Canadian Moving Picture Digest (Jul 14, 1956)

Page scan 0002 from Canadian Moving Picture Digest

Record Details:

Title:
Canadian Moving Picture Digest
Date:
Jul 14, 1956
Volume:
Canadian Moving Picture Digest (Jul 14, 1956)
Leaf #:
0002
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 30, 2024
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.

JULY 14, 1956 Across Toronto The Scarboro Theatre in suburban Toronto literally went to the dogs for the engagement of W-B’s “The Animal World”, when Beryl Goodwin, the talented and attractive manager, staged a community canine show for prizes as an added Saturday feature. B e e The Famous Players’ Skyway and Mohawk Drive-Ins at Hamilton, under the supervision of Lloyd Taylor, featured “Silhouettes”, a stage show, as an added attraction in the first week of July. Previously a baton twirling contest had been conducted on a series of six nights for amateurs in different age groups, e ® e The Piccadilly Theatre, operated by Mrs. A. J. Casselman in the Eastern Ontario town of Williamsburg, presented a special film program for three days for the 21st anniversary of the opening of the theatre when two adult patrons were admitted for the price of one ticket as a birthday gift. e e e The proprietor of the Westdale Theatre, Hamilton, is now Ald. James A. Sardo, He was named a member of the City Council for Ward Four to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Councillor Dr. McCabe after having been nosed out in the civic elections last December. ® e ® The Palace Theatre, Cornwall, has organized a Famous Players Movie Club for Saturday mornings during the summer with special pictures, prize contests and free gifts for the juveniles. The Roxy at Cornwall is also running an extra feature for the kids at daily matinees and a stage program on Saturdays. Maritimes The Warner newsreel in last week’s ‘Canadian News of the Day’ contained a shot of the Yarmouth-Bar Harbour new Ferry “Bluenose’ on its first official run, On board as a guest was the famed Captain Angus Walters of Lunenberg, N.S., who raced the schooner ‘Bluenose’ and won so many races from the Americans in the past. Captain Walters is a relative of Mr. G. A. Walters, well-known manager of the F. G. Spencer Company interests in Charlottetown, P.El. * * ° The engagement is announced of Miss Rosemary Enos, daughter of Mr. George Enos, Chairman of the N.B. Censor Board, and Mrs. Enos, to Mr. Thomas Gordon of Fredericton, N.B. The wedding will take place on July 28th in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Saint John. Winnipeg The Northmain Drive-In, Winnipeg, is giving away an all-expense paid trip for two to Miami Beach, Fla., via Northwest Airlines, the trip to include a stay at one of Miami’s finest hotels. Although the night of the draw has not yet been announced each paying adult entering the theatre is being urged to register every night of the week to ensure themselves a better chance of winning. * e a The Osborne Theatre, Winnipeg, closed July 7th for the summer months, and the State, Winnipeg, has closed indefinitely. * * r The double bill of DAY THE WORLD ENDED and PHANTOM FROM 10,000 LEAGUES, soon to open in a downtown Winnipeg house, show on the credit sheet the name of Lou Rusoff. Mr. Rusoff gets story and screenplay credit for the first feature, and screenplay credit for the second. He is a former Winnipegger, and was active membe: of the Y.M.H.A. e e e The Circus Drive-In, Kirkfield Park, Winnipeg, has heen advertising in the local dailies “Admission Absolutely Free No Give-Aways, No Gimmicks, No Lottery, No Phonys” — and drive-in patrons have been taking the ad seriously. PAGE THREE Country Harvey Kornberg, formerly of Winnipeg, leaves United Artists in Calgary, where he has been a salesman, to join Theatre Poster in Calgary. . P e e Richard Miles, of Western Theatres Ltd., is spending a few days in Toronto. Charlie Krupp, of Associated Theatres, spent a week-end in Regina where he attended the Bar Mitzvah of Sam Karby’s son. e @ e Mr. and Mrs. W. Armstrong of Saltcoats, Sask., spent a day in Winnipeg, on their way to the States. Mrs. Todd of Morris, Man. and W. Friesen, of Altona, Man., were visitors to Film Row. Prairies The Board of Trade at Landis, Sask., has purchased the local theatre Jrom N.H. Veale and films are being shown on Fridays and Saturdays. co * e The Paragon Theatre, Melville, advertises “THRIFT NIGHT’— every Wednesday and Thursday, when adult evening admissions are reduced from the regular 50c to 35c. Vancouver Sulphuric acid poured on theatre seats by teen-age toughs at F-P’s Palace Theatre, Calgary, caused considerable damage to patrons’ clothes, one theatregoer having the seat of his pants burned away. Vandalism is also in high gear at Vancouver downtown theatres, especially at the midnight shows. Exhibitors now have police patrol the houses to stop drinking and catch trouble-makers. + e e Clarence Palmquist, assistant manager at the Int.-Cinema, hospitalized for a check-up. Hugh Hamilton, who left RKO in Calgary to join another company, is back at RKO as office manager at the Calgary branch. e ° e Odeon’s Vogue Theatre smashed its all-time record for midnight show biz with the showing of “Trapeze,” which is now playing three houses in this area, day-and-date. Doing surprising business at F-P’s Strand here is the re-release of M-G-M’s “The Wizard of Oz.” New members of the Alberta Branch of the Canadian Picture Pioneers are Charlie Coombes, who operates two theatres and a drive-in at Lloydminster, Sask., and R. V. Kiefer of the Kiefer circuit at Hardisty, Alta. e e s Harry Hargraves, formerly of the Orpheum staff, now a booker with M-G-M in San Francisco, was here on vacation and visited his many friends in show biz here. wise theatre men, take this advice ASN TRAILERS come fast and nice! Canadian-made, they're never late. call ASN’ right now — don't wait. “ASSOCIATED SCREEN NEWS we 2000 Northcliffe Ave., Montreal! Peeeeeeeeeeceseceseeeeseseeee® THE CANADIAN MOVING PICTURE DIGEST, Authorized as Second Class Mail, Post Office Department, Ottawa. Jay L. Smith, Editor-in-Chief; Correspondents: Bruce Peacock, Regina; Libby Bookhalter, Winnipeg; Jack Droy, Vancouver; Will McLaughlin, Ottawa; Bill Press, Toronto; Helen Crawley, St, John, Address all mail to Publisher, Canodian Moving Picture Digest Company. Ltd., 501 Yonge St., Toronto. Telephone: WAlnut 1-4352. Cable: Raydigest. Est 1915. Publication weekly. Subscription: $5.00 yearly.