Canadian Film Weekly (Jun 22, 1955)

Page scan 0001 from Canadian Film Weekly

Record Details:

Title:
Canadian Film Weekly
Date:
Jun 22, 1955
Volume:
Canadian Film Weekly (Jun 22, 1955)
Leaf #:
0001
Language:
English
Collection:
Canada, Hollywood Studio System, and Global Cinema
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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Wednesday, May 18, 1955 TAINT LUCK, SAYS PARAMOUNT ARRAY OF HITS GAUGES ENVY Paramount is living it up. Over | the years, somehow, one company manages to be standout for a certain period, coming up with perhaps a half dozen click pictures in succession. Now it's Par’s turn, with a string of wins to equal the Brooklyn Dodgers’ current record. Also, as in the case with the Flatbush phenoms, the amount of luck involved depends on who’s doing the appraising. That there’s no guaranteed formula for a money-making film continues axiomatic; in the absence of such a formula, some Par rivals suggest this outfit has gotten an unusual share of fortunate breaks — that these are a big factor behind the upbeat, Par execs, in private conversation, prefer to, accent the company’s policy as reason for the climb. This goes back a few years, first with the shift to “A” films and the complete elimination of program-type fare. Also, there was the adoption of participation deals with stars and others, these being profit-sharing plans that cut production investment risks for Par and kept important name players on the lot and lured newcomers, Divided But Not On another count, the Don Hartman-Y. Frank Freeman combo at the studio has been functioning smoothly. Hartman, who is exec producer, presses for “production values”. in the product. Freeman, v.p. and top man in the production setup, halds the reins on the economics. Hartman doesn’t produce pix personally, consequently the possibility of any friction with the filmmakers at the Hollywood plant is precluded. (Cynicism has been a part of the history of the picture business so it shouldn't come as a surprise that a non-Par company official commented: “When a company sends out some _ good pictures everybody's a hero.”) Regardless of whose credit line : warrants the boldface type—and no hugs is asking for a singing commercial—the plain fact is that Par right now has the hits greatly outnumbering the misses. This is un‘usual for the industry for the rea| son that frequently in past the ‘ratio obtaining with many companies was one boxoffice winner to | every four pix that either broke ‘ about even or Jost coin. : RRC ater ee bene eels ee gan intention sndaeiaoieinsipose VARIETY Started Last Summer pope back to last summer, taller money started to roll fer ‘with * ‘Knock on Wood,” Danny Kaye comedy. This racked up about $3,000,000 in domestic rentals, meaning a fairenough return | on an expensive picture. * “Living It Up,’ Martin-Lewis entry, cleaned up a gross of $4,000,000. (All grosses herein cover only the domestic market and are unofficial but reliable estimates.) _“About Mrs. Leslie” proved short of satisfactory at $1,500,000. ‘Rear Window,” following in August, was smash, the Alfred Hitchcock entry with James Stewart and Grace Kelly taking a hefty $5,000,000. “Sabrina,’”” with William Holden, Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, was out in September and piled up $4.800,000. In the same month “Reap the Wild Wind” was reissued and harvested $1,000,000, all gravy except for the cost of prints and advertising. “White Christmas” peddling staried in the October-November pericd and this Kaye-Bing Crosby musical is winding up with $10,000.000. It topped the list of Variety's blockbusters of the 1954 releases. “Three Ring Circus,” Martin & Lewis again, was launched in” December and picked up a fancy $3,500,000. ‘Girl’ Showed Stamina The William Perlberg-George Seaton unit at Par provided the next two blue-chips _ entries: “Bridges At Toko-Ri,’ $5,000,000, and ‘Country Girl,’ $6,000,000. Earlier, on the basis of seattcred initial dates, ‘Girl’? seemed on the way to a $4,000,000 gross, which would have been fine. But it showed remarkable stamina on the holdover runs and sub-run engagements, thus reaching the lofty $6,000,000 leve!, In March, George Pal’s “Conquest of Space.” a science-fictioner, got lost in space, this being one of the few lesser b.o. performers at $1.500,000. “Mambo,” made in Italy, is a $1,000,000’ grosser that went into release in April. Par will come out with a profit on it because of its relatively small investment. The current “Run for Cover,” James Cagney oater, looks on the negative side with a take of perhaps, $1,750,000. Also in current release, but not sufficientiy circulated to crystalball the gross, are ‘‘Hell’s Island,” which is a modest budgeter, and “Strategic Air Command.” Latter, with Stewart and June Allyson in the leads, is the VistaVision air epic which Par hopes will end up in the klondike bracket. PICTURE GROSSES SHORTS (NW yistaviston GIVE YOU A PLUS! TO BUILD YOUR SHOW... BOOST YOUR BOX OFFICE 5 ] ° Par’s Upcoming Sked Hollywood, May 17. Paramount will make a newproduct splurge in the Julythrough-September period with the release of seven pix which represent a total negative cost of $20,000,000, George Weltner, global sales chief, told the company’s current sales meeting at the studio. “Strategic Air Command,” now in pre-release, is set to lead off the sked with general handling in July, along with “The Seven Little Foys.” “We’re No Angels” and “You’re Never Too Young” go out in August and ‘Girl Rush,” “To Catch a Thief” and “Ulysses” follow in September. a ——