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This photo was taken in front of the Gem, Brantford, Ontario in 1909. In the centre is Jule Allen, now head of Theatre Holding Corporation, who is re¬ garded as the dean of the Can¬ adian motion picture industry. Jule, with his father Barney and his brother Jay, came from Bradford, Pennsylvania, to Brantford in 1906 and there they began Canada's first na¬ tional circuit. On the end is Ben Cronk, from whom the Allans acquired the Gem. Ben, now living in California, became their general manager when they opened the Monarch, Cal¬ gary, first theatre in their na¬ tional program.
(Photo from the Archives of the Canadian Picture Pioneers)
cuit had begun to develop its policy of establishing theatres named “Nickel’ and Bradford became its Montreal represen¬ tatives. He opened the Nickel, the Karn Hall Nickel and in December, 1906 The Nickel in an old church at Bleury and St. Catherine. He also ran afternoon movies at Riverside Park.
After a few months he was replaced as manager and went to Quebec City, then to Saint John, NB, where he took over the management of the Keith-Albee vaudeville theatre, later The Nickel, in the Mechanic's Institute Building. This he soon made exclusively a movie house. He then opened a theatre in St. John's, Newfoundland in partnership with J. P. Kiely, now of Montreal, where he lived until Gaumont made him its represen¬ tative in the USA. The late Arthur Lee, who was to become an important figure in Canadian distribution, joined him. Later Lee and Bradford formed the LeeBradford company of New York.
Bradford left for California in 1925 because of a lung ailment and died there several years later.
“More than any individual, this man was the pioneer of tne Movies all across
Canada,” wrote H. H. McArthur of Saint John, in answering my request that he stir his memories of Bradford. Mc¬ Arthur, now Maritimes sales supervisor for RKO Pictures, worked for and with Bradford. He named leading cities which “at one time or another felt the impact of his energy and foresight.” Bradford, he recalled, “was a very fine type of cultured English gentleman, a kindly and considerate person with a real genius for creating enthusiasm and im¬ parting knowledge to his associates.”
rpHE first regular motion picture show in Canada, it is claimed, was opened in Toronto in March, 1906 as the Theatorium, which stood a few feet from the present location of Loew’s Yonge Street. It was established by John J. Griffin, a former circus showman, who said in later years that the only theatre west of New York showing pictures continuously was in Pittsburgh. He brought his film in from New York and Chicago. His first film was The Train Wreckers and he charged five cents admission. He raised the price to 10 cents and offered vaudeville with it.
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