Canadian Moving Picture Digest (Sep 18, 1954)

Record Details:

Title:
Canadian Moving Picture Digest
Date:
Sep 18, 1954
Volume:
Canadian Moving Picture Digest (Sep 18, 1954)
Leaf #:
0000
Language:
English
Subjects:
Motion Pictures, Film Industry Trade Magazine",Canad
Collection:
Hollywood Studio System, Canada, 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 VOL, 46, NO. 38 CANADIAN MOVING PICTURE pb det eee 21 DUNDAS SQUARE, TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA 1915-1954 Published by CANADIAN MOVING PICTURE DIGEST COMPANY LIMITED ee le RAY Lewis FOUNDER 1915-1954 SEPTEMBER 18, 1954 Smalt Exhibs. Get ‘Scope Pix Flat 20th-Fox Prefers Flat Rentals In Small Situations — A. Lichtman In a letter addressed to Abram F. Myers, General Counsel and Chairman of the Board, Allied States Association, Mr. Al Lichtman, 20th Century-Fox Director of Distribution, has made the momentous By JAY L. SMITH EWSWEEK Magazine, in its issue of Sept. 13th, devotes nearly four full columns to an article on the Movies, entitled, “Comeback—and Why”. This article constitutes such a terrific boost for our Industry, that I felt The Digest would be negligent in its announced policy of Service to the Industry, if we did not reprint the greater part of the Newsweek article for the benefit of those of our readers who do not happen to be regular Newsweek subscribers. The article starts out with a quote of Nicholas Schenck, President of Loew’s Inc., made back in 1949, “There’s nothing wrong with the industry that a good picture won’t cure.” Other excerpts from the Newsweek article, follow. “All over the country, last week, exhibitors were having pleasant experiences. In Manhattan, ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers’ was in its sixth week at the Music Hall; it was grossing $180,000 a week and looked good for another week’s run. Elsewhere, Chicagoans were standing in line to see ‘Susan Slept Here’; Angelenos had been paying $25,000 to $30,000 a week to catch ‘Rear Window’; and _ Philadelphians were getting to ‘On The Waterfront’ at a $31,000 firstweek gait. For the nation’s major moviemakers . . . 1954 may well be the finest financial year since the 1947-48 boom. “In that early prosperous interval, Hollywood simply got its share of the free-spending tendencies of the time. The present momentum comes from the good pictures that Nick Schenck recommended five years ago to answer Hollywood’s fear about television and foreign competition. Not since (Continued on Page 2) CBC-TV To Reach 70% Of Canadians The Canadian Broadcasting Corp., reviewing two years of Canadian TV _ operation, declared, “By the end of 1954 more than 70% of all Canadians are ex (Continued on Page I1) announcement that 20th-Fox is ready to sell CinemaScope production at a flat rental in small towns and small subsequent runs. While, of course, Mr. Lichtman’s announcement applied to the U.S., The Digest contacted Peter Myers, Canadian General Manager for 20th-Fox and received confirmation of this policy for Canada. (Continued on Page 9) JARO Plans 10th Anniversary 25 Major Films for ’55 Release The tenth anniversary of the J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (Canada) Limited will be an exciting year for both themselves and their customers, and will launch a program of twenty-five major films, with “Romeo And Juliet” as the production of all time. In an interview with The Digest, Frank Fisher, Vice-President and General Manager, and Frank (Continued on Page 6) Keep your-<s) ke» on JACK ARTHUR (See Page 3) Famous & Odeon Set Two Top Fox Films An all-out advertising, publicity and promotional campaign is currently in work for the debut of two of 20th-Fox’s fall releases, both in CinemaScope, for an early release in both Famous and (Continued on Page 2) Bedi ire. and CBC Buys Carlton From B&F Theatres A second theatre in Toronto has been lost to film entertainment within nine months. Last December the Crest on Mount Pleasant Road became the home of Davis Bros. stage presentations and is about to be re-opened for its second season. Now the Carlton on Parliament Street has been acquired by the CBC from B & F The (Continued on Page 11) Saint John Wins RKO Drive Labow Lists RKO Product Jack Labow, Canadian General Manager for RKO announced the winners of the RKO Canadian Billings Drive. Saint John, first. Calgary, second and Toronto, third. The drive which reached an all time high, has geared “the RKO Canadian sales force,” stated Mr. Labow, “to the proper pitch to present the top product, that RKO will have available this year. “Smash boxoffice hit “Susan Slept Here” with Dick PowellDebbie Reynolds and co-starring Anne Francis. “This Is My Love.” In color (Continued on Page 10) UA’s Crusoe Sets New High In Mont. “Adventures Of Robinson Crusoe,” a United Artists release, js racking up the greatest gross in the history of the Orpheum theatre, Montreal, stated Charles S. Chaplin, United Artists Canadian (Continued on Page 12)