Published weekly to promote 20th-Century Fox films to American exhibitors.

Ballyhoo (1952-61) was published by Famous Players Canadian Corporation as a mimeographed internal sales and theatre managers’ newsletter. Editor, Dan Krendel, had been division manager of the Ontario ‘B’ District since 1942, and initially created Ballyhoo in 1952 to circulate weekly updates for a regional sales contest. Ontario ‘B’ District Ballyhoo continued until 1955 as a tool for sharing and incentivizing new sales techniques and publicity methods as the movie business declined in the face of television and the baby boom.

In Fall 1955, Profit Blitz for ‘Fitz’ was a nationwide sales contest, named for Famous Players’ president J. J. Fitzgibbons, honouring his 25th year as head of the business. Dan Krendel was made National Drive Captain and edited a weekly newsletter for the campaign.

From 1956 until at least 1957, National Ballyhoo was published weekly with Krendel as editor. He continued the style and content developed earlier for his Ontario ‘B’ District, but now extended vastly for a chain-wide coast to coast scale. Ballyhoo’s sharing promotional tools came at a time of contracting box office as television and automobile ownership became prevalent in the mid-1950s.

By 1960 until at least 1961, Time Out for Ticket Talk continued as a mimeographed newsletter, edited by Norman Barker of the head office publicity department. Time Out was compiled on a less ambitious scale than Ballyhoo. Compared to the earlier national compilation of local publicity gimmicks, Time Out often contained only a single memo or reproduced local story, and was often undated and only informally edited.

– Paul Moore, March 2024

BOXOFFICE was the leading American exhibitor trade paper of the post-World War II era. But the publication had modest beginnings. In 1920, Ben Shlyen founded the paper, orginally titled THE REEL JOURNAL, in an office located in Kansas City's Film Row district. Like other regional exhibitor publications, THE REEL JOURNAL focused its attention on the local -- in this case, KC and the nearby territories that the city's distribution exchanges served. By the end of the 1920s, however, Shlyen had acquired or founded several more small exhibitor papers serving other US markets. In 1932, their titles all changed to BOXOFFICE, though they continued to be published in regional editions for decades to follow. -- Eric Hoyt, 2015

BOXOFFICE was the leading American exhibitor trade paper of the post-World War II era. But the publication had modest beginnings. In 1920, Ben Shlyen founded the paper, orginally titled THE REEL JOURNAL, in an office located in Kansas City's Film Row district. Like other regional exhibitor publications, THE REEL JOURNAL focused its attention on the local -- in this case, KC and the nearby territories that the city's distribution exchanges served. By the end of the 1920s, however, Shlyen had acquired or founded several more small exhibitor papers serving other US markets. In 1932, their titles all changed to BOXOFFICE, though they continued to be published in regional editions for decades to follow. -- Eric Hoyt, 2015

BOXOFFICE was the leading American exhibitor trade paper of the post-World War II era. But the publication had modest beginnings. In 1920, Ben Shlyen founded the paper, orginally titled THE REEL JOURNAL, in an office located in Kansas City's Film Row district. Like other regional exhibitor publications, THE REEL JOURNAL focused its attention on the local -- in this case, KC and the nearby territories that the city's distribution exchanges served. By the end of the 1920s, however, Shlyen had acquired or founded several more small exhibitor papers serving other US markets. In 1932, their titles all changed to BOXOFFICE, though they continued to be published in regional editions for decades to follow. -- Eric Hoyt, 2015

One of the first film trade papers to be published in LA (instead of New York) and speak to the Hollywood production community. CAMERA never had the strong editorial voice of FILM MERCURY'S Tamar Lane or HOLLYWOOD REPORTER'S Billy Wilkerson, but the paper's sections profiling current productions, instructing aspiring writers about what studios were looking for, and providing the contact information for actors looking for roles can tell us much about how Hollywood operated in the early-1920s. -- Eric Hoyt, 2017

Canadian Film Digest (1971-76) was owned and published by Nat Taylor’s Film Publications of Canada, Ltd., and initially edited by Dan Krendel, who had edited What’s New? (1942-74) and originated Ballyhoo (1952-61) for nationally-dominant chain, Famous Players Canada, Ltd., also Taylor’s exhibition partner. Despite these ties to a Paramount-controlled theatre chain, the magazine nonetheless aimed to provide news and features about all aspects of the industry across Canada, exhibition, distribution and production. The Digest began when an attempted 1970 renewal of Canadian Film Weekly (1942-70) was short-lived. Taylor decided to relaunch under an entirely new title with a more contemporary, colour layout. Taylor later hired young Garth Drabinsky to edit, impressed by his initiative publishing Impact (1972), a lobby give-away for moviegoers. Drabinksy’s interest turned to film producing in 1977, letting the Digest come to an end, although he and Taylor continued to collaborate in building the original 18-screen Cineplex at Toronto’s Eaton Centre. Canadian Film Digest also published an annual directory Canadian Film Digest Yearbook (1971-86), which similarly continued Canadian Film Weekly Year Book (1951-70), and subsequently became Film Canada Yearbook (1986-2007). Because Canadian Film Digest originated in the Canadian Film Weekly, which had incorporated Canadian Moving Picture Digest (1917-57), which in turn had merged with Canadian Universal Bulletin (1915-18), the magazine dated its roots back to 1915, a single thread of ownership publishing these main periodicals and annuals of English Canada’s film press.

– Paul Moore, March 2024

Canadian Film Digest Year Book (1971-85) incorporated the Canadian professional film directory and was the annual handbook for Canadian Film Digest (1971-77), owned and published by Nat Taylor’s Film Publications of Canada, Ltd. Like the Digest’s continuation of Canadian Film Weekly (1942-70), the Digest Year Book continued the Canadian Film Weekly Year Book (1951-70). Initially edited by Dan Krendel, then Patricia Thompson, the Digest Year Book continued to 1986, a full decade after the Digest itself ceased publication. Thompson then purchased the business from Taylor and reincorporated as Cine-Communications, Inc., renaming the annual Film Canada Yearbook (1986-2007).

– Paul Moore, March 2024

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.

Hye Bossin was central in the 1950s 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 (1951-1970), an annual directory appendix to Bossin’s editorship at Canadian Film Weekly (1942-1970), owned by Nat Taylor’s Film Publications of Canada, Ltd. Early volumes included several significant historical essays under his byline, remarkably comprehensive and still cited today. Later volumes provided an annual spotlight of the Canadian Picture Pioneers of the Year. In the late 1960s, after Bossin’s death, the magazine was renamed Canadian Film & TV Bi-Weekly, scaling back the pace of publishing but added a purview for television and broadcasting. The annual was renamed similarly, its subtitle amended to “Year Book of the Canadian Entertainment Industry.” When the Film Weekly was relaunched as Canadian Film Digest (1971-76), the publication continued to include an annual, Canadian Film Digest Yearbook (1971-86), which was subsequently renamed Film Canada Yearbook (1986-2007).

– 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.
• ———. “At the Very Beginning, The Holland Brothers of Ottawa Ushered in the World Motion Picture Industry.” In Canadian Film Weekly Year Book of the Canadian Motion Picture Industry, 45-49. Toronto: Film Publications of Canada, 1952.
• ———. “The Story of L. Ernest Ouimet, Pioneer.” In Canadian Film Weekly Year Book of the Canadian Motion Picture Industry, 23-43. Toronto: Film Publications of Canada, 1952.

The Canadian Independent (1936-40) was created to serve as a mouthpiece for the Independent Theatres Association, an alliance of theatre owners in Canada. It emerged in response to the industry's anti-competitive dynamics, aiming to provide a platform free from Hollywood distributors' influence and the monopolistic practices of the Famous Players Canadian Corporation. Edited by Stella Falk, the trade paper positioned itself as a champion for the interests of independent exhibitors, distinguishing its mission and editorial stance from other publications, notably the Canadian Moving Picture Digest (1917-57) edited by Ray Lewis. According to Falk, Lewis had become too much of an insider and was no longer interested in “fighting” for the independent exhibitor. This would lead to an eventual editorial dispute and libel lawsuit, which eventually resulted in a reorganization and rebranding under a new title of The Canadian Motion Picture Exhibitor (1940-41).

– Jessica Whitehead, March 2024

The Canadian Motion Picture Exhibitor (1940-41) emerged from the legal and editorial battles involving The Canadian Independent (1936-40) and the Canadian Moving Picture Digest (1917-57), and represented a significant new phase in Canadian film industry journalism. The first issue was published on December 1, 1940, in the wake of a high-profile libel lawsuit between editor Stella Falk and her Digest rival editor Ray Lewis. Like The Canadian Independent, it continued to act as an official publication of the Independent Theatres Association. After Stella Falk's departure in March 1941, it was briefly edited by R. Coper before Hye Bossin took over in June 1941, under the new ownership of Nat Taylor. No longer focused on fighting for the rights of independent exhibitors, the new editorial direction marked a shift towards a broader coverage of the film industry, including exhibition, distribution, and production, under a renamed Canadian Film Weekly (1942-70).

– Jessica Whitehead, March 2024

Canadian Moving Picture Digest (1917-57) was initially a Montréal-based rival of the first film paper in Canada, Toronto-based Canadian Universal Bulletin (1915-18, edited by W.A. Bach 1915-17, J.W. Cambridge 1917-18, Raymond S. Peck 1918). The two periodicals were combined in 1918, keeping the Digest name, but moving production to Toronto with Peck as editor. Canadian Moving Picture Digest assumed The Bulletin’s volume numbering and always claimed 1915 as its year of origin. Ray Lewis (née Rae Levinsky) was a writer and playwright, who spent time in early Hollywood’s publicity departments. She briefly took the Digest helm in 1918, then long-term editor, later owner and publisher, from 1920 until her death in 1954. Under Lewis’s leadership, the trade paper claimed to serve as a voice for independent exhibitors and advocated for a Canadian cultural presence in cinema, particularly emphasizing British films as a way to keep a distance from Hollywood. Lewis's editorials were notable for their advocacy, wit, and critique of American dominance in the Canadian film market. While initially positioning herself as an outsider, she became integrated within the industry and a true insider. She even had an ongoing correspondence with Canadian Prime Minister R. B. Bennett, advocating for the industry as a whole and supporting British film imports. She was well-known at Toronto’s Dundas Square film row as well as in New York and Hollywood. Variety’s Sime Silverman called her “the Girl Friend in Canada,” and she delighted when U.S. writers not “in the know” presumed “Ray” was a man’s name. Lewis was later an inaugural member of the Canadian Picture Pioneers, eventually the group’s first female president and Pioneer of the Year. After she died in 1954, her son Jay Smith took over editorial duties until Canadian Moving Picture Digest was bought by Nat Taylor’s Film Publications of Canada in 1957. Taylor incorporated the legacy journal into a joint masthead for Canadian Film Weekly (1942-70), which subsequently dated its roots back to the 1915 origins of the film press in Canada.

– Jessica Whitehead and Paul Moore, March 2024

Further Reading

• Whitehead, Jessica, Louis Pelletier and Paul Moore, “‘The Girl Friend in Canada’: Ray Lewis and Canadian Moving Picture Digest (1915–1957).” In Daniel Biltereyst and Lies Van de Vijver, eds., Mapping Movie Magazines: Digitization, Periodicals and Cinema History, 127-52. London: Pagrave-Macmillan, 2021.