Canadian Film Weekly (Jul 24, 1946)

Page scan 00010 from Canadian Film Weekly

Record Details:

Title:
Canadian Film Weekly
Date:
Jul 24, 1946
Volume:
Canadian Film Weekly (Jul 24, 1946)
Leaf #:
00010
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 14, 2025
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July 24, 1946 Distribs, Gov t Agree In Sask n (Continued from Page 1) wan censor board. The measure, when made effective by an Orderin-Council, will ease things for those of the 52 Western Saskatchewan exhibitors who are forced to pay expressage from Winnipeg instead of Calgary, from where they were formerly serviced. The situation grew out of the action cf the CCF government in establishing its own censorship facilities in Regina instead of continuing to use those in Winnipeg, as had been the practice for the past 27 years under arrangement with the Manitoba government. On November 1, 1945, the Reverend Mr. J. D. Vaughan moved his office to the then-new projection room in the Parliament Buildings. Winnipeg is the exchange headquarters for the territory. All prints are shipped there from the labs in Montreal and Toronto and the exhibitor has been long accustomed to paying expressage from the first-mentioned city to his community. Recognizing the right of distributors to establish the sort of structure they considered best economically and their headquarters in the most strategic location, Saskatchewan governments have seated their chief censor in Winnipeg. Because of this prints could be shipped as soon as passed without loss of time. Costs had been raised a while back when the censorship fee was doubled and the addition of express charges from Winnipeg to Regina and back threatened the soundness of operation. The distributors pointed out that becaus2 of higher fees it would not pay them to continue service for long to many of the 102 theatres which are open one and two days weekly. The reason was that the distributors, to cut their general cost of operation, would submit fewer prints for censorship, making it impossible to continue the almost-profitless service to small rural theatres because’ there wouldn’t be the necessary amount of prints available. First to feel the pinch of raised fees and increased expressage on the distributors were some of the 52 Western Saskatchewan accounts serviced from Calgary, also a distribution centre. Exhibitors had been paying express charges from the exchange, in this case Calgary, to the theatres. Finding that it no longer paid to service these accounts from Calgary, the distributors changed the point of shipping. As prints passed at the old fees be came played out, the distributors Canadian FILM WEEKLY First Drive-In Opens In Ontario ~~ uy ~ i First of a chain of drive-in theatres planned fer Ontario by Skyway Drive-In Theatres Company Limited was opened near Stoney Creek, outside Hamilton, recently under the aieieeall management of R. H. Manley of Geneva, Ohio, who owns several in the USA. H. B. Heousser, Toronto broker, is president of the company. The manager is Tommy Lancaster. In the top photc are shown four of those connected with the venture. From left to right—R. Leliever, secretary, Vincent Mining Corporation Limited’ and secretary of the Skyway company; R. H. Manley, general manager of Skyway; Norman Vincent, president of the Vincent Ouapuie tion (with which company Skyway is associated for management and direction) and vice-president cf Skyway; Thomas F. Chalker, treasurer of Hugh W. Long & Company, Incorporated, New York, who is interested in similar ventures in the USA. Not shown but present at the Ne is Gordon K. Masters of Harrison & Company, Toronto, a director of Skyway. The bottom photo shows several cars waiting to enter. Policy is no charge for children so the Skyway is doing much family business. 700 cars can be accommodated. ruled that exhibitors in Western Saskatchewan must be_serviced direct from Winnipeg, a longer haul, which meant greater express charges to the exhibitor but eliminated the costs to the distributor of shipping prints to Calgary. Although the distributors are still required to send the Calgary prints to Regina for censorship, the reduction in censorship fees on them has made it possible to resume service to Western Saskatchewan from that city. The distributors now suggest that Saskatchewan accept Alberta censorship on these prints so that shipping to Regina would not be necessary. Censorship fees would be paid and Saskatchewan would send stickers to be applied to the reel bands, makin rite for its inspectors to Ginna This system is now in use between the Alberta censor, located in Calgary, and the British Columbia one, The distributors, however, are not yet reconciled to the higher rate of censorship and are studying things with a view to eliminating unprofitable distribution. a eT RO Pa ge ae ~~