Canadian Moving Picture Digest (Apr-Sep 1918)

Page scan 000277 from Canadian Moving Picture Digest

Record Details:

Title:
Canadian Moving Picture Digest
Date:
Apr-Sep 1918
Volume:
Canadian Moving Picture Digest (Apr-Sep 1918)
Leaf #:
000277
Language:
English
Collection:
Hollywood Studio System, Global Cinema, Early Cinema, and Canada
Format:
periodicals
Contributor:
New York Public Library
Sponsor:
Google Books
Coordinator:
Media History Digital Library
Description:

Canadian Moving Picture Digest

Editors: Merrick R. Nutting (1917-18), Raymond S. Peck (1918), Ray Lewis (1918-19 and 1920-54), Walter Greene (1919-20), Jay Smith (1954-57)

Canadian Moving Picture Digest (1917-57) was initially a Montréal-based rival of the first film paper in Canada, Toronto-based Canadian Universal Bulletin (1915-18, edited by W.A. Bach 1915-17, J.W. Cambridge 1917-18, Raymond S. Peck 1918). The two periodicals were combined in 1918, keeping the Digest name, but moving production to Toronto with Peck as editor. Canadian Moving Picture Digest assumed The Bulletin’s volume numbering and always claimed 1915 as its year of origin. Ray Lewis (née Rae Levinsky) was a writer and playwright, who spent time in early Hollywood’s publicity departments. She briefly took the Digest helm in 1918, then long-term editor, later owner and publisher, from 1920 until her death in 1954. Under Lewis’s leadership, the trade paper claimed to serve as a voice for independent exhibitors and advocated for a Canadian cultural presence in cinema, particularly emphasizing British films as a way to keep a distance from Hollywood. Lewis's editorials were notable for their advocacy, wit, and critique of American dominance in the Canadian film market. While initially positioning herself as an outsider, she became integrated within the industry and a true insider. She even had an ongoing correspondence with Canadian Prime Minister R. B. Bennett, advocating for the industry as a whole and supporting British film imports. She was well-known at Toronto’s Dundas Square film row as well as in New York and Hollywood. Variety’s Sime Silverman called her “the Girl Friend in Canada,” and she delighted when U.S. writers not “in the know” presumed “Ray” was a man’s name. Lewis was later an inaugural member of the Canadian Picture Pioneers, eventually the group’s first female president and Pioneer of the Year. After she died in 1954, her son Jay Smith took over editorial duties until Canadian Moving Picture Digest was bought by Nat Taylor’s Film Publications of Canada in 1957. Taylor incorporated the legacy journal into a joint masthead for Canadian Film Weekly (1942-70), which subsequently dated its roots back to the 1915 origins of the film press in Canada.

– Jessica Whitehead and Paul Moore, March 2024

Further Reading

  • Whitehead, Jessica, Louis Pelletier and Paul Moore, “‘The Girl Friend in Canada’: Ray Lewis and Canadian Moving Picture Digest (1915–1957).” In Daniel Biltereyst and Lies Van de Vijver, eds., Mapping Movie Magazines: Digitization, Periodicals and Cinema History, 127-52. London: Pagrave-Macmillan, 2021.

Date Added:
June 13, 2024
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Page Twenty-Two THE CANADIAN MOVING PICTURE DIGEST. ee ES TT TS Ye ED | SO TORONTO RELEASES FAMOUS— ‘‘Selfish Yates,’’ Wm. S. Hart, 5 reels. ‘“‘The Mating of Marcella,’’ Dorothy Dalton, 5 reels. ‘‘A Battle Royal,’’ Sennett Comedy, 2 reels. Fox— “‘The Bride of Fear,’’ Jewel Carmen, 5 reels. ‘‘A Fisher-less Cartoon,’’ Mutt and Jeff Comedy, 1 reel. ‘‘Wild Women and Tame Lions,’’ Sunshine Comedy, 2 reels. GENERAL FILM— ‘“‘The Accusing Doe,’’ Judge Brown Series, 2 reels. ‘‘Buyers From Cactus City,’’ 0. Henry Series, 2 reels. ‘‘His Fishy Footsteps,’’ Finnan and Haddie Comedy, 1 reel. ‘‘Slippery Slim and His Tombstone,’’ Essanay Comedy, 1 reel. ‘‘A Daughter of Uncle Sam,’’ Serial, Episode No. 10, 1 reel. ‘‘A Milkfed Hero,’’ Ebony Comedy, 1 reel. ‘“‘The Spoiled Girl,’’ James Montgomery Flagg Series, 1 reel. METRO— ‘*Social Hypocrites,’’ 5 reels. ‘«Under Influence,’’ Strand Comedy, 1 reel. MUTUAL— ‘“‘The Primitive Woman,’’ Marguerite Fisher, 5 reels. *'Mary’s Frame-up,’’ Strand Comedy, 1 reel. Screen Telegram, No. 27, 1 reel. ‘‘The Lost Express,’’ Serial, 2 reels. REGAL— ‘‘Phe Venus Mcdel,’’ Mabel Normand, Goldwyn Picture, 5 reels. ‘“‘Wanted—A Mother,’’ Brady Picture, Madge Evans, 5 reels. A Triangle Feature, 5 reels. SPECIALTY FILM IMPORT— ‘‘To-day,’’ Florence Reed, 7 reels. ‘Sic 'Em, Towser,’’ Harold Lloyd Comedy, 1 reel. Pathe News, two a week, 1 reel. Pathe British Gazette, 1 reel. British War Office Official News Weekly, 1 reel. ‘‘The House of Hate,’’ Serial, 2 reels. UNIVERSAL— L-KO Comedy (title not decided), 2 reels. Animated Weekly, No. 29, 1 reel. Screen Magazine, No. 76, 1 reel. Current Events, No. 58, 1 reel. ‘‘The Lion’s Claw,’’ Serial, 12th Episode, 2 reels. ‘‘The Eagle,’’ Monroe Salisbury, Bluebird, 5 reels. ‘‘Smashing Through,’’ Herbert Rawlinson Production, 5 reels. ‘‘The Knockout,’’ Lyons and Moran Star Comedy, 2 reels. ‘*Play Straight or Fight,’’ Helen Gibson, Western Drama, 2 reels. VITAGRAPH— ‘“‘The Girl in His House,’’ Earl Williams, 5 reels. ‘‘When Greek Meets Greek,’’ Drew Comedy, 1 reel. ‘*Boodles and Bandits,’’ Big V Comedy, 1 reel. ‘‘The Woman in the Web,’’ Serial, 2 reels. ea ec ee ee ee 1 ce ee Op | __ Releases in Toronto and Montreal for Week Ending June 22nd 1 MONTREAL RELEASES FAMOUS PLAYERS— ‘‘Biggest Show on Earth,’’ Enid Bennett, 5 reels. ‘*Love’s Conquest,’’ Lina Cavalieri, 5 reels. **Moonshine,’’ Arbuckle, 2 reels. FOX FILM CO.— Only film released held up by Censors. GENERAL FILM CO.— ‘*Tucson Jennie’s Heart,’’ Wolfville Story, 2 reels. ‘*His Fatal Fate,’’ Kalen Comedy. “*Good Sport,’’ Girls You Know Series. ‘“‘Mercy, the Mummy Mumbled,’’ Ebony Comedy. INDEPENDENT FILM SUPPLY— ‘‘The Golden God,’’ Alma Hanlon, 5 reels. MUTUAL— ‘‘What the Wind Did,’’ Strand Comedy, Billie Rhodes. Screen Telegram, 27-T-1. METRO— ‘*The Only Road,’’ Viola Dana, 5 reels. t ‘‘Bright Lights Dimmed,’’ Mr. and Mrs. Sydney Drew Comedy. ‘My pone. ears in Germany’’ (First National Exhibitors), 10 reels, REGAL— ‘*Circus Romance’’ (World), 5 reels. ‘*Venus, Model’’ (Goldwyn), Mabel Normand, 6 reels. Triangle Comedy, 1 reel. SPECIALTY FILM IMPORT— ‘‘Kidder & Ko,’’ Bryant Washburn, 5 reels. ‘*House of Hate,’’ Pearl White and Antonio Moreno, in the Dark.’’ “Sic 'Em, Towser,’’ Harold Lloyd Comedy, 1 reel. Ycsemite in Winter, Scenic, 1 reel. History of the War, No. 12, 1 reel. British War Office Official Views, 1 reel. Pathe British Gazette, 1 reel. Pathe News, 1 reel. \ UNIVERSAL— ‘*Smashing Through,’’ Herbert Rawlinson, 5 reels. “‘The Eagle,’’ Monroe Salisbury, 5 reels. **Quick Triggers,’’ Neil Heart, U. R. Dramas. ; ‘*Passing the Bomb,’’ Kileen Sedgwick, Nestor Comedy. L-KO Comedy. “‘The Kncock-Out,’’ Lyons-Moran Comedy. ‘‘The Lion’s Claws,’’ Episode No. 12, Animated Weekly, No. 29. Screen Magazine. : VITAGRAPH— **Seal of Silence,’’ Blue Ribbon Feature, Eddie Williams and Grace Desmond, ‘‘Skids and Scallawags,’’ Big V Comedy. ‘‘Beautiful Thoughts,’’ Mr. and Mrs. Sydney Drew Comedy. ‘‘Woman in the Web,’’ Episode No. 11, ‘‘The Desert’s Grip.’’ ‘*Flashes For All The Latest Film News Worth While---Read The Digest CUT THIS COUPON OUT and MAIL it TODAY Enclosed please find $1.00 for one year’s subscription to the Canadian Moving Picture Digest RapriO \\\4/Mat-supeE PATENT APPUED Fo Send $2.00 for Box of Fifty Exclusive Canadian Sales Agent 4 / ‘SLIDE C2 MAKERS.. Everything the Motion Picture Theatre Requires J. T. MALONE 337 Bleury St. \y *-RADIO Mats Montreal > For Sale by all LeadinsDealers