Canadian Film Weekly (Dec 24, 1947)

Page scan 00031 from Canadian Film Weekly

Record Details:

Title:
Canadian Film Weekly
Date:
Dec 24, 1947
Volume:
Canadian Film Weekly (Dec 24, 1947)
Leaf #:
00031
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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CANADIAN FILM WEEKLY Christmas Number JACK L, WARNER Presented with the US gov| ernment’s highest civilian award for his services to the War Department. David O. Selznick selis. his United Artists stock, ending lawsuit between himself and Pickford and Chaplin. Charles Boasberg heads new RKO division which includes Canada. “Les Enfants du Paradis,” French production, banned in Quebec. Toronto City Council rules that theatres and other places of amusement cannot refuse admission to anyone because of color, race or creed. Foto-Nite, through Pete Barnes, buys Hollyburn Theatre, West Vancouver, from H. J. Fletcher, veteran exhibitor. William Gould, identified with film distribution in Canada for many years, died at 46 in To ronto. Oscar Hanson elected president of Canadian Picture Pioneers and Jack Arthur named vicepresident. Toronto exchanges sign union contracts with ‘Film Exchange Employees Union, Local, B73, IATSE. . z Paul Nathanson’s company, United World Pictures of Canada, Limited, sues Hagle-Lion Films of Canada and other J. Arthur Rank companies, asking for injunction to, prevent distribution of certain films in Canada and Newfoundland. Permission is granted by ‘courts to institute similar actions in England -and the USA. Canada asks inclusion in Motion Picture Foundation, organized in USA by all companies for welfare of motion picture employees. Johnston office criticizes . Can ada’s remittance tax as violation of trade agreement of 1938. Canadian exhibitors, voting in the Canadian Film Weekly’s an Roundup ~ OF THE NEWS nual Ten Best poll, choose RKO’s ‘The Bells of St. Mary’s” as best boxoffice film of 1946 and Crosby as the leading star. Canadian critics picked Paramount’s “The Lost Weekend’ as best picture. and Ingrid Bergman as top player. Academy Awards go to Samuel Goldwyn’s “The Best Years of Our Lives’ as best film of 1946 and Olivia De Havilland as best actress for her role in Paramount’s “To Each His Own.” Documentary award to the US Army’s “Seeds of. Destiny” and cartoon prize to MGM’s “The Cat Concerto.” Universal International buys “The Tin Flute,” Canadian book by Gabrielle Roy, for $100,000, and Marta Toren will be costarred with Jacques Francois, new French star. ~ -ROSS McLEAN os ‘He succeeded John Grierson " as héad of the National Film . Board. Quebec bans open-air theatres. * F. E. Peters, general manager of Dominion Sound, named vice-.~ president. -H. R:; Walker, Dartmouth, N§,.. BIE pioneer, passes at 14, Re ed 4 adore OS expat April Ontario ihenties whose operators are convicted. more than once for violation of the Theatres: and Cinematographs Act will be forced to close their theatres from ‘one to five days. — Rene Germain, formerly vicepresident of Quebec Productions Corporation, succeeds Paul L’Anglais as president, the latter remaining as executive producer and a member of the board of directors. New National Film Board budget passed by the House of Commons amouts overall to $2,078,874, which is $819,409 more than in the previous year. British Eagle-Lion films booked for first engagements in leading Toronto Famous Players’ houses. Charles Bourassa succeeds Bugene Beaulac as secretary of the Quebec Allied Theatrical Industries. Beaulac, who withdrew because of illness, died in Montreal-in June at the age of 58. Bill Jones, manager of the Vancouver branch of RKO, retires on pension and is succeeded by Jimmie Davis. Jack L. Warner presented with highest civilian award by US government for services to the War Department. Bob Gillham, former Paramount publicity and advertising chief, who resigned to join J. Walter Thompson agency as vice-president in charge of television, returns to entertainment field as eastern ad and pub director for the Selznick Releasing Organization. Gordon Lightstone elected president of the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association, succeeding Leo Devaney of RKO, and David Griesdorf, general sales manager of PRC, is vicepresident. The Canadian License Agreement, known as “the standard contract”’ and used for years to fix the terms of exhibition, is dropped by the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association. Canadian publicity chiefs for distribution companies object to use of stars by critics in the rating of films. Small raise in prices, houses. Alberta government rules that the age limit for the admission of children is raised from 14 to 16 and those under 16 are banned from theatres showing films which do not bear the designation “U” for universal content. It is also ruled that an English script must accompany all films except those’in English and French when submitted for censorship. Thomas J. Courtney, Odeon’s Maritime supervisor, resigns to become director of information and publicity for the Nova Scotia government. Mesho Triller of Winnipeg admission mainly in neighborhood CLARE: APPEL Elected president. of the Mo| tion Picture Theatres Associstion of Ontario. succeeds R. D. Hurwitz as president of the Manitoba Motion Picture Exhibitors Association, with R. S. Miles as vice-president. Ralph Foster, who was Australian representative for the National Film Board when borrowed by the government of that country to become its national film commissioner for a year, ends term and returns to Canada, shortly thereafter being appointed executive assistant to Ross McLean, NFB head. Famous Players Canadian Corporation reports 1946 to be record year. Alec Myers succeeds William Risewick as superintendent of Film Laboratories of Canada. Risewick resigned to join Shelly Films, : Proposed amendment to the Motion Picture Act which would have required that films be classified for all ages defeated in the British Columbia Legislature. Angus McCunn of Famous Players re-elected president of the Musical Protective Society of Canada. Quebec Allied joins other Canadian exhibitors associations in asking for removal of 20 per cent federal amusement tax. Critics of film censorship in USA claim that it is unconstitutional and threaten to move toward Supreme Court test. May Harold Warren, BC exhibitor, affiliates with Famous Players. Complete revision of Ontario theatre and film regulations planned. Canadian barkers from Tent