Canadian Film Weekly (May 21, 1947)

Page scan 0002 from Canadian Film Weekly

Record Details:

Title:
Canadian Film Weekly
Date:
May 21, 1947
Volume:
Canadian Film Weekly (May 21, 1947)
Leaf #:
0002
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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May 21, 1947 Rank Speaks To Canadian Clubs (Continued from Page 1) John Davis, managing director of the J. Arthur Rank Organization. “Mr. Rank’s trip is not primarily a business one,’ Hon. Mr. Lawson said. “It is his first vacation of any kind in almost eight years. He has wanted for some years to see Canada from coast to coast. On his first visit in 1945, he made a trip across eastern Canada and Newfoundland, stopping in Montreal and Ottawa. This time, he hopes to. cover the balance of the transcontinental route including northern Ontario, the west and the Pacific coast.” During his Canadian and USA stay, Rank is scheduled to make three public addresses. He spoke at a luncheon of the World Sunday School Association, of which he is an officer, in New York, on May 9th. In Toronto, he addressed the Empire Club on May 19th and in Vancouver, he will speak ‘yefore the Board of Trade and Canadian Club on May 26th. Previous to the Canadian vacation trip, Rank and Davis will confer with their American business associates of the J. Arthur Rank Organization Inc., of which Robert J. Benjamin is president; Universal-International headed by Nate J. Blumberg; and Hagle-Lion Films headed by Robert R. Young and Arthur Krim, In Canada, they will meet with their associates in the Dominion, headed by Hon. Mr. Lawson. In Canada, the interests of Rank and his Canadian associates include the Odeon circuit of theatres, which is nation-wide; HagieLion Films, a distributing organization; Hanson film libraries in the field of educational, religious and non-theatrical motion pictures; Queensway Studios; and a theatre equipment company. Gaumont-Kalee Limited. "Alias A Gentleman’ Production has just begun at MGM on “Alias A Gentleman,’ starring Wallace Beery, with Tom Drake, Dorothy Patrick, Gladys George, Leon Ames and Warner Anderson. Harry Beaumont is directing and Nat Perrin producing. FOR SALE Projection Room Port Hole Shutters — Electric Switching — Fire Doors and Windows APPLY A. R. CUMMINGS GENERAL DELIVERY, TRENTON, ONTARIO Canadian FILM WEEKLY Construction Spurts As Theatres Open (Continued from Page 1) others. The three openings were in eastern Canada. In the Westfort section of Fort William, Ontario, the $90,000 Fort Theatre recently opened its doors. Seating 600, the theatre is owned by Alderman Gorden Car son, Russell Mayotte and W. Baird in partnership with Famous Players. The first-named, manager of the Famous Players’ Royal in Fort William for the past nine years, is manager of the new house. A. H. Mason’s 500-seat New Bedford Theatre in Bedford, Quebec, costing $50,000 presented its first program recently to a group of civic dignitaries, while in the Pointe-aux-Trembles suburb of Montreal, Leo Choquette and Jean Langelier also premiered their new 500-seat $200,000 Bellevue Theatre to a ditinguished audience. ; Construction has started on Limiliou Amusement Company’s Quebec City theatre, to cost in excess of $100,000, from plans by J. Aime Poulin with contract being handled by Albert Bedard of Quebec City. Work is also under way on a theatre in Camrose, Alberta, for Porter and Bourque and on J. A. Johnston’s theatre in Grenfell, Saskatchewan. Preparation of the site for Famous Players’ new Paramount Theatre in Port Arthur, Ontario, should be in its latter stages. House will cost approximately $200,000 and seat over 1,000 persons and was designed by Kaplan and Sprachman, Toronto architects. Contractor is Claydon Company, Limited, of Fort William and 40 weeks is allotted for completion of work. Probable contractor for the new house in the Westmount district of Montreal for H. Falk of Cine-Monde Canadian Corporation is Anglin-Norcross, Quebec, Limited. To cost over $100,000, plans were drawn up by Henry E. Greenspoon, Montreal architect. Permits for theatre construction were granted to two Odeon partners, McKim Theatres, Limited, for a $150,000 structure in Sudbury, Ontario, and Georgian Theatres Limited, for a similarly-priced building in Port Arthur, Ontario. Temporary permit granted by Provincial authorities to Canadian Drive-in Theatres for a roadway entrance off the main highway to its open-air theatre in Scarboro, Toronto suburb, has been rescinded “until such time as the company comes forward with plans for a better site.” Cause of the cancellation was believed to _ Ontario, be the strenuous protests of local residents. The company has received final approval for its other drive-in project near Merrittville, and plans are being drawn up for a $40,000 structure. George Bailey’s new 500-seat . $30,000 theatre in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, is progressing rapidly and from present indications will likely open towards the end of July. Bailey has operated the 350-seat Lux Theatre in Humboldt for many years. The Norgan Theatre in Palmerston, Ontario, is in the advanced stages of construction. J. W. Norgan, Vancouver financier and former Palmerston native, is donating the theatre to the community. Improvements totalling $3,300 will be made to Walker Theatres’ Gaiety in Halifax. White Elephant’ MP Terms NFB (Continued from Page 1) recent debate in the House of Commons on the annual budget brought down by the Minister of Finance. Stating that the film board “is perhaps doing some good in putting out films for schools and for educational purposes,’ Fraser went on to say that the making of those films was an extremely costly proposition. “There are other ways in which films could be made that would cost the country a great deal less money,” he added. Pointing out that, “That same Film Board is at the present time suscrinping to 127 magazines, periodicals and journals,’ Frazer ventured the opinion that he had doubts whether there were ten men or women in the Film Board who ever read a quarter of those publications. In asking for the record figure of $2,078,874 in the new budget for the fiscal year, which began April ist last, the National Film Board gave the following breakdown of expenses: Production of new films, $766,000. Distribution of films, $862,000. General administration, $183,166. Total salaries, $162,002. Listed in with production of new films were expenditures of $35,000 for films for school audiences; $90,000 for interpretive films; $35,000 for animated films; foreign language programs, $50,000; and French language films, $115,000. Page 3 HARRY J. BAILEY Toronto branch manager for 20th Century-Fox, who was elected president of the Tor onto Film Board of Trade. He is a veteran of the industry. Lynn Merrick Back In Columbia Film Lynn Merrick resumes her screen career with an important Supporting role in Columbia’s “Double Take,” to which she was assigned recently. Franchot Tone, Janet Blair, Janis Carter and Adele Jergens have top spots in the mystery thriller, which is directed by S. Sylvan Simon. Warners Buys Novel Warner Brothers has purchased film rights to the George Sklar novel, “The Two Worlds of Johnny Truro” and assigned it to Henry Blanke for production. THEATRE REQUIRE: MENTS CONTRACT SALES OFFICE a Oy |