Canadian Film Weekly (Mar 4, 1942)

Page scan 0003 from Canadian Film Weekly

Record Details:

Title:
Canadian Film Weekly
Date:
Mar 4, 1942
Volume:
Canadian Film Weekly (March 4, 1942)
Leaf #:
0003
Language:
English
Subjects:
Motion Pictures, Film Industry Trade Magazine",Canad
Collection:
Global Cinema, Canada, and Hollywood Studio System
Format:
periodicals
Contributor:
Media History Digital Library, Canadian Picture Pioneers, Paul Moore and Jessica Whitehead
Coordinator:
Media History Digital Library
Description:

Canadian Film Weekly

  • Editor: Hye Bossin (1942-64)
  • Renamed Canadian Film & TV Bi-Weekly (1965-69, editor: Stan Helleur)
  • Renamed Candian Film Weekly(1970, editor: Ed Hocura)

Canadian Film Weekly (1942-70) was edited by Hye Bossin and published by Film Publications of Canada, Ltd., wholly owned by leading exhibitor, Nat Taylor. In the late 1930s, Taylor was head of the Independent Theatre Association and his Toronto-based chain, Twinex-Century (Twentieth Century), was the largest independent circuit in the country. In 1941, however, he negotiated for chain affiliation with upstart Canadian Odeon before leveraging a better deal and greater booking control with nationally-dominant Famous Players Canada, Ltd. No longer independent, he took ownership of the Independent Theatre Association’s semi-monthly magazine, The Canadian Motion Picture Exhibitor (1940-41), installed Hye Bossin as editor, and laid plans to relaunch in January 1942 under a new name, Canadian Film Weekly. This enduring key publication was no longer solely focused on independent exhibitors but instead covered the entire industry on a national scale–exhibition, distribution and production–with some attention given to studio news from New York and Hollywood.

Bossin was a vibrant writer with a canny way with words, admired in the industry in the United States as well as Canada. He was one of a large family who lived above their father’s secondhand shop in the Jewish “ward” downtown in Toronto. His older brother was a bookie with ties to the underground; his younger brother was a famous journalist, protégé of Walter Winchell, and Hollywood screenwriter. In contrast, Hye spent nearly two decades learning the publishing trade in a printers’ shop before trying a stint as a Hollywood publicist, then writing a column for the Toronto Star Weekly before taking Taylor’s offer to edit the Film Weekly. Bossin was central to the creation of the Canadian Film Archive, the Canadian Film Awards, and he wrote some of the first histories of early cinema in Canada, published in the first volumes of the annual Canadian Film Weekly Year Book (1951-70).

In 1957, the Film Weekly had incorporated the rival Canadian Moving Picture Digest (1917-57), and began dating its start to that paper’s earlier start as the Canadian Universal Bulletin (1915-18). Subsequent variants of the Canadian Film Weekly and its yearbooks always claimed their roots all the way back to 1915 and the origins of the film industry trade press in Canada. After Bossin died in 1964, the Weekly’s new editor, Stan Helleur, renamed the magazine Canadian Film & TV Bi-Weekly, scaling back the pace of publishing but adding a purview for television and broadcasting. The annual was renamed similarly, its subtitle amended to “Year Book of the Canadian Entertainment Industry.” An attempted renewal to weekly format in 1970, edited by Ed Hocura, was short-lived and Nat Taylor decided instead to relaunch under an entirely new title, Canadian Film Digest (1971-77) and Canadian Film Digest Yearbook (1971-86).

– Paul Moore, March 2024

Further Reading

  • Bossin, Hye. “Canada and the Film: The Story of the Canadian Motion Picture Industry.” In Canadian Film Weekly Year Book of the Canadian Motion Picture Industry, 21-41. Toronto: Film Publications of Canada, 1951.
  • Moore, Paul. “Chronicling a National History: Hye Bossin’s Canadian Film Weekly and Year Book.” In Eric Hoyt and Kelley Conway, eds., Global Movie Magazines. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2024.

Date Added:
August 08, 2024
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Page 4 SON OF FURY SONG OF THE ISLANDS Canadian FILM WEEKLY March 4th, 1942 Fox The Payoff: A strong draw for the adventure trade, old and young. General audiences may not find enough of the promised fury. The Story: Tyrone Power is bilked out his heritage by his uncle, George Sanders, who takes him away from his poor grandfather and makes a stable-boy of him on his estate. Power grows up, falls in love with his cousin, vows revenge and runs away to the South Sea Isles with John Carradine. There he takes up with Gene Tierney, whom he leaves to return to England with his fortune of pearls. He discovers his love to be a trifler, wins justice, divides the estate among the servants and goes back to Tierney. The sizeup: A period piece, the picture gets away at a good pace, slows down in the middle and regains its momentum toward the finish. Power, as a life-long grudge-bearer, doesn't generate enough hate, being. outdone in this by Roddy McDowell, who plays him as a boy. Comedy is completely absent. Dudley Digges, as a crochety barrister, and Elsa Lanchester, as a goodhearted barmaid, give splendid performances. Sanders and Carradine do typical jobs. Frances Farmer is the cousin and Harry Davenport the grandfather. Humor is missing. The Payoff: Not sensational but completely satisfactory entertainment given a garnish of class by gorgeous technicolor. Lovers of musical comedy will lose no time in coming. The story: Victor Mature, heir to a chain of ranches, visits Hawaii to check the local branch. A tough-crusted Irisher, Thomas Mitchell, and his daughter, Betty Grable, carry on their plantation in a casual way. They own a strip of beach needed by Mature’s old man, George Barbier. Mature and Grable get smitten. Both papas become reconciled but the kids bust up. For a while, that is. The sizeup: The story is a veteran of many a musical and nobody has any doubt as to where it leads to. So true to tried} form does it run that the whole thing could have been filmed on a stage—with less effect, of course. But the picture makes no claims on being anything but first-class all-round amusement and it’s certainly that. Jack Oakie, as a transplanted cowhand, Lillian Porter and Billy Gilbert cause a good share of fun. RIGHT TO THE HEART The payoff: A prop for the double bill. Not too strong but pleasant enough. The story: Joseph Allen, Jr. is a young socialite who gets smacked around by an ex-pug in a night club brawl and takes up pugicufis for revenge. He joins Charles D. Brown’s training camp, falls in love with daughter Brenda Joyce, is hectored by Stanley Clements, Hugh Beaumont and Don De Fore, gets even, gives Cobina Wright, Jr., who caused the brawl, the air, and is reinherited by aunt Ethel Griffies. The sizeup: Nothing to add. Monogram LET’S GO COLLEGIATE The Payoff: A frisky campus comedy that is considerably better than many a B. A good support. The Story: A hoodlum replaces the stroke on a college crew and decides to stay on in college when the job is up. Out of that comes many funny moments. The Sizeup: Suitable performances in every case and a strong script make this a decidedly lively piece of work. The players are Frankie Darro, Marcia Mae Jones, Jackie Moran, Keye Luke and Mantan Moreland. Columbia FORWARD, COMMANDOS! The Payoff: A’ surefire short about a subject that has captured the public imagination. It will be the best thing on many bills. The sizeup: This National Film Board short is its best yet. It deals with the highly-specialized work of the Commandos, with emphasis on winter warfare. Engrossing all the way, with plenty of Grade A thrills. Occasionally a familiar newsreel shot shows up but instead of being an isolated report, as with newsreels, it is explained and related to the general scheme of things. ee) THE VANISHING VIRGINIAN MGM The Payoff: Family stuff of a high-class mature that will tickle the homelovers into sending their friends. A strong topper in first run houses and single bill in the neighborhoods. The Story: The main thread deal’s with wife Spring Byington’s efforts to get husband Frank Morgan to retire from his long-time post as the local district attorney. Am old sweetheart, whose son is wooing Morgan’s daughter, provides the undertone of difference between husband and wife. This is added to by Morgan’s decision to run again in order to thwart the plans of a local prohibition leader who is stocking up for future bootlegging., Morgan has thus broken his promise to his wife not to run again. Further conflict is provided between his two daughters, their sweethearts and the mother over the raging question of women’s suffrage. The Sizeup: Background is the South during pre-Great War days. Title implies a generation and its way of life which has gone. Some fine and sad sentiment is there in the problems of the negro servants and comedy is provided by Morgan as a kindhearted but captious father. Kathryn Grayson, as one of Morgan’s daughters, sings enjoyably and there are several family sing-song scenes on the porch. Natalie Thompson, Douglass Newland, Mark Daniels, Juanita Quigley and Dickie Jones play well. Outstanding are the characterizations of negro servants by Leigh Whipper and Louise Beavers. Hard-of-Hearing Patronage Studied by Research Bureau At the beginning of this year a study was made by the Motion Picture Research Bureau among the hard of hearing in New York City to determine whether and how it would be possible to increase their movie attendance. Dr. Leo Handel, director of the MPRB, conducted this survey in co-operation with the New York League For The Hard of Hearing. The use of hearing aids which are provided by some exhibitors in especially wired theatres was under observation. There are about 110,000 hard of hearing persons in New York City, 10,000 of these are children. Hard of hearing people influence to a large extent the movie habits of their relatives and friends who attend with them. This is indicated by the results of this survey which show that the last time the respondents attended the movies: 23% went alone 42% went with 1 person 23% went with 2 persons 9% went with 3 persons 3% went with more than 3 persons. The average monthly movie attendance of the movie goers in this group is 3.3 times. This survey showed that: 55% of the respondents ‘‘never” | used the special hearing aids provided by the theatres. 79% of these people did not know that such equipment is available | 36% said they “sometimes” attend and 9% indicated that they go “mostly” to theatres providing hearing aids. The reasons that so many peo ple do not attend, or only seldom attend theatres equipped with hearings aids are firts of all that these theatres are too far from their residence and secondly that the admissions of these houses are too high. Based on this observation it was natural that 87 per cent of the respondents who had a definite opinion said that they would go, or go more often if theatres in their neighborhood provided these hearing aids. The following interesting comments were made repeatedly by the respondents: There are not enough seats with hearing aids available. These seats should be reserved as long as other seats are available. These seats should be in a special, favorably located section. These seats should be on the aisles. The hearing aids should be kept in perfect condition. Passes should be made available to get the hearing aids without paying a deposit. Theatre which have hearing aids should! publicize it. Today there are only 18 of the approximately 700 houses in New York City equipped with hearing aids, and for the most part these houses are’ concentrated in the Manhattan theatre district.