Canadian Moving Picture Digest (Jul 21, 1956)

Page scan 0001 from Canadian Moving Picture Digest

Record Details:

Title:
Canadian Moving Picture Digest
Date:
Jul 21, 1956
Volume:
Canadian Moving Picture Digest (Jul 21, 1956)
Leaf #:
0001
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.

PAGE TWO On the Beam! ~--(Continued from Page 1)--~ the Mohicans” will be telecast by the CBC and sold and distributed elsewhere in the world by Television Programs of America, Inc., under a distribution agreement between the CBC and Normandie Productions Ltd., on the one hand, and TPA on the other. Alex Barris, popular movie columnist for the Globe & Mail, is doing right well by himself as emcee of his own TV program, “The Barris Beat”, now in its third week on the CBC Television Network. Program comes on at 9.00 p.m., Wednesdays, and according to reports, (elerating for the program is exceptionally good. In last week’s column we repulished a letter from Charles Chaplin, Canadian District Manager for United Artists, in which he thanked Canadian exhibitors for their overwhelming support of UA Week. Unfortunately, a typographical error listed the number of Canadian theatres in which UA features were shown during the week of July 1-7 as 200, when of course the correct figure was a record-breaking 922. We did have the number of features correct at 1694. There was quite a donnybrook at Joe Dyzak’s Windsor Drive-In last week, when union pickets clashed with would-be patrons and theatre staff. Joe, who is operating the projection machines himself, is a licensed operator, but not a member of the union, which is picketing the theatre. I¢ was a most unfortunate affair, which even more unfortunately hit the front pages of the daily newspapers, giving our Industry a black eye it can well do without in these difficult times. FOR SALE YES! 10,000 LATE MODEL USED or RE-CONDITIONED THEATRE CHAIRS ALSO NEW BRITISH-LUXURY CHAIRS AVAILABLE SPRING EDGE STEEL BOTTOM SEAT CUSHIONS AND FULLY UPHOLSTERED BACKS—SPRING BACK TYPES ALSO. CARPETING, ASPHALT, RUBBER, VINYL TILES AND LINOLEUM We are Factory Agents At Bargain Prices Drop us a line — we will give you photographs and_ full information. “LA SALLE" RECREATIONS LTD Theatre Chairs, Carpet, Linoleum and Tile Division 945 GRANVILLE ST. MA. 5034 VANCOUVER 2, B.C. ~“pIerrrT Manitoba Picture Pioneers Hold Successful Golf Tournament Winnipeg: Thirty golfers participated in the third annual golf tournament, sponsored by the Canadian Picture Pioneers, Manitoba Branch, held at the Glendale Golf and Country Club, Winnipeg, on Wednesday, July 11th. The tournament was followed by a steak dinner at the Club House, attended by 40 people. The Ray Lewis Memorial Trophy, for team event, was won for the second time, by the projectionists team of Ray Reaney, Nate Wolk and Toby Triller. The winning team also received individual prizes of leather wallets, which were donated by the Crown Watch and Jewelry of Winnipeg. Closed event, low gross, for the Dominion Sound trophy was won for the second year in a row by Ray Reaney, with Lou Miles in the runner-up position. Closed low net for the Samuel Weiner trophy was won by Ray Reaney, with Harold Bishop coming in second. Open low gross for the J. M. Rice trophy was won for the second year in a row by Walter Levin; runner-up Max Shelton. Open low net for the Western Theatres trophy won by J. Zagoll; runner-up A. Winogratsky. Jack Taylor received the prize for closest to the pin in the ninth hole, with George Dowbiggan taking the runner-up spot. Prizes were also awarded for the hidden high and low holes. The committee in charge of the tournament included Harry W. Hurwitz, Chairman; R. D. Hurwitz, R. Reaney, H. Gray, H. Swartz, A. Feinstein, C. Krupp. Charlie Krupp and R. D. Hurwitz were the official starters. Harry Hurwitz was chairman at the dinner and presentation of prizes. Donations for the tournament were given by: R. D. Hurwitz, Main Street Pool, Odeon-Morton Theatres, Famous Players Corporation, Western Theatres Ltd., C. Krupp’s Film Service, Crown Watch and Jewelry, J. M. Rice & Co., Dominion Sound Equipments Ltd., General Theatre Supply Co., S. Weiner. MGM Signs Johnson Hollywood: Van Johnson has been signed by M-G-M for the leading masculine role in “Pattern of Malice,” which will be produced byArmand Deutsch from a story by Harry Junkin dealing with a scandal magazine and the consequences of its activities. The screen play has been written by Jerome Weidman. Columbia To Release Prize French Film New York: Marking a major step in its program of acquiring top international films for American distribution, Columbia Pictures has announced that it would release the 1956 Cannes _ International Film Festival Grand Prix Winner, “The Silent World,” in the Western Hemisphere, Austral-Asia and the Far East, except Japan. The much sought-after adventure film, recipient of The Golden Palm, the Cannes Festival’s top award, was acquired by Columbia against heavy competitive bidding. France’s most successful film production so far this year (critically and at the box office), “The Silent World” had in turn been launched by the renowned international best seller of the same name by JacquesYves Cousteau, a book which has been published in 27 countries and sold more than 4 million copies throughout the world, including almost two and a half million in the United States alone. Filmed in Eastman color by Jacques-Yves Cousteau, the world’s most famous undersea explorer, and Louis Malle, his co-director, in the course of two cruises totalling 10 months and 50,000 miles in the Mediterranean, Red Sea, Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean, “The Silent World” covers the exciting marine explorations of the Calypso Oceanographic Expeditions. Jaro Filming New Monsarrat Novel Toronto: Nicholas Monsarrat, the author of “The Cruel Sea” and other stories, who now lives in Canada, is leaving in a few weeks for England to watch the shooting of the first scenes of his “Story of Esther Costello”at the J. Arthur Rank studio. CBU (Continued from Page 1) in the Council of Broadcasting Unions which has been organized at Toronto for radio and television technicians and performers. The council, which claims to represent 20,000 employees, is headed by Eldon Wilcox of the Association of Radio and TV Employees of Canada. JULY 21, 1956 PARAMOUNT (Continued from Page 1) during a half-year period,” the 10 productions are being offered to theatres at the time of Paramount’s “Salute to George Weltner,” 26week sales drive in honor of the worldwide sales head’s 34 years of active service to the firm. While “War and Peace” and “The Ten Commandments,” films of towering importance in the company’s entire releasing history, will only enter the initial phase of their long-range distribution during the second half of 1956, the eight other pictures for all practical purposes will be released generally in the period. In keeping with Paramount’s announced policy for all its productions, the 10 new films have been made in VistaVision, Eight are in Technicolor and two were shot in black-and-white. Paramount’s general release schedule for July through December follows: JULY — Panama-Frank’s “That Certain Feeling,’ in Technicolor, starring Bob Hope, Eva Marie Saint and George Sanders, and Perlberg-Seaton’s “The Proud and Profane,” top-billing William Holden and Deborah Kerr. AUGUST — Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis’ “Pardners,” in Technicolor. SEPTEMBER — “The Vagabond King,” in Technicolor, introducing Oreste co-starring with Kathryn Grayson, Rita Moreno and Sir Cedric Hardwicke, and “The Search for Bridey Murphy,” starring Louis Hayward, Teresa Wright and Nancy Gates. OCTOBER — Edward Dmytryk’s “The Mountain,” in Technicolor, starring Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner and Claire Trevor. NOVEMBER — “Three Violent People,” in Technicolor, starring Charlton Heston, Anne Baxter, Gilbert Roland and Forrest Tucker. DECEMBER — Hal Wallis’ “Hollywood or Bust,” in Technicolor, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis with Anita Ekberg and Pat Crowley. November will mark premieres of “The Ten Commandments” at a number of theatres including the University, Toronto. The Montreal engagement, at the Capitol Theatre, follows in December. “War and Peace” viewed last week in London for the first time by top Paramount executives, is due to have its world premiere in August at the Capitol Theatre, New York, opening in Toronto at the Imperial, and in Montreal at Loew’s, October 3rd.