Canadian Film Weekly (Feb 6, 1970)

Page scan 0000 from Canadian Film Weekly

Record Details:

Title:
Canadian Film Weekly
Date:
Feb 6, 1970
Volume:
Canadian Film Weekly (Feb 6, 1970)
Leaf #:
0000
Language:
English
Collection:
Global Cinema, Canada, and Hollywood Studio System
Format:
periodicals
Contributor:
Media History Digital Library, Canadian Media Magazines Project, 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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The CFDC gets a hotfoot Some newspapers make it their business to act as zealous custodians of the public weal. Others are continually attempting to stir up controversy and like to take pot-shots at political parties or individual politicians who may be in power. Lately, some have taken to denigrating certain government agencies. One which seems to perpetually be on the griddle is the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. and another is the National Film Board. Now a third has_ been added, just for good sport — the Canadian Film Development Corp. A recent article in the Toronto Star, which of all newspapers seems to be the leader in this kind of diatribe, castigated the corporation for the films it had helped to finance. Written by Jim Bebee, a staff writer, the article starts as follows: “And Judy LaMarsh rose from the Secretary of State’s throne two winters ago and said, ‘Take this $10 million and go forth into the desert of Canadian feature films, and seven wise men were appointed the Canadian Film Development Corp. to go forth ... and they went forth and have just returned with a couple of B — movies like Flick and Explosion.” It is not necessary to quote any further from this article, but it is important to say that it is full of mis-statement and misquotation. People, who were _ interviewed, were quoted out of context and there was a liberal peppering of venom and acrimony. Neither the Toronto Star, nor any of its writers seem to have any understanding or empathy for the problems which may beset any country which attempts to start and maintain a continuing and viable motion picture feature production industry. It has even less (Continued on Page 2) PUBLISHED BY THE MOTION PICTURE INSTITUTE OF CANADA Toronto, February 6, 1970 COMING AND GOING — Incoming Chief Barker of Variety Club of Toronto Tent 28, Sam Shopsowitz, left, congratulates Frank Strean on the completion of his successful tenure as Chief Barker. More than 500 people turned out to honor Strean when he was saluted by the Variety Club for his contributions to the growth of the charitable organization. Strean is credited with raising more than $300,000 for the club’s efforts to help handicapped children, as well as (Photo by Len Bishop) recruiting more than 200 new members to Tent 28. New Canadian post for Charles Chaplin Charles S. Chaplin has been named vice-president in charge of Canadian television sales for Warner Bros., Inc., effective Feb. 1. In his new assignment with the company, Chaplin will be responsible for television sales distribution of feature films series, specials and cartoons in Canada, headquartering in Toronto. Chaplin, a native of Toronto, joined Seven Arts Prods. Ltd. in 1962, serving as the Canadian television sales manager until August 1968 when he moved to London to direct the company’s European television sales. Prior to that, Chaplin was United Artists’ Canadian general manager for 17 years, having instituted that company’s television sales program. Col. appoints Fogel Canadian sales mgr. Irving Fogel has been appointed sales manager of Columbia Pictures of Canada. Fogel will report to Harvey Harnick, general manager of Columbia Pictures of Canada. At the same time, Al Himmelfarb has been appointed Columbia’s branch manager in Montreal. Fogel, who had been _ branch manager in Montreal since June, 1967, joined Columbia in March, 1954 as a sales trainee in Winnipeg. He later became salesman and then branch manager in Winnipeg in July, 1962. Himmelfarb served in various sales capacities prior to joining Columbia as branch manager in the Winnipeg office in June, 1967. In September, 1968, he was transferred to Toronto as special sales assistant. Snoopy and his pals break Music Hall record A Boy Named Charlie Brown, Cinema Center Films production, and the annual holiday stage show, recently completed a seven-week engagement at Radio City Music Hall in New York with a gross of $1,707,701. The figure marks a new high for any film playing a comparable period anywhere in the world. It was noted that a number of records were set by the cartoon feature, including the biggest opening week of any Christmas attraction with its $252,558 bettering the previous recorder-holder by $42,178; the biggest single week gross anywhere, anytime with the figure for the fourth week of $315,254 surpassing the previous recorder-holder by $15,870 which also made the film the biggest Christmas attraction to ever play the Radio City Music Hall; it recorded the biggest single day, a Saturday (12/13), when it took in $60,517; the film also holds the record for the second biggest day, also a Saturday (12/6), when it took in $60,123. Both days surpass the previous record-holder by approximately $6,000.