Canadian Moving Picture Digest (Jun 12, 1954)

Page scan 0002 from Canadian Moving Picture Digest

Record Details:

Title:
Canadian Moving Picture Digest
Date:
Jun 12, 1954
Volume:
Canadian Moving Picture Digest (Jun 12, 1954)
Leaf #:
0002
Language:
English
Subjects:
Motion Pictures, Film Industry Trade Magazine",Canad
Collection:
Canada, Hollywood Studio System, Early Cinema, and Global Cinema
Format:
periodicals
Contributor:
Media History Digital Library, Canadian Picture Pioneers, Paul Moore and Jessica Whitehead
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:
May 18, 2024
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JUNE 12, 1954 Plans were completed last week for the gala Variety Baseball Night at Maple Leaf Stadium. All proceeds will be given to Variety Village, the famed _ vocational school for Crippled Children. Last year’s proceeds reached an alltime high of over $51,000. Arrangements have been made for the Sportswriters and Sportscasters to play Turk Broda’s N.H.L. All-Stars in a softball match. This game should be interesting, as the Newsboys and Radiomen wish to avenge their defeat two years ago. Here is the lineup for the evening: 6:30 p.m.—Sportswriters and Sportscasters vs. Turk Broda’s NHL All-Stars 7:30 p.m.—Stage Show: Cliff McKay & His Holiday Ranch & King Ganam A Monster Square Dance will also be held. 8:15 p.m.—Buffalo Bisons vs Toronto Maple Leafs Immediately after the game, the draw will take place for the following prizes: Ray Presents CANADIAN MOVING PICTURE DIGEST PAGE THREE $eh ANNUAL BASEBALL NIGHT VARIETY CLUB, TENT 28 Griday, June With 1954 MAPLE LEAF STADIUM * Vv $1,500 in Cash — Ist Prize: $1,000 2nd Prize: $300 3rd Prize: $200 There will also be other prizes. Mr. Monty Hall will be Master of Cere monies. It should be a great night for the fans and for the supporters of Variety Village.