Canadian Film Weekly (Dec 16, 1942)

Page scan 0007 from Canadian Film Weekly

Record Details:

Title:
Canadian Film Weekly
Date:
Dec 16, 1942
Volume:
Canadian Film Weekly (Dec 16, 1942)
Leaf #:
0007
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.

Snips and Snaps. . Fire-fighter x Yo z we Fred MacMurray drops from the sky to fight forest fires in Paramount’s technicolor movie, “The Forest Rangers.” Paulette Goddard is Fred’s flame which Susan Hayward tries to put out. * f In Casablanca ’ sannl eel Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman carry on a love affair in Vitagraph’s timely drama, “Casablanca.” Paul MHenreid and Claude Rains are also featured. By TAP KEYES Folks are still good-humored about the things they have tr .o without. At a preview of “White Cargo,” which stars Walte Pidgeon and Hedy Lamarr, the audience broke into applause— at the sight of rubber trees in bloom .. . Norway will be a getting plenty of attention in forthcoming films. Five pictures deal with che underground fight in that country—‘The Moon is Down,” “The Avengers,’ “The Edge of Darkness,” ‘‘The Commandos Strike at Dawn” and “This Land is Mine.” ... The rush of events are hard on film titles. “Ship Ahoy” was originally called “T’ll Take Manilla.” The Japs did and the title became unfunny. “Beyond the Blue Horizon” was originally called ‘“Malaya.” The news has, however, made other titles seem more attractive. There is a revival of “Algiers” and “The Road to Morrocco,” as well as “Casablanca,” are being eagerly awaited. When the USA government uecreed that no more than $5,00u was to be spent on each set, it looked as if the day of the massive background was at an end. But the studios are being clever about getting over the hurdle. For instance, in “The Moon is Down’ you'll see a Norwegian village. You probably won’t recognize it but you saw it first as the Welsh mining town in “How Green Was My Valley.” The studios are now nosing around each other’s back lots, borrowing old sets in exchange and some system is being worked out to help things. Now, when Hollywood needs a regal mansion, it doesn’t build one. Rich citizens rent theirs and give the money to charity. * % aa Bob Hope was making one of his many appearances at an army camp and Bing Crosby sent him a wire. Back came another wire: “Hope not known here. Please state rank, etc.” ... Every once in a, while the gag about movie queens smoking cigars in private comes up. Recently Merle Oberon denied the statement of a well-known columnist that she dragged on the long weeds: But a real battle developed from the statement of Jimmy Fidler that Gene Tierney was seen smoking a cigar. Her studio demanded that he be fired for making so deglamorizing a statement. The .#dio chain refused. So the studio ordered all its stars off any programs over that-chain. Gene Tierney was scheduled to appear with Abbott & Costello’s air show and Betty Grable was ready to do a stint on Jack Benny’s program when the order was issued. , * * ™ In “The Navy Comes Through” Pat O’Brien wears a navy movie uniform for the 15th time. Pat really knows how. He was a seaman during the first great war ... It seems, Clark Gable wasn’t all through with movies when he joined the army. He’s making one in Florida for the Army Air Force ... . Olivia de Havilland tumbled off a bike and has just returned to work. It seems some folks can’t get used to the new-old contraptions ... Hollywood has the only complete outfit of Nazi uniforms on the continent. Warner just used 800 in one picture ... Do you remember Leigh Whipper, the negro actor of “Of Mice and Men’? He’ll play Haile Selassie in “Mission to Moscow.” % e * 5 Sergeant Hugh Green, RCAF, 21 years old, was headed for sure stardom when joined. RKO had a contract with him and he had a solid background of, experience, having appeared in several] pictures . . . The IODE and the Citizens Committee for Troops in Training are asking that theatres be opened on Sunday for servicemen. Others are opposing it. Movie people are satisfied to yield to the public favor, whichever way it falls. What do you think? . .. Another knotty problem is the double feature. For years many patrons and movie people have protested against it. Now it’s possible that the USA government will ban them. Loud protests against the idea are being heard everywhere. Theatre operators are keeping quiet about it now. waiting for something to happen. Love and War Jean Rogers and Van Johnson furnish the romantic interest in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s “War Against Mrs. Hadley,” which stars Fay Bainter and Edward Arnold. * Reporter and Girl Chester Morris enjoys his work when Jean Parker is his assistant, in Paramount’s thrilling adventure story, ‘I live on Danger.”