Canadian Film Weekly (Nov 4, 1942)

Page scan 0003 from Canadian Film Weekly

Record Details:

Title:
Canadian Film Weekly
Date:
Nov 4, 1942
Volume:
Canadian Film Weekly (Nov 4, 1942)
Leaf #:
0003
Language:
English
Subjects:
Motion Pictures, Film Industry Trade Magazine",Canad
Collection:
Canada, Hollywood Studio System, and Global Cinema
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
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.

November 4, 1942 Page 4 FLYING FORTRESS (Vitagraph) Though this picture starts off in routine fashion, it soon picks up speed and leads to what is perhaps the best presentation of a bombing raid so far. The flight over Berlin and the incidents of battle are intensely interesting, the thrills mounting as the operations proceed. Made in England, it is a first-rate job. A Canadian actor, Donald Stewart, shares the male lead with Richard Greene and the feminine roles are handled expertly by Carla Lehman and Betty Stockfield. The boys are RCAF pilots and there is considerable Canadian background. The story deals with a playboy brought to his senses by exposure to vital matters of the day—and Carla Lehman. Greene is the monied rake who lets Stewart take the fall for a drunken-flying accident. The war and Greene’s romance with Stewart’s sister makes them pals again. GEORGE WASHINGTON SLEP'1' HERE (Vitagraph) A quite-enjoyable comedy in which the lead roles are shared by Jack Benny and Ann Sheridan. Benny does well as the hectored and unsympathizing husband of a wife who is converting a historic farmhouse into a home. The picture has a Colonial >FOR ME AND MY GAL (Regal) : The men and women who were boys and girls during the period after the last war will relish this appealing musical. So, for that matter, will everybody. It’s full of the popular songs of yesterday and they’re presented with the sentiment and melody intact. They aren’t over-swung or over-produced, as has been the case in the past. The stage scenes also follow the same method of simple presentation. It all gives the picture conviction. : The background is the booming vaudeville of the period and the hopes of the actors to play the Palace, New York. Judy Garland, whose sincere playing is her most valuable asset next to her voice, reaches deep into the hearts of the patrons. The most distinguished performance, however, comes from a newcomer, Gene Kelly, who plays a song-and-dance man with a heart of brass. Kelly, it might be said here, is the most honest presentation of a male lead in a long time. Hollywood usually gives us our heroes all white and our villains all black. The exceptions in the case of heroes usually have the debit side of their character presented roguishly. Kelly is an ambitious heel whose viewpoint and somewhat rustic flavor, which gives it novelty during the time Benny isn’t diluting it with slapstick. At that, his is a plausible performance but Sheridan, graceful and gracious, leaves him behind in audience attention. It’s hard to believe that she was the victim of the Ooomph Girl scheme at one time. Most intriguing performance in the piece is that of Percy Kilbride as a glum handy man. Hattie McDaniel, William changes quite plausibly. He established his right to Garland’s affection over George Murphy’s claim quite reasonably. This is a swell picture, well acted, produced and directed. Garland, whose transition into a grownup lead took place so naturally that hardly anyone noticed it, is an eyeand earful. Others who keep things going are Ben Blue, Marta Eggerth, Keenan Wynn and a list of capable players. Tracey, Joyce Reynolds, Franklin Pangborn and John Emery stay in there pitching. LITTLE TOKYO, USA (20th Century-Fox) A fast-moving story about Jap espionage before the forced evacuation from the Los Angeles area. Some of it must be accepted without question, otherwise it becomes highly improbable. The scripters didn't use their best judgment in having characters call the Japs terms based on their eyes and skin color which could easily apply to our allies. Those parts of the picture dealing with domestic pene and the evacuation are very interesting. Robert Preston is a framed cop and Brenda Joyce his broadcasting girl friend. One of these days Hollywood will get a real rap for presenting women apparently worthy of the attention of intelligent men but who just don’t understand things themselves and get in the way. It just isn’t true now. Harold Huber, Don Douglas, June Duprez, George E. Stone and others. GIVE OUT SISTERS (Universal) A standout musical of a lesser nature, featuring the Andrews Sisters, Grace McDonald, Dan Dailey, Jr., Charles Butterworth, Walter Catlett, William Frawley, the Jivin’ Jacks and Jills and supported by lesser players of quality. It’s about tops in the Universal series. The plot is about an heiress working in a night club. SPRINGTIME IN THE ROCKIES (20th Century-Fox) Blessed with top-notch tinting and tunes, this Technicolor musical featuring the doll-faced Betty Grable and pleasing John Lane will meet the demand for relaxing entertainment. Canada gets a nod, the background being Lake Louise in the Rockies— but little more than a nod. Scenic shots are few. The doings are sparked up by Carmen Miranda who shows up first in American dress. This type of garb suits Miranda about as much as a zoot suit on a greybeard. She soon gets back into her vegetable habilitments and machine gun type of songs. The Brazilian girl the screen has seen in a long time. Edward Everett Horton, Cesar Romero, Charlotte Greenwood and Harry James and his Music Makers share the spectrum, playing their accustomed of the Industry and the Industry Proud of you! Boost and Buy Make Canada Proud VICTORY BONDS parts. Oh yes. Beene and Grable are musical comedy stars who love each other, can’t get along but do at the fadeout. There are a couple of nice productions numbers, built around the very listenable tunes offered. British Exhibitors Win Point From Fox The recent boycott by English exhibitors through CEA against Fox has been settled, with the theatre men winning their main points. Fox cut out Sunday spot bookings, stated that each picture was to be sold individually and that it would stipulate the percentage pictures, Situation now is as was. right now is probably the most original dialect comedienne — Boag Handles Quebec Publicity for Fox _ Hal Horne, ad-publicity head for 20th-Century-Fox, has been expanding the boosters department. A number of old-time pressagents from other fields have been added to the staff. Gil Boag has been posted in Montreal to supervise publicity from that point. Toronto Fox offices have no official publicity man but Sam Glazier of its adsales has been doing a swell job of planting stuff in class and other mediums.