Canadian Film Weekly (Feb 2, 1955)

Page scan 0002 from Canadian Film Weekly

Record Details:

Title:
Canadian Film Weekly
Date:
Feb 2, 1955
Volume:
Canadian Film Weekly (Feb 2, 1955)
Leaf #:
0002
Language:
English
Collection:
Global Cinema, Canada, and Hollywood Studio System
Format:
periodicals
Contributor:
Media History Digital Library, Greig Dymond in memory of David Dymond, 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:
May 23, 2024
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February, 2, 1955 CANADIAN FILM WEEKLY Page 3 Vol. 20, No. 5 February 2, 1955 HYE BOSSIN, Managing Editor Office Manager Esther Silver CANADIAN FILM WEEKLY 175 Bloor St. East, Toronte 5, Canada Entered as Second Class Matter Published by Film Publications of Canada, Limited 175 Bloor St. East, Toronto 5, Ontario, Canada — Phone WAinut 4-3707 Price $3.00 per year. VARIETY NEWS (Continued from Page 1) Fred R. Stinson, president of Adfilms Limited; Robert R. Hall, radio personality, who is a brother of Canvasman Monty Hall; Larry Mann, TV comedy star; Kenneth V. Cooper, Toronto manager of Associated Screen News; Samuel Lambert, general sales manager of IFD’s 16 mm. and TV division; and Louis Fox, manager of Trans World Custom Brokers, which serves distributors. The associate barker approv al went to Al Shelman of Cross. town Motors. Announcement of their acceptance was made by Paul Johnston, Property Master. Chief Barker Harry S. Mandell has completed his selection of committee heads, who have picked their assistants. Ernest Rawley and Jack Fitzgibbons, Jr. are co-chairmen of fund raising, while Spiff Evans and Ed Fitkin will handle the baseball souvenir program.. Sam Glasier heads publicity, James R. Nairn public relations, R. W. Bolstad finance and Lou Davidson heads both the membership and the house committee. Al Troyer is again in charge of the work he has handled so well for years—movies for shutins—and N. A. Taylor will stand guard over the constitution and by-laws. Ben Granatstein will worry about sick and welfare and Variety Village visits, as well as the press clipping library, and George Altman will guide the telephone committee and the liaison officer to the Women’s Committee. Production and entertainment will have the responsibility of Monty Hall, while Johnny Kurk will work on an important source of income, out-of-town fund raising. : "An Alligator Named Daisy’ British film star Joan Carson thas been signed for a principal role in J. Arthur Rank’s musical comedy, An Alligator Named Daisy. Para's "Artists And Mode's’ Martin and Lewis’ next VistaVision comedy for Paramount Studios will be Artists Models, and. 2,192 35 Mm. Theatres (Continued from Page 1) gure is difficult to arrive at but the Canadian Film Weekly, which checks every source, should have information that is very close to correct. But even as the information is printed it is changed by openings, closings and reopenings, the news of which frequently arrives several weeks. later. At the time of going to press there were 2,192 35 mm. situations in Canada, of which 1,963 were four-wall theatres, 229 drive-ins and 45 of both kinds not operating. The number of four-wall theatres in each province is as follows: British Columbia, 167; Alberta, 201; Saskatchewan, 253; Manitoba, 174; Ontario, 505; Quebec, 470; Nova Scotia, 81; New Brunswick, 65; Prince Edward Island, 19; Newfoundland, 28. The number of drive-ins in each province is as follows: British Columb.a, 34; Alberta, 40; Saskatchewan, 37; Manitoba, 15; Ontario, 84; Quebec, none (forbidden by law); Nova Scotia, 6; New Brunswick, 11; Prince Edward Island, 2; Newfoundland, none. The figure in the middle of October, 1954, as shown in the Canadian Film Weekly Year Book, was 2,167 for 35 mm. situations, so that the new figure shows a gain of 25. However, there were five of the 25 that later information showed should have been included in the October figure. Figures for theatres under construction at the present time show that 24 are _ four-wall situations and 11 drive-ins, the total being 35. The number of four-wall theatres under construction in each province is as follows: British Columbia, 1; Alberta, 8; Saskatchewan, 7; Manitoba, none; Ontario, 2; Quebec, 2; New Brunswick, 4; Prince Edward Island, none; Nova Scotia, none; Newfoundland, none. The number of drive-ins under construction in each province is as follows: British Columbia, none; Alberta, 2; Saskatchewan, 4. Manitoba, none; Ontario, 3; Quebec, none (forbidden by law); New Brunswick, 1; Prince Edward Island, none; Nova Scotia, 1; Newfoundland, none. Canadian Film Weekly records show that a total of 83 new theatres were opened in 1954 — 35 four-wall situations and 48 driveins. The number of four-wall theatres opened in each province was as follows: British Columbia, 1; Alberta, 7; Saskatchewan, 7; Manitoba, 1; Ontario, 5; Quebec, 10; Prince Edward Island, 2; Nova Scotia, 1; New Brunswick, 1; Newfoundland, none. The number of drive-ins opened in each province was as follows: British Columbia, 7; Alberta, 10; Saskatchewan, 11; Manitoba, none; Ontario, 14; Quebec, none (forbidden by law); Prince Edward Island, 1; Nova Scotia, 2; New Brunswick, 3; Newfoundland, none. UNDER CONSTRUCTION Town Theatre "Seats _ Licensee British Columbia Kamloops. .......... PGrQmMoUnt® ovis Sixcisssue 100 FPCC Alberta Brownvale _........ : —_ M, Rabchak Drayton. Valley.;::> Cardium >... cc... 6..cedh 480 W, C. Aiken Bdgertonixcc MoriGh 532 ee ee 200 J. F, Hawk Edson ae RORY ee aie ee —_ H. Bubel Grand Centre ..... Grand Centre 300 Carl Olson Grand Prairie .... —_ R. R. Lancaster Red: Deer, 3. cee 1,000 FPCC & J. Purnell & Sons Wildwood. ........., Wildwood: >. ficken — M. M, Nikoloynk Saskatchewan Creighton .......... POrdgon “oSi%.; neat es —_ M, Karpiuk LSSTOCK ih ten —_ W. Cook Ratvinles: iitcccsan< wane a Shibley Bros. Shellbrook .......... ——— 500 Elks Smylie ssc Bak. —_—— — J. Dobni Unity suka. is a 500 V. Wouters Vilcon= Siete a _ : Ontario Atikokarsseccct% PR eesti a ch ea ien a — _ North Bay ....... ae Patsy’. Abduono Quebec Montreal ............ —_ S. Bode Normandin. ........ POroisigte® fy acsic ces areas —_ Lucien Bouchard New Brunswick Kedgewick ........ Fatima ih a ite 500 P. Guerette Moncton. ca 3. — Franklin-Herschorn Kent ate cen 600 Odeon Murdochville — FPCC Our Business y by A Taylor QUR BUSINESS, like any other, makes good use of figures because many things can be proved or disproved thereby. However, if such figures are misunderstood, or improperly applied, there may be harmful results. The figures issued recently by the Dominion Bureau of Statistics, which showed a small gain in dollar gross, left the overall impression that our business in Canada was generally prosperous. Such information was reprinted widely in the American trade press. While it was noted that these figures were for 1953, the impression created was that all is well in our country. This is not so. In 1953 admissions dropped by millions and since then the trend has been accelerated. The year 1954 was a bad one for many theatres across the country. Among other things, in many areas, it marked the introduction of TV; the advent of bad conditions and unemployment; the necessity for renovation and installation of expensive equipment. It would seem that this year conditions will follow a similar trend. For many years our business was generally prosperous. Today we note the paradox of some theatres being more _ profitable than ever before because of new mediums and better motion pictures, and many in depressed circumstances. Some theatres just can’t install CinemaScope and give a decent presentation without the expenditure of many thousands of dollars and some will never be able to show it. Some that do equip still face an uncertain future. Unless many things change, there is rough going ahead for quite a number of theatres. There are places where TV competition will be at its height and others where it is just coming in. There is the problem of buying the right film at the right price. There is the problem of holding down increased overhead. The exhibitors of Ontario have just filed an excellent brief with the Hon. Leslie Frost, QC, Prime Minister of Ontario, asking for relief from the Amusement Tax. They proved therein the drastic reduction in admissions in all theatres of Ontario and attribute this mostly to TV and economic conditions. A better understanding of our business in Canada might be attained if this brief, or a condensation thereof, reached senior film trade authorities in New York and even Hollywood. Perhaps, too, the American trade papers would like to rectify the erroneous impression which seems to have been created.