Canadian Film Weekly (Jan 25, 1956)

Page scan 0000 from Canadian Film Weekly

Record Details:

Title:
Canadian Film Weekly
Date:
Jan 25, 1956
Volume:
Canadian Film Weekly (Jan 25, 1956)
Leaf #:
0000
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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Vol. 21, No. 4 VOICE of the CANADIAN MOTION PICTURE TORONTO, JANUARY 25, 1956 AVA INDUSTRY $3.00 Per Annum MAJOR AA MOVE: 38 FEATURES IN 56 COOPER, BOGART, LOLLOBRIGIDA AMONG STARS; C'SCOPE, ETC. Allied Artists moved into a major position as a source of feature motion pictures with the completion of 15 productions as part of the 38 it will produce in 1956. The John A. Cooper, Retired, Passes For 23 years chairman of the board of the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association until his retirement in 1944, Lt.Col. John A. Cooper passed away at his home in Toronto last week in his 87th year. After his retirement he headed The Canadian (Continued on Page 9) CFI Was Set Up 21 Years Ago On September 9, 1935 the Canada Gazette officially recorded that on August 26 a charter had been granted to the National Film Society that it might “encourage and promote the study appreciation and use of motion and sound pictures and televi (Continued on Page 4) Odeon Theatres To Promote 1956 Miss Canada Contest A screen test in England by the Rank Organization will be awarded the 1956 winner of the Miss Canada Pageant, it was announced in Toronto by The Odeon Theatres (Canada) Limited and The Rank Organization, which will be participating in the beauty contest. Miss Canada will be flown to the UK via Trans-Canada Air Lines Super Constellation as the guest of The Rank Organization and will return in time for the Miss America contest. This is the greatest opportunity ever offered a Miss Canada. Entry forms and rules of the Pageant are available at all Odeon houses across Canada and local preliminaries will be held at Odeon theatres in each community during May. Winners will go on to the Provincial semi-finals on June 12-13-14 and then the all-Canada finals in Hamilton, Ontario in July. Butcher, Baker— All In The Movie Business Canadian motion picture theatres operated on a non profit basis as a public service by local social and service clubs represent a substantial piece of business, even though each community has no more than one. Usually such places of exhibition, categorized as theatres by the Dominion Bureau of Statistics because they are regular and fixed operations) are underwritten by local merchants through the Board of Trade or Chamber of Commerce. The merchants do so to keep the people from doing their week-end shopping in some nearby community, which, unlike their own, has a movie house, (Continued on Page 3) RKO's "Back From Eternity’ Robert Ryan and Keith Andes will star in RKO’s Back From Eternity, which John Farrow will produce and direct. MOTION PICTURE ESEARCH GUILD Garfin Quits Emp-U Wright To Toronto G. Perry Wright, Vancouver branch manager for Empire-Universal Films, has been named Toronto branch manager by A. W. Perry, president, as successor to Joe Garfin, who resigned. Garfin, with the company for 20 years, was promoted from the management of the Calgary branch in July, 1955. Wright has been succeeded in Vancouver by Charlie Backus, for many years a booker. Promotions, said Perry, are always from. within the ranks. Magy GE Ye GA Motion. Picture hkerds Guild, ‘sub/ sidiary of a well-known Canadian circuit, has been carrying. on audience polls to determine the theatregoers’ choices of MS) oye) waa yee pe pow and yoy ey} yj iy program was announced in Toronto, head office of the Cana dian company, by D. V. Rosen, general manager, and Jack Bernstein, general sales manager. An additional 15 features are in various stages of production and many of the 38 will be in CinemaScope and SuperScope, with color by Technicolor slated for most of these. Topping the list of the new season’s major attractions are William Wyler’s The Friendly Persuasion, in DeLuxe color and starring Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, Marjorie Main, Phyllis Love and Robert Middleton; Billy Wilder’s Ariane, in Technicolor (Continued on Page 3) CinemaScope 55. 55 Showing Feb. 1 First Canadian demonstration of CinemaScope 55, 20th-Fox’ great new projection system, will take place at the Imperial, Toronto on February 1, during the four-day national sales convention, Peter S. Myers, Canadian general manager, states. For the (Continued on Page 4) New Fisher Aide Robert Gardner, who heads the Odeon movie clubs among other activities, has been made an assistant to Frank H. Fisher, vicepresident in charge of theatre operations for The Odeon Theatres (Canada) Limited. He’s been with Odeon for some years. OSCAR-TYPE THEATRE VOTE HERE? A plan whereby Canadian movie patrons will win prizes donated by local merchants and others if they guess the winners of the Academy’s Oscars is being prepared by the Public Relations Committee of the Motion Picture Industry Council of Canada. The Committee, meeting in the offices of the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association of Canada, heard its chairman, Charles S. Chaplin, explain the plan. Furthering of it was approved by those present, among them R. W. Bolstad, MPICC chairman, and various members were assigned to work on aspects of it. The ballots, to be made up after the Academy releases the names of persons and pictures nominated, will be for several categories. All voting will be on a local or zone basis. Provincial and regional exhibitor associations are expected to handle the plan in their areas. Preparations for ballots, trailers, ete. are under way now. The Academy Awards will take place on March 21, with the list of nominees to be released in February. Lone Ranger Tour A personal appearance by The Lone Ranger will high**cht the OPR ene iy on February 16 ana »* the day after. His tour will include 36 USA cities. Audrey Hepburn In ‘L’Aiglon'’ Audrey Hepburn will star in Paramount’s L’Aigion. MGM's ‘The Last Notch’ Glenn Ford will star in MGM’s The Last Notch. Astral's "Canadian The Little Canadian, produced by Mel and Pearl Turner for St. Lawrence Pictures Corporation, Kingston, Ontario, will be released throughout the world by Astral Films Limited, Toronto, headed by I. H. (Izzy) Allen. Ge, educved in several Ontario towns, with cash award ‘to the voters whose own choices come closest to the over ones. But it's an experiment and the results are being It Pele op be sits to the” rest eS sis theater Pie