Canadian Moving Picture Digest (Nov 26, 1955)

Page scan 0006 from Canadian Moving Picture Digest

Record Details:

Title:
Canadian Moving Picture Digest
Date:
Nov 26, 1955
Volume:
Canadian Moving Picture Digest (Nov 26, 1955)
Leaf #:
0006
Language:
English
Collection:
Canada, Hollywood Studio System, Early Cinema, and Global Cinema
Format:
periodicals
Contributor:
Media History Digital Library, Greig Dymond in memory of David Dymond, 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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| : ft t | NOVEMBER 26, 1955 w-°° chatl® That Could batter! By MAX CHIC The death of William C. McCraw former executive director of Variety International in Dallas on November 8 will leave a vacuum in the lives of many industry people who got to know him on his visits to Toronto, as guest speaker, at a number of Tent 28 graduation ceremonies . . . a lively and entertaining orator, with a heart as big as his dearly beloved Texas encompassed his chores for Variety ...no more fitting tribute to his memory could be made than the continuation, on an increasing scale of the activities for our local Tent and its Variety Village. The first JARO film for some months is due to open at the Odeon, and Fairlawn, Toronto, next week .. . the Downtown, Toronto has begun to use big billboards on its current top attractions, on its wall facing south on Yonge St. our thanks to Martin Simpson for this latest contribution to the Toronto skyline as viewed from the Digest office. . what happened to the new watchman over at 277 Victoria understand that he put out, for garbage disposal, a large quantity of prints one night last week and had a couple of distributors ready for a Florida vacation, before the missing prints were discovered the next morning. WBEN-TV, Buffalo, last week blossomed forth with film trailers for four Toronto theatres .. . the theatres, University & Eglinton showing Paramount’s “Ulysses” and the Hyland and Christie, showing Cardinal’s “Its A Wonderful Life” ... key Odeon houses across Canada through a tie-up with Admiral TV will have sets ready for viewing of the Grey Cup in their lobbies . . . Rene Legault, manager of the Odeon Beaubien, Montreal died of a heart attack this week Irving Herman, WB’s Canadian Director of Advertising attended a meeting in New York on special promotion plans for “The Lone Ranger”. . . Alf Perry, President and Mark Plottel, general sales manager of Empire-Universal to the coast for a U-I meet Nov. 28. 20th-Fox Dividend New York: A quarterly cash dividend of 40 cents per share on the outstanding Common Stock of 20th Century-Fox has been declared payable December 24, 1955 to stockholders of record at the close of business on December 9, 1955. “pierce? Two Canadian Chains Announce Dividends Toronto: Famous Players Canadian Corporation Ltd. has announced that a dividend of 37!2 cents a share has been declared for the quarter ending December 31, 1955 on all issued common shares of the company, payable on December 28, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Dec. 2. Marcus Loew’s Theatres, Ltd.. also announced this week that the regular quarterly dividend of 1% ($1 per share) and an extra dividend of an equal amount have been declared on the common stock of this company, both payable December 31 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 10. “All For Mary” London: Making her film debut in Pinewood’s “All For Mary,” is blonde and_ beautiful Dagmar Ebert, from Montreal. She went to England to work as a fashion model, then joined the Sadler’s Wells Ballet. Now she plans to learn about all branches of show business. Winikus Exec. Assist. To Max E. Youngstein New York: Max E. Youngstein, United Artists Vice President, announced the appointment of Francis M. Winikus as his executive assistant. Taking Winikus’ place as national director of advertising, publicity and exploitation is Roger H. Lewis. Alfred H. Tamarin will assume the post of coordinator of production and pre-production activities of the company around the world, and will also continue in his present position as assistant national director of advertising, publicity and exploitation. “This reorganization and expansion of the advertising, publicity and exploitation departments,” Mr. Youngstein stated, “is made necessary by the tremendous increase in United Artists’ promotion activities around the world and by the fact that our 1956 program is, in our opinion, the most important program of product that the company has ever presented. This product will be backed by the largest appropriations in VA history. 0s ThawsCanada Oy TORONTO iMPERIAL 3rd wk. You’re Never Too Young (Para.) VV & Tech. with Martin & Lewis. SHEA‘s 2nd wk. The McConnell Story (WB) C’Scope & Warner Color with Alan Ladd. UNIVERSITY & EGLINTON Ulysses (Para.) Tech. with Kirk Douglas. LOEW’S 2nd wk. Trial (MGM) with Glenn Ford. UPTOWN Quentin Durward (MGM) C’Scope & Color with Robert Taylor. ODEON & FAIRLAWN It’s a Wonderful Life (Cardinal) with James Stewart. MONTREAL LOEW’s The Tall Men (20th-Fox) C’Scope & Deluxe Color with Clark Gable. CAPITOL We're No Angels (Para.) with Humphrey Bogart. PALACE 2nd wk. Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing (20th-Fox) C’Scope & Tech, with Wm. Holden. VV & Tech. PRINCESS Bring Your Smile Along (Col.) Tech. with Frankie Laine, ORPHEUM Santa Fe Passage (Rep.) & City of Shadows (Rep.). KENT-SNOWDON-OUTREMONT The Shrike (E-U) with Jose Ferrer. AVENUE The Night My Number Came Up (JA RO) with Michael Redgrave. IMPERIAL 47th wk, This is Cinerama. WINNIPEG CAPITAL Trial (MGM) with Glenn Ford. MET Pete Kelly’s Blues (WB) C‘Scope & WarnerColor with Jock Webb. USE THIS INFORMATION AS YOUR GUIDE ON RELEASE DATES ~-————— ODEON Summertime (UA) C’Scope & Tech. with Katherine Hepburn. GARRICK The Night of the Hunter Robert Mitchum, LYCEUM Footsteps in the Fog (Col.) Tech. with Jean Simmonds. CALGARY VV & Tech, with (Col.) with CAPITOL Lucy Gallant (Para.) Jane Wyman. PALACE The Treasure of Pancho Villa (RKO) Tech. in SuperScope with Shelley Winters. GRAND Count Three & Pray Tech. with Van Heflin. UPTOWN Queen Bee (Col.) with Joan Crawford. VARIETY The Purple Mask (E-U) Tech. with Tony Curtis. VANCOUVER CAPITOL Rebel Without A Cause (WB) C’Scope & WarnerColor with James Dean. ORPHEUM The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing (20th-Fox) C’Scope & Deluxe Color with Ray Milland. VOGUE The Kentuckian (UA) with Burt Lancaster. INTERNATIONAL CINEMA Bengazi (RKO) SuperScope with Richard Conte. (Col.) C’Scope & C’Scope & C’Scope & Tech DUNBAR 3rd wk. Summertime (UA) Tech. with Katherine Hepburn. ST. JOHN PARAMOUNT Quentin Durward (MGM) C’Scope & Color with Robert Taylor. STRAND Seven Cities of Gold (20th-Fox) C’Scope & Deluxe Color with Richard Egan. PAGE SEVEN Metro sets Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine and Debbie Reynolds for “The Catered Affair’ production by Sam Zimbalist. 20th-Fox signs Josh Logan of Broadway fame, to direct “Bus Stop” C’Scope drama which may mark the return of Marilyn Monroe to that studio. RKO maps tremendous promotional campaign for “The Conquerors,’ multi-million dollar production starring John Wayne and Susan Hayward, which will leadoff the 1956 season. William Helden will return to Warners after a five-year absence, to be topeast in “Toward the Unknown.” Columbia purchases “Rumble on the Docks,” story of youthful waterfront gangs in Brooklyn, which will probably be filmed in its original locale. Anne Bancroft slated to appear opposite Audie Murphy in the Universal feature “Apache Agent.” United Artists acquires distribution rights for “Timetable” a Mark Stevens Production. Paramount assigns Alan Pakula the job of producing “The Jim Piersall Story” based on the bestseller “Fear Strikes Out” story of the Boston Red Sox outfielder and his bout with a mental illness. Republic signs Yvonne’ Furneaux, one of England’s fastest rising stars, for a featured role in the Ray Milland-Maureen O’Hara starrer “Lisbon” which also costars Claude Rains. JARO names Anna Maria Sandri, new Italian screen actress,” for starring role opposite Anthony Steel and Donald Sinden in JARO’s “The Black Tent,” now on location in the Western Desert near Tripoli. Walt Disney Studios will produce a feature film titled “Operation Deepfreeze” filmed on a four-year Antarctic expedition, with pericdic progress reports being seen on TV. Production unit of Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Wrong Man” now on the Warner lot, in preparation for the filming of Warners “The Wreng Man,” a Henry Fonda-Vera Miles starrer. Japanese actress Ma chiko Kyo, of “Rashomon” fame, joins cast of Metro’s “The Teahouse of the August Moon,” which will feature Marlon Brando and Glenn Ford.