Boxoffice-May.03.1952

. . Bob
. . Gordon
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VANCOUVER
IJill Grant. RKO booker, was elected presldent
of Front Office Film Employes Local
. . .
F-71. succeeding Ted Ross of JARO, who recently
resigned from the film business
Jeanne Bell, Odeon district office .secretary,
will marry Johnny Armstrong soon . . . Dorothy
Blaclc, Dominion Theatre cashier, resigned
and was succeeded by Vera Lycan,
formerly at the Gamble Tlieatre . . . Anne
Coroliuc, JARO cashier, is proud of the bowling
cup she won in the F^lm Exchange Bowling
league . . . Marion Brown has Joined the
staff of Sovereign Films.
"Tiger Man." Universal picture, was classified
"For Adults Only" by the British Columbia
censors . Billings, former manager
of the Monarch Theatre at Enderby, is
now shipper at United Artists here, replacing
Jack Senior who moved to Paramount, succeeding
Kieth Watley, who resigned to go
into the plywood business at Quesnel in the
Cariboo district . . . Peter Barnes, who operates
three theatres on the mainland; Frank
Fisher, JARO Canadian manager, and Kervin
Fitzgibbons of the Famous Players Drive-In
department were Filmrow visitors.
C. A. Pepper, former 16mm exhibitor of
Alert Bay. a fishing center upcoast, purchased
two Holmes projectors and a sound system
from Theatre Equipment Supply Co. and will
change over to 35mm . . . Tommy Heatherington,
who is building a 300-car drive-in
seven miles from Nelson in the Interior, purchased
two Gaumont-Kalee projectors, a
sound system and 300 in-car speakers from
Perkins Electric Co., and will open the outdoor
theatre in June.
The Ruskin Drive-In, which has been under
construction for the last two years, finally
opened its gates April 23. The owners are
Toffee and Bird, who operate other theatres
in the Praser valley area . . . All British Columbia
drive-in theatres report better busine.'-s
than for the comparable period last year
. . . Win Barron, the Canadian narrator for
Paramount Newsreel, was a speaker at the
Air Industries and Transport Ass'n meeting in
Victoria. He visited Paramount Manager Bob
Murphy here before returning to his Toronto
headquarters.
A move to allow smoking in theatres is
meeting strong opposition from theatregoers
and in many letters to local newspapers. Jack
Boothe, noted Canadian cartoonist and son
of Howard Boothe, Canadian Screen publicity
manager, has joined the Thompson chain
of Canadian newspapers and will draw a daily
cartoon which will appear in the Vancouver
News Herald.
Raymond McDonald, a member of the British
Columbia censor board, was promoted to
chief censor to fill the post of the late Jack
Hughes, who died recently after 15 years as
head censor. McDonald, 38, was in the navy
in the last war. He will be assisted by Joyce
Reed: Miss Bell, secretary; Jim Gordon, advertising
censor, and Ed Brooks, projectionist.
The censor board is a profitable revenue
producer for the provincial government, with
offices in downtown Vancouver.
The RKO bowling team won the 1951-52
championship in the final roUoff from UA.
Eight film exchange teams were in the league.
On the RKO team were Bill Grant, captain;
Delia Garland, Ray Watley, Anne Coroliuc
and Tommy Kett.
Tom Uealherlngton, operator of a 16mm
circuit out of Kaslo in the Kootney area, has
started construction of a 300-car drive-in
seven miles from Nelson, which will give
Famous Players outdoor opposition in seven
towns in British Columbia . . . William Risk,
former exhibitor in the prairie town of Paradise
Valley, Alta., will build a 300-.seat theatre
at Alert Bay, an Indian and fishing
town upcoast from Vancouver. The town is
serviced by a 16mm outfit at present, who
will convert to 35mm, giving the town of 1,000
two houses . West has opened his
new 35mm theatre at Gibson Landing, 40
miles from here. The town was formerly
serviced by a 16mm circuit.
More than 400 children, about 200 of them
orphans and 110 from the Children's hospital
outpatient department, were guest.s of Barney
Regan, manager of the Victoria Road Theatre
to see "Angels in the Outfield." Ample
supplies of balloons and popcorn were on
hand and toys were donated for the kids by
local merchants. The showing was staff
week at the Victoria.
Both front office and backshop workers by
the nine film exchanges are taking a wage
Increase proposal to the conciliation board
.set up by the British Columbia government.
Doug Calladine and Bert Pollock will represent
the workers.
Garneau Theatre Tecrnis
Wins Bowling Award
EDMONTON, ALTA.—Edmonton Theatre
Bowling league held its final banquet and
dance in the Club Anton here recently. During
the evening Pi-esident Ida Charlesworth
of the Strand gave cups and prizes to winning
teams and individual players.
Winners were, Annual cup, Garneau Theatre
team, Manager Bill Wilson, captain.
Women's high average, Beryl Byers, Capitol.
Women's high double, Ida Charlesworth,
Strand.
Men's high average, Clayton Rand, theatres'
joint art department.
Men's high double. Bill Ross, Rialto.
Women's high single, Ruby Edwards,
Dreamland.
Men's high single, James Lynch, art department.
George Findley, 55, Dies;
Former Theatre Manager
EDMONTON — Former theatre Manager
George McMurray Findlay died here recently.
Findlay, who was 55, was a former manager
of the old Empire Theatre and later of the
Empress, now a part of the FPC chain here.
He was a veteran of both world wars, and
had lived in Edmonton for 31 years. He was
born in Glasgow and came to Canada In
1904.
His wife, two sons, a brother and a sister
survive.
Producer Peter Scully has signed William
Kozlenko to screenplay Monogram's "Mardi
Gras."
Rank Films Manager
Says Prejudice Gone
VANCOUVER — British motion pictures
have become good boxoffice in Canada and
the United States. "The old prejudice against
them has almost entirely died down," said
Prank H. Pi.sher, of Toronto, Canadian general
manager for J. Arthur Rank Films.
the entertainment
A veteran of 26 years in
industry, the affable 6-foot, 3'--inch executive
conferred here with Jack Reid, the company's
Vancouver manager, and other film
officials.
" 'The Red Shoes' ran almost two years
in New York and other British pictures have
done just as well," Fisher said. "In Canada,
the customers have really turned out in numbers
to see such old country products as
Tight Little Island,' 'The Chiltern Hundreds,'
'The Blue Lagoon,' 'Quiet Weekend' and 'The
Browning Version.'
"Quiet young Alec Guinne.ss, an unknown
a couple of years ago outside London, now
is a powerful boxoffice attraction in North
America for his work in such successful comedies
as 'Kind Hearts and Coronets,' 'The
Lavender Hill Mob' and 'The Man in the
White Suit.' His name in electric lights
means good busine.ss."
Fisher said the way things were a few
years ago, if the average Canadian happened
to see a Briti-sh film he didn't enjoy he would
"stay away from all British films for the
next long while," whereas people never demanded
that all pictures from Hollywood be
good ones.
"The sensible customers now realize that
worthwhile films are being made on both
sides of the Atlantic, and they 'shop ai'ound'
intelligently to get full value for their entertainment
dollars."
TV Sales Up in Canada
MONTREAL—A decline in radio set sales
last year was matched by a boom in sales
of television sets. The Dominion bureau of
statistics reports that radio sales amounted
to $51,452,000 in 1951, compared with $59,160,-
000 the previous year. Television sales climbed
to a value of $20,836,000 from $12,948,000 in the
same period. The number of radio sets sold
in 1951 was 754,000, as against 759,000, while
39,200 television sets were sold as against
29,600 in 1950.
John P. Leger Dead
BATHURST, N. B.—John P. Leger, who
built the Opera House about 40 years ago,
died recently. After using the theatre for
roadshows, he converted it to films, and oper-
]
ated with Peter Leger, his oldest son, as his
partner. The theatre was renamed the Capitol.
The father had also operated two hotels
and a horse racing track and a light and I
power service here. Surviving are four sons
and two daughters.
Fire Hits Summerside Theatre
SUMMERSIDE. P.E.I.—The Reo Theatre,
which was remodeled from a church to a film
theatre about a year ago, was heavily damaged
by a fire recently. The building had been
formerly the United church and seated about
400 persons. The fire lasted about one hour
and gutted the building. Wallace J. Palmer
was the owner-manager.
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102 BOXOFFICE :: May 3, 1952