
to be considering the idea of filming a story,
"The Trap," with a Canadian background
out of doors in Wales where there are many
localities similar to the Canadian forests.
• • *
OPENING LAST WEEK at the New Gallery
and Tivoli is the last film made by
Wessex Film Productions before leaving the
Rank group to produce for Korda. It Is
titled "Dear Mr. Prohack" and Is based on
a novel by Arnold Bennett. Produced by
Ian Dalrymple it was directed by Thornton
Freeland and stars Cecil Parker, Glynis Johns
and Dirk Bogarde.
"Dear Mr. Prohack" is a simple, pleasant
little comedy which tells of a senior civil
servant, head of the British Treasury, who
rules his department like a dictator but
who cannot control his own finances when he
unexpectedly inherits a fortune. He is an
easy mark for all the crooks and confidence
men who approach him with wildcat schemes
and is heartily glad when it looks as though
he has lost his fortune and can return to
the Treasury. By a stroke of irony, however,
he finds that one of the more risky
speculations has doubled his fortune. In
spite of that he decides that it Is better to
have a job and goes back to work.
The first half of the film is brilliant comedy,
well written with sparkling dialog in
a satirical vein but unfortunately it degenerates
into farce towards the end—and
not very good farce at that. There is a
brilliant performance from Parker and a
completely delightful one from Miss Johns.
The picture opened to good press notices
here and should do better than average
business since there is a constant demand
for comedy at present. Its purely British
allusions make it a doubtful proposition for
the U.S. market, but suitably trimmed it
could be an art house booking.
« * *
THE FIRST STEP in what should prove a
move toward better labor relations was
taken last week when a Joint Industrial
council for the British film industry was
inaugurated. The JIC will consist of members
delegated by each of the labor unions
working in films and by members representing
the producers association. At a meeting
this week the constitution was approved and
the council should become operative before
the end of this month.
The main job facing JIC when it convenes
its first meeting is the negotiating of agreements
for new salary scales and conditions
of employment at studios here. For some
months the old wage agreement has been
inoperative, although employers and unions
alike have been adhering to the terms. Some
time ago the employers gave notice that they
would terminate the agreement and the institution
of the PIC means that a new scale
can be worked out more easily than if separate
agreements have to be negotiated and
signed with each union.
Three unions are represented: Ass'n of
Cine Technicians, wlikh looks after cameramen,
assistant directors and other technical
crew; National Ass'n of Theatrical and Kine
Employes, which has for Its members the
craft grades of plasterers, carpenters, etc.,
and also makeup staff and wardrobe personnel;
Electrical Trades Union, which controls
all the electricians employed in studios. In
the past there has been considerable dissatisfaction
among film studio staff with
certain inequitable rates of pay which are
inevitable when three separate bodies are
negotiating rates for their members and one
of the main tasks of the JIC will be to
arrange a joint agreenient for all grades.
* • «
BROOKLYN-BORN ROD GEIGER.
who
bought "Open City" in Italy and took a
small fortune with it in America, seems to
have settled permanently in England with
an annoimced program of four feature pictures
to be made here during the next year
or two. Co-producer with Nat Bronsten of
the Edward Dmytryk film, "Give Us This
Day," which has just been completed at
Denham, Geiger has now branched out on
his own with a new company.
On the board of directors with Geiger is
Sir George Franckenstein, who was formerly
Austrian ambassador to Britain and was
granted British citizenship because of his
constant friendship with this country. Also
a director of the company is actor Bonar
Colleano who has been released from his
Rank contract to join Geiger.
BOXOFFICE :: September 17, 1949
an .\i
p;o(iic';
ie Dt;.:
•llier f j-
t(
Pea,:
ftei^..
has i(.