Canadian Moving Picture Digest (Sep 11, 1954)

Page scan 0000 from Canadian Moving Picture Digest

Record Details:

Title:
Canadian Moving Picture Digest
Date:
Sep 11, 1954
Volume:
Canadian Moving Picture Digest (Sep 11, 1954)
Leaf #:
0000
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 23, 2024
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JAY L. SMITH EDITOR AND PUBLISHER Ol x. Published by CANADIAN MOVING PICTURE DIGEST COMPANY LIMITED CANADIAN MOVING PICTURE “ieee Webel bey RAY LEWIS FOUNDER 1915-1954 VOL. 46, NO, 37 21 DUNDAS SQUARE, TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA SEPTEMBER 11, 1954 P.A. Tours Sell Canadian Public Bert Lytell Sells Zanuck’s First C’Scope Production “Egyptian” Following on the publicity shattering tour across Canada of MGM's Ruta Lee, one of the brides in “Seven Brides For Seven Brothers,” 20thFox toured Bert Lytell on behalf of Darryl F. Zanuck’s “The Egyptian” The demand for Italian-language films has increased a great deal in Canada since the days when Ray Lewis was pioneering with the dis tribution of “The Barber of Seville” and ‘Shoe Shine.”” A number of Art theatres have been developed, from Coast to Coast, with Italian, French, German and British films presented with great success at these Art Cinemas. In addition, there are one or two theatres in the Dominion which due to the influx of immigrants from Europe, are catering almost 100 percent to certain language groups. This is true of the Studio and Pylon Theatres in Toronto, and the Royal Theatre in Montreal, which cater strictly to Italian audiences. While there has been a number of Italian-language films imported into Canada in recent years, the demand has also increased in certain situations to the extent that it exceeded the supply. In addition, Canadian distributors who have been handling Italianlanguage films have been rebelling at the prohibitive terms being asked by the Italian producers and their representatives for Canadian rights to the Italian films. Finally, the more important Italian films are being dubbed into English, and Canadian distributors prefer to import the English-dubbed versions, figuring rightly enough that they get many more runs on the English-language versions. Now, something new is being added to the foreign-film scene. In order to satisfy the demands of those theatres that are catering to exclusively Italian-language audiences, Reg Wilson, head of M-G-Ms’ 16 mm. division, has had 16 mm. prints brought in on “Waterloo Bridge,” “Invitation” (Continued on Page 4) I. Stern JARO’s New Toronto Branch Mor. J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (Canada) Ltd., stated that effective September 6th, Mr. Irving Stern takes over the Branch Managers’ position of this company in (Continued on Page 3) in three Canadian cities. The successful results from both personal appearance tours, should encourage other film companies to follow suit, and continue an cld stand-by of film business showmanship that has been in force in the U.S. since the first beginnings of the industry. The Ruta Lee tour received over 20,000 lines of free (Continued on Page 6) Canadian Paramounteers Aim For Record 40th Sales Drive A 35 year heritage of top stars, top grossers and the advent of Paramount’s first VistaVision feature, “White Christmas” will back up the efforts of Canadian Paramounteers, under the direction of Para mount’s Canadian general manager Gordon Lightstone and Drive Captain Win Barron, to reach a new all time high in the 40th Anniversary sales drive launched last week. Mr. Lightstone has just returned from a special 3 day sales conference, devoted principally to “White Christmas,” presided over (Continued on Page 6) Keep your™-<3) lt» on seroma sertrnn oummmmerormmmmmermnaaen eee FRANK H. FISHER (See Page 3) senting Shelly Film Building New TV Film Studio Shelly Films Ltd., has bought one and one-quarter acres of land at the west end of Long Branch, Ont., for the erection of an estimated $400,000 studio, for the production of TV films. The com (Continued cn Page 5) GAMO LEO LIT ETON LTO E ATE LE Franklin Announces New Moncton Theatre Joseph M. Franklin, president of Franklin-Herschorn Theatre Co. Ltd., has announced that construction of another unit in the company’s chain of theatres in the Maritime provinces is expected to start in Moncton, about Oct. Ist. Situated on the corner of George and Highfield streets, this will be the first theatre in Canada (Continued on Page 4) “Prosperous Product For Drive” States UA’s Charles S. Chaplin Backing the most impressive line-up of important productions in United Artists” history, a six-month Drive in honor of Robert S. Benjamin, Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors, started Sept. 5. William J. Heineman, VicePresident in charge of Distribution, and B. G. Kranze, General Sales Manager, will serve as cocaptains of the Drive. Charles S. Chaplin, Canadian general manager, stated that the product to be released during the current drive will provide all exhibitors with “prosperous product” (Continued on Page 4) oaannsnencsnncnss LSE SOS SEK ‘ S SK YS SRS International Cinema Re-opens with IFD Film Featuring the Labor Day weekend in Toronto was the reopening of the International Cinema with “An Inspector Calls”, which tied in nicely with the investigation by ex-Inspector Robert H. Fabian of (Continued on Page 4)