Canadian Film Weekly (Jun 10, 1942)

Page scan 0000 from Canadian Film Weekly

Record Details:

Title:
Canadian Film Weekly
Date:
Jun 10, 1942
Volume:
Canadian Film Weekly (Jun 10, 1942)
Leaf #:
0000
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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a Cc aa Vol. 8, No. 24 7% VOICE of TORONTO, JUNE 10th, 1942 = Theatres Fight Marquee Fee After spirited protests from legal representatives of several theatre companies, the Civic Works Committee of the Toronto City Council left in abeyance a suggestion that shadow boxes and marquees which encroach on city property be taxed. At the same time the Committee decided that no (Continued on Page 3) James E. Lynch Passes On James E. Lynch, manager of the Runnymede Theatre, Toronto, for the past 15 years, died in Toronto on Friday, June 5th. He died at Christie Street Hospital, where he had been a patient for the last four months, from a heart condition. He was 48 years old. The popular Famous Players man (Continued on Page 2) French Section for National Film Board A French-Canadian section will be set up by the National Film Board to cater to moviegoers who speak Canada’s other language. It is expected that Philas Cote of Montreal will head it. Four French-Canadian shorts will be produced monthly. Gratien Gelinas, Montreal comedian, will be featured in one of them. Lieut. Gurston Allen To Ottawa NDH@ Lieut. Gurston Allen has been called to active service and has been posted to the Directorate of Special Services in Ottawa. He’s at National Defence Headquarters. The Special Services Directorate deals with the branches of the Morale departments. _ MIDNIGHT SHOWS _ KAYO'D IN HAMILTON RAR i) SO REE ET SLs, eg ODO Oe Ned OE ND EE the CANADIAN MOTION PICTURE IN DUSTRY eure | $2.00 Per Annum USA Ease-Up is Old Stuff Here Lower Rentals for Exhibitors Hit by Populace Shrinkage The new American policy of Warners and MGM, that of easing rentals for situations hit by population shrinkage, is not new in Canada. Here Canadian exchanges moved quietly in the same direction over a year ago. At that time, when the Something New— A Musical Twosome Newest double bill idea is provided by Al Perly of the Kenwood, Toronto—a dual musical show. Perly noted that double horror and laugh shows were okay and has hooked up “The Great Waltz” with “Balalaika.”’ It’s the seventh stopover for ‘Waltz.’ Local screen scribes noted the innovation in their columns. Perly went to work on the music lovers with a vengeance, posting two sandwich-board men outside the Promenade Symphony at the Varsity Arena, which draws about 8,000 every Thursday night. Another Kenwood future double bill with marquee meaning and attraction will be “Haunted House” and “I Wake Up Screeaming.” Figures On British Wartime Business Britain’s moving picture theatres’ grand gross for 1941 were figured to be £65,000,000, an increase of £17,000,000 over 1940. The estimate was based on the average weekly attendance of 25,000,000. Max Gordon Signs Max Gordon, celebrated as one of Broadway’s greatest producer, with a score of big hits to his credit, has signed a new contract under which he will produce one important picture a year for Columbia. : national effort was well under way, rural situations found themselves affected by enlistment of young men in the armed forces and the moving of older men to war work centres. In this way Canadian exchanges anticipated and beat the gun on the new USA attitude of the (Continued on Page 2) SSS) Film Red Cross Net; $31,000 The motion picture industry really spread itself during the Red Cross drive and turned something like $31,000 in to humanity’s greatest undertaking. That sum represented a considerable increase of the total of filmites’ dollars and cents gathered during the last Red Cross campaign. The committee, headed by Nat Taylor of 20th Century Theatres, who was backed up by Gordon Lightstone of Regal as co-chair (Continued on Page 3) Sir Harry Rooney Sir Harry Lander, the world’s favorite Scot, saw a Glasgow pre The Hamilton, Ont. Board of Police Commissioners has passed a by-law prohibiting Sunday midnight shows except when a statutory holiday falls on Monday. The move had ‘been under consideration for some time. view of “Babes on Broadway” and a Mickey Rooney imitation of the Lauder art recently. Mickey handed out the famed Lauder song, “She’s M’ Daisy,” with gestures and costumes to match. So, without even a “collect” tag on it, a wire arrived from Sir Harry to Mickey on the “A Yank at Eton’ set, part of which read. “Congratulations. From the past to the present consider you a topnotcher. Keep right on to the end of the road.” And Mickey is mighty proud of it.