Canadian Film Weekly (Nov 16, 1955)

Page scan 0000 from Canadian Film Weekly

Record Details:

Title:
Canadian Film Weekly
Date:
Nov 16, 1955
Volume:
Canadian Film Weekly (Nov 16, 1955)
Leaf #:
0000
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:
April 11, 2024
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hv A , VOICE of the CANADIAN MOMION PICTURE INDUSTRY Vol. 20, No. 44 TORONTO, NOVEMBER 16, 1955 $3.00 Per Annum CANADIAN BO GROSS DOWN 3% IN ‘54 FEWER PLACES OF EXHIBITION; Film Estimates Bd. ADMISSIONS DROPPED 8% Meets In Toronto Canada’s national theatre gross, according to advance figures from the Dominion Bureau of Statistics, was $105, “Our particular function, as we see it, is to single out the Everything Down But Our Drive-Ins While every other element of Canadian exhibition — Itinerants, 515,563 in 1954—a 8.3 per cent drop compared with the $109,072,528 of 1953. The 1952 gain over 1951 was nine per more outstanding films — analyzing their qualities and class ifying them as to the age levels they will entertain — and, secondly, to bring them to the attention of the ‘lost’ audience, (Continued on Page 4) Griesdorf Elected Variety Club CB General manager of Odeon Theatres (Canada) Limited, David Griesdorf was elected Chief Barker of the Variety Club of Toronto, Tent 28, Variety Clubs International, at a meeting of the recently-named canvasmen. As first Assistant Chief (Continued on Page 2) Canadian Trade Press Praised At MPICC The Canadian motion picture trade press was the subject of much praise by David Griesdorf, chairman of the Motion Picture Industry Council of “Canada, at the annual meeting. He stressed the part played by the Canadian Film Weekly in the recent Ontario amusement tax reduction, pointing out that the trade papers are read by many government officials, who then have some acquaintanceship with the problems placed before them by delegations and are more receptive. The trade papers, he said, live off advertising and subscriptions and these should be provided. Morris Stein, chairman of the National Committee of Motion Picture Exhibitors Associations of Canada, at the meeting preceding that of the MPICC, also had much fo say in praise of the trade papers. MPICC Still Examining Ways To Boost BO Although N. A. Taylor’s plan for a national public relations organization under the Motion Picture Industry Council of Canada had to be dropped because of poor response from Independents, the annual meeting. of the ail embracing trade body, held in Toronto, refused to let it go at that. Several hours were spent talking over ideas of approaching the matter in a new way, so that it could operate on either a restricted basis or one not so dependent on those whose failure to respond killed the original plan. This led to an amendment by Morris Stein to reactivate the (Continued on Page 2) Siegel's 'Les Girls’ For MGM Sol Siegel will produce Les Girls, starring Leslie Caron, Cyd Charisse and Carol Haney, for MGM release. M’DONALD HERE FOR GENERAL THEATRE _ SALES; BURKO TO MTL. Duncan McDonald, who Bill Smith Now RKO Vancouver Manager William Smith, salesman in the Toronto branch of RKO Distributing Corporation of Canada Limited, has been named successor to James F. Davie as Vancouver branch manager by Jack L. Labow, general manager for Canada. Davie, who joined RKO 27 years ago and became Vancouver branch manager in 1946, resigned recently. Smith joined RKO in Toronto nine years ago as office manager after many years with EmpireUniversal Films. cent, which indicated that the market; expanded by immigration and prosperity, was beginning to reflect unemployment, television and other adverse elements. The 1953 gain over 1952 was only three per cent. The 1954 decline was continued sharply into 1955. Even more indicative of this is that 1954’s paid admission figure for all types, 237,264,894, is down 8.5 per cent on 1953’s total, community enterprises and regular theatres — had smaller receipts in 1954, drive-ins showed gains all down the line. To begin with, the Dominion Bureau of Statistics figure for the number (Continued on Page 3) Bill Brady Passes Former operator of the Madison, Toronto, now the Midtown, William S. Brady, passed away at his home in Toronto last week joined General Theatre Supply Company Limited in Halifax over three years \ago, is now in the Toronto branch on sales and engineering. He came fo Toronto from Montreal, where he had succeeded Harry at the age of 73. He was a member of the Canadian Picture Pioneers and had been in retirement for some years. 259,346,837 — the third drop of that kind in about 20 years. The first one took place in 1946, when (Continued on Page 3) HARVARD HEADS AUDIO TV PROD'N Canada’s largest maker of motion picture advertising films has announced plans for the full-scale production of television commercial films, and has engaged one of the country’s leading producers in the TV-film field to head up its new department. The entire facilities of Canadian Film Industries of Toronto will be available for TV films, David Coplan, managing director, stated. Canadian, Film Industries is the parent company of Audio Pictures Ltd. (film advertising), Dominion Productions Ltd. (features), and Film Laboratories of Canada Ltd. (processing). Emile A. Harvard, Romanian-born veteran movie producer, with experience in Britain, Europe, the Near and Middle East, the USA and lately Canada, has been appointed director of television production. He held, until recently, the same position with Rapid Grip and Batten Ltd., motion picture division. ODEON TRYING LIVE ENTERTAINMENT The Odeon experiment of playing Ruth Draper for six onenighters is exploratory and if the results are good Canada’s second largest circuit will try more live entertainment. The circuit played a weird show in Ontario with success recently and in some cases local managers have gotten an okay for a deal. Efforts have gone on for some time to find lively packages for the Odeon Toronto, the circuit’s flagship. Howard Keel was ready to come in but the Town Casino in Buffalo, which gets plenty of Canadian patronage, inserted a clause in his contract forbidding it. An Odeon press release on the subject of Draper’s dates says: “This bold experiment will be closely watched by the company executives, and should it prove successful, Odeon Theatres will certainly be encouraged to present other stage presentations in those situations where public support has indicated the presence of a receptive audience for touring shows of quality.” a Burko as branch manager when the latter came to Toronto as general sales manager. Burko has returned to his ald post, with no successor named. McDonald, who was with B-T-H in Great Britain, will handle both theatrical and outside sales.