Canadian Moving Picture Digest (May-Oct 1922)

Record Details:

Title:
Canadian Moving Picture Digest
Date:
May-Oct 1922
Volume:
Canadian Moving Picture Digest (May-October 1922)
Leaf #:
000149
Language:
English
Collection:
Global Cinema, Hollywood Studio System, 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:
July 26, 2023
Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

Page Four CANADIAN MOVING PICTURE DIGEST FIFTH ANNUAL PARAMOUNT WEEK TO BE CELEBRATED INTERNATIONALLY 6p I F TH Annual Paramount Week” to be celebrated internationally during the week of September 3rd, will also mark the third anniversary of the — establishment throughout Canada by the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation of their own exchange system under the name of Famous-Lasky Film Service Limited. Speaking of 5th Annual Paramount Week, this is the first time that Canada joins with the United States in putting over this big event. Heretofore it has been known in Canada as “Maple Leaf Week.” It was decided to hook up with the States in order to give Canadian exhibitors the benefit of the vast amount of advertising in American periodicals which have a big circulation up here, and the various well prepared accessories which are free to theatres on this occasion, such as_ posters, slides, heralds, cuts, etc. In September, 1919, when Paramount decided to establish exchanges in the Dominion, George W. Weeks, then St. Louis Manager was sent up here as General Manager, a_ post which he occupied with distinguished success until January of this year when he received the well earned promotion to Divisional Sales Manager with New York Home Office headquarters and supervising the work of 13 exchanges, including the six in Canada. By November of 1919 exchanges in St. John, Montreal, ‘Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver had been organized, and active releasing commenced. ‘Toronto was established as the main office for the Canadian Corporation. There is no doubt that all records for speed and efficiency in establishing an exchange organization were broken by George Weeks and his able lieutenants. At first, releases were being made a little later than in the United States but this was soon corrected and by the end of 1920 the Canadian organization was releasing coincidentally with the American exchanges and all subjects handled in the States were likewise distributed in the Dominion. An interesting feature of the company’s first year in business here was the amount of remodelling done on pictures to make them suitable for Canadian audiences. Many of the pictures released in the States that year were very American in type, and these were all changed by careful editing and cutting to suit our national requirements. Google Famous-Lasky Film Service Ltd. continued to expand and grow and 1921 was undoubtedly a high-water mark year for the organization. Business has continued to be very successful in spite of the depressed conditions that have beset this country for the past eight months and the future, the officials are happy to say, looks very, very promising. Gerald FE. Akers is now General Manager for Canada, — succeeding Wm. A. Bach who recently resigned. Mr. Akers said this week: “We believe that during the coming new season it will be the really big picture that will get the money for the exhibitor, even more so than it did during the past year. It is with this thought in mind that Mr. Zukor and Mr. Lasky determined to put more money, talent and care in the production of Paramount Pictures than they have during any previous season, and from what I have seen of the 1922-1923 product. T know that the theatre owners will greatly benefit as a result of this policy. We call the group of Paramount Pictures released from August Ist to January 31st. the “41 WITHOUT A SINGLE ALIBI.” Both exhibitors and public will find that this slogan most aptly describes this exceedingly high class product. I look to see good. substantial business at every theatre this fall, the owner of which will intelligently and systematically exploit his attractions.” The Famous Players Lasky Corporation was the first to send an [xploitation ‘Representative to Canada to assist exhibitors in putting their theatres and individual pictures over profitably. ‘This was in January of the current year when Leon J. Bamberger, familiarly known as Bam, The Paramount Exploiteer who had been working in the Minneapolis territory, was selected for the Canadian post by Claud Saunders, Generat Manager of the Division of Exploitation and George Weeks. Since Bam has been here he has not only put over a great many excellent campaigns for various exhibitors but has installed a mail system whereby he can be of service to every exhibitor on every picture. Some of his notable personal exploitation campaigns have been on “Fool's Paradise” in Sarnia and Lindsay, “Forever” in Montreal, “Moran of the Lady [etty” in Galt, “Is Matrimony a Failure” in Ottawa, “The Sheik” in Renfrew, “The Bonnie Brier Bush” in Walkerville, ete. * Morris Milligan, now Manager of the Toronto exchange, had charge of the Winnipeg office from its inception until January, 1922. Carl Weeks. brother of George Weeks and who had a very successful career as one of the Toronto Sales Representatives is now manager at Winnipeg. Calgary is handled by A. J. Ferte, formerly with the Regal exchange in Montreal and G. A. Margetts, for merly of Universal is at the helm in St. John. Wm. Hansher in) Vancouver and [id. English in Montreal have both become exceedingly popular with exhibitors in’ their respective territories and have been located in their present berths since these offices were opened. The following are Paramount stars and leading players: Lucien Littlefield Lila Lee Ernest Lubitsch T. Roy Barnes Lillian Leighton Betty Compson — May Me.Avoy Edythe Chapman Mary Miies Minter Marion Davies Thomas Meighan Bebe Daniels Tully Marshall Dorothy Dalton Conrad Nagel K1sie Ferguson Pola Negri Julia Faye James Neill Helen Ferguson Charles Ogle W. J. Ferguson 9 Guy Oliver George Faweett. David Powell Casson Ferguson Wallace Reid Clarence Geldart) Theodore Roberts Walter Hiers Milton Sills Wanda Hawley 9 Gloria Swanson Jack Holt Rodolph Valentino Emil Jannings Paul Wegener Leatrice Joy Lois Wilson Theodore Kosloff Ethel Wales Walter Long Kathlyn Williams Phe following are Paramount direclors : Cecil B. DeMille Joseph) Henabery William DeMille James Cruze Geo. Fitzmaurice Paul Powell George Melford = Irvin Willat J.S. Robertson — Alfred Green Ernest Lubitsch = Penrhyn Stanlaws Sam Wood Philip Rosen Agnes .\yers Clarence Burton Alice Brady Famous English Actor For “If Winter Comes” _ William Fox anounces the selection of Perey Marmont, the famous English actor who has been prominently identified with the Ben Greet Players at Drury Lane and as leading man on the screen for Geraldine Farrar, Alice Joyce and Elsie Ferguson, for the portrayal of Mark Sabre, the hero character of “If Winter Comes” which Fox Film Corporation will film in the near future.