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“The Girl Friend in Canada”: Ray Lewis and Canadian Moving Picture Digest (1915–1957)

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Mapping Movie Magazines

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Abstract

This chapter by Jessica L. Whitehead, Louis Pelletier, and Paul S. Moore develops a typology of trade journalism, while providing a history of Canada’s two important motion picture weekly magazines, the Canadian Moving Picture Digest and the Canadian Motion Picture Exhibitor (renamed Canadian Film Weekly). In addition to recounting the history of the Canadian film trade press, and the rivalries and collaborations between Ray Lewis and Hye Bossin, this chapter also contrasts their styles with the conventions of the American film trade papers, to propose a conceptual map for considering attributes and types of film trade journalism.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Speech by Nat Taylor, President of the Canadian Picture Pioneers, November 5, 1952 (York University Archives, funds Nat Taylor 1999-036, box 005, folder 51). The Canadian Picture Pioneers is a charitable organization, originally formed to help industry veterans who had fallen into poverty and to celebrate the history of moving pictures in Canada. It still exists today, online at canadianpicturepioneers.ca.

  2. 2.

    Canadian Moving Picture Digest (1915–1957) began publication in Montreal, relocated to Toronto in 1918, and ceased publication when merged with the Canadian Film Weekly (1941–1970). The numbers of the first two years are lost, and the first number reproduced on the series of microfilms prepared by the New York Public Library is from November 24, 1917. Médiathèque Guy-L.-Coté at Cinémathèque québécoise has an almost complete run from 1920 into the 1930s.

  3. 3.

    Ray Lewis Here, Film Daily, 19 May 1923, p. 1.

  4. 4.

    Inside Stuff, Variety, 25 January 1926, p. 52.

  5. 5.

    The sexist nickname was routinely used for at least two years by the Inside Stuff editorial (often, ironically, positioned opposite Variety’s Women’s Page) as early as Inside Stuff, Variety, 8 February 1928, p. 44, and as late as Inside Stuff, Variety, 20 November 1929, p. 57.

  6. 6.

    On women’s role in the film industry, see Hallett, H. (2013) Go West, Young Women! The Rise of Early Hollywood. Berkeley: University of California Press; Kenaga, H. (2006) Making the “Studio Girl”: The Hollywood Studio Club and Industry Regulation of Female Labor, Film History, 18(2): 129–139; McKenna, D. (2011) The Photoplay or the Pickaxe: Extras, Gender, and Labor in Early Hollywood, Film History, 23(1): 5–19. On early women movie columnists in regional newspapers, see Abel, R. (2015) Menus for Movieland: Newspapers and the Emergence of American Film Culture. Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 182–242; Abel, R. (2006) Fan Discourse in the Heartland: The Early 1910s, Film History, 18(2): 140–153.

  7. 7.

    For example, Hall, B. (2013) Gladys Hall, and Foote, L. (2013) Fanchon Royer, in Gaines, J., Vatsal, R., and Dall’Asta, M. (eds.) Women Film Pioneers Project. New York: Columbia University Libraries. Online at wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu.

  8. 8.

    Magazines edited or published by women include: Motion Picture Magazine (Dorothy Donnell, Gladys Hall), Film Fun (Elizabeth Sears), Paramount Progress (Jane Stannard Johnson), Screenland (Delight Evans), New Movie Magazine (Catherine McNelis and Marie L. Featherstone), Silver Screen (Elizabeth Wilson), Film Society of Australia Film Review (Beatrice Maude Tildesley), Educational Screen (Marie E. Goodenough), Close Up (Annie Winifred Ellerman “Bryher”), National Board of Review Magazine (Bettina Gunczy), Motion Picture Reviews (Los Angeles American Association of University Women), Camera ! (Fanchon Royer, Retta Badger, Mildred Davis), Canadian Moving Picture Digest (Ray Lewis), Canadian Exhibitor (Stella Falk). This list compiles a survey of mastheads from 1929–1931 in the Media History Digital Library (online at lantern.mediahist.org), profiles of film magazine editors in the Women Film Pioneer Project (online at wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu), and a few who came to light in the course of research for this essay. On the importance of the Media History Digital Library in researching the film industry, see Hoyt, E. (2014) Lenses for Lantern: Data Mining, Visualization, and Excavating Film History’s Neglected Sources, Film History: An International Journal, 26(2): 146–168.

  9. 9.

    Abel, R. (2013) Newspaperwomen and the Movies in the USA, 1914–1925, in Gaines, J., Vatsal, R. and Dall’Asta, M. (eds.) Women Film Pioneers Project. New York: Columbia University Libraries. Online at wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu.

  10. 10.

    Fahs, A. (2011) Out on Assignment: Newspaper Women and the Making of Modern Public Space. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press; Kroeger, B. (1994) Nellie Bly: Daredevil, Reporter, Feminist. New York: Random House.

  11. 11.

    Gabriele, S. (2006) Gendered Mobility, the Nation and the Woman’s Page: Exploring the Mobile Practices of the Canadian Lady Journalist, 1888–1895, Journalism, 7(2): 174–196; Fiamengo, J.A. (2008) The Woman’s Page: Journalism and Rhetoric in Early Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

  12. 12.

    Stamp, S. (2000) Movie-Struck Girls: Women and Motion Picture Culture after the Nickelodeon. Princeton University Press; Moore, P.S. (2005) Everybody’s Going: City Newspapers and the Early Mass Market for Movies, City & Community, 4(4): 339–357; Whitehead, J.L. (2016). Local Newspaper Movie Contests and the Creation of the First Movie Fans, Transformative Works and Cultures, 22. Online at journal.transformativeworks.org.

  13. 13.

    Slide , A. (2010) Inside the Hollywood Fan Magazine: A History of Star Makers, Fabricators, and Gossip Mongers. University Press of Mississippi, pp. 117–118.

  14. 14.

    Ibid., p. 124. McNelis was later convicted of mail fraud in 1940 see: Catherine McNelis, President of ‘Tower Magazine,’ convicted of Mail fraud, The Express, 17 January 1940, p. 1.

  15. 15.

    Moore, P.S. (2003) Nathan L. Nathanson Introduces Canadian Odeon: Producing National Competition in Film Exhibition, Canadian Journal of Film Studies, 12(2): 22–45.

  16. 16.

    Description of the MPDEC from Kann, M. (ed.) (1928) The Film Daily Year Book. New York: Film Daily, p. 528, and annually to 1938 edition.

  17. 17.

    Distributors join Exhibitors to form new Canada group, Exhibitors Trade Review, 16 May 1925, p. 58.

  18. 18.

    Brief histories of early Canadian film exchanges and theater chains are noted in Moore, P. (2008) Now Playing: Early Moviegoing and the Regulation of Fun. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, pp. 97–113.

  19. 19.

    Ray Presents, CMPD, 6 December 1941, pp. 3–5.

  20. 20.

    Hanson Not Acquiring Two Toronto Film Exchanges, Film Daily, 5 December 1941, p. 6; Lewis Operates Alliance, Colonial, Motion Picture Herald, 13 December 1941, p. 43.

  21. 21.

    All About Myself, CMPD, 13 August 1927, pp. 4, 6; and CMPD, 20 August 1927, pp. 4, 10–11.

  22. 22.

    Census of Canada (1901) Information Relating to Homes and Professions Comes from City of Toronto Annual Directories. T6497 District 116 (Toronto) A18.3.8, lines 43 to 49.

  23. 23.

    Industry Leader, Passes, Canadian Film Weekly , 14 July 1954, p. 3; Was Canada’s First Lady of Theatre, Toronto Telegram, 6 July 1954, pp. 23, 10. Palmer & Lewis, Variety, 18 September 1909, p. 36.

  24. 24.

    The Other Woman, Toronto News, 4 January 1915, p. 10; Miss Ray Levinsky in Her Own Play, Toronto News, 8 January 1915, p. 7; A Talented Author, Toronto Globe, 8 January 1915, p. 5.

  25. 25.

    She is uncredited, but later recalled writing ‘Jealousy’ for Equitable; see Prominent Players with Equitable, Moving Picture World, 7 August 1915, p. 1008. She is credited as author for Oro Productions: “Loyalty,” Wid’s Film Daily, 1 November 1917, p. 700.

  26. 26.

    Lewis, R. (1917) Songs of Earth. New York: Albert and Charles Boni.

  27. 27.

    The first issue microfilmed by the British Film Institute is number 101 and is dated September 18, 1908. The beginnings of the French corporate press, see Toulet, E. (1989) Naissance d’une presse sous influence, pp. 14–25 in Restaurations et Tirages de la Cinémathèque française IV. Paris: Cinémathèque française.

  28. 28.

    Moore, P. (2008) Socially Combustible: Panicky People, Flammable Films, and the Dangerous New Technology of the Nickelodeon, pp. 75–87 in Bennett, B., Furstenau, M. and Mackenzie, A. (eds.) Cinema + Technology: Cultures, Theories, Practices. London: Palgrave Macmillan; Pelletier, L. (2011) A Moving Picture Farce: Public Opinion and the Beginnings of Film Censorship in Quebec, pp. 94–105 in Braun, M. et al. (eds.) Beyond the Screen: Institutions, Networks and Publics of Early Cinema. Eastleigh, UK: John Libbey.

  29. 29.

    An Urgent Message to Canadian Exhibitors, CMPD, 5 January 1918, pp. 6–7.

  30. 30.

    The Bulletin began in 1915 as a single sheet of advertising tips, issued by W. A. Bach from the Toronto Universal office, and by 1916 had grown into a full magazine with a string of correspondents across Canada, providing its content as a news service to American trade papers. See ‘The Bulletin’ Enters National Class, Moving Picture Weekly, 8 July 1916, p. 38.

  31. 31.

    The cover of Lewis’ first issue 5(12) of CMPD is erroneously dated August 21, 1918. She later claimed she acted as “silent editor” months earlier. She took a year leave in 1919 to work in England securing British films for Allen Theatres, then-dominant national exhibitors. The CMPD would become American property in May 1926, when Ray Lewis, suffering the effects of the boycott orchestrated by the Famous Players Canadian, would sell her shares to George C. Williams Exhibitors Review Publishing Corp. She bought back control in November 1928. See Give the Little Gal Hand, CMPD, 24 November 1928, p. 3.

  32. 32.

    100% Canadian, CMPD, 2 November 1918, p. 6.

  33. 33.

    See: Moore, P. (2008) Nationalist Filmgoing without Canadian-Made Films?, pp. 155–163 in Abel, R., Bertollini, G. and King, R. (eds.) Early Cinema and the “National”. Eastleigh, UK: John Libbey Press.

  34. 34.

    Silence Is Golden, CMPD, 29 March 1919, p. 3.

  35. 35.

    Subscriptions, CMPD, 12 September 1925, p. 3.

  36. 36.

    The Three Wise Men, CMPD, 22 December 1923, p. 5.

  37. 37.

    All About Myself, CMPD, 13 August 1927, p. 6. She wrote: “I understand-even up to the present, the disposition of Ray to talk, is one of her vices.”

  38. 38.

    The testimony of “Mrs. Joshua Smith” (Ray Lewis married name) occupies only half a page in the final report. See White, P. (1931) Investigation into an Alleged Combine in the Motion Picture Industry in Canada. Ottawa: King’s Printer, p. 154.

  39. 39.

    Claims British Film Producer Reticent on Sales to Canada, Toronto Mail and Empire, 14 February 1931, p. 3. On the participation of Ray Lewis in the work of the White board, see also Exhibitors Not Forced to Overbuy, Toronto Telegram, 5 March 1931, p. 8.

  40. 40.

    Killam Refuses to Make Replies to Mrs. Smith, Toronto Star, 7 March 1931, pp. 1, 3.

  41. 41.

    Famous Players Voting Trust Status Unchanged, Toronto Mail and Empire, 9 March 1931, p. 5.

  42. 42.

    Ray Presents, CMPD, 4 March 1939, p. 4.

  43. 43.

    Lewis, R. (1931, January 15) Letter to R. B. Bennett, Microfilm reel M1104, Library and Archives Canada.

  44. 44.

    Note that although the Commission concluded that Famous Players operations were “detrimental to the public interest,” a subsequent anti-combines lawsuit failed to reach the legal threshold of proving higher ticket prices as a result of the collusion. Morris, P. (1992) Embattled Shadows: A History of Canadian Cinema. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, pp. 176–177.

  45. 45.

    In Memoriam: An Open Letter to ‘Variety,’ CMPD, 29 October 1927, p. 5.

  46. 46.

    Canada, Variety, 4 January 1928, p. 24.

  47. 47.

    Service From “Variety,” CMPD, 7 January 1928, p. 6.

  48. 48.

    Inside Stuff-Pictures, Variety, 15 May 1929, p. 55.

  49. 49.

    Inside Stuff-Pictures, Variety, 26 June 1929, p. 50.

  50. 50.

    “Privilege” Protects Digest Against Libel Damages, Canadian Motion Picture Exhibitor, 15 December 1940, p. 5.

  51. 51.

    The court documents reveal that the two women had known each other for years and were friends and business associates. It appears from the court records that the relationship may have soured after Ray’s husband loaned the Falk’s money.

  52. 52.

    Ray Presents, CMPD, 23 September 1939, p. 5.

  53. 53.

    Ibid.

  54. 54.

    Falk v. Lewis. Ontario Supreme Court (1940) Amended Statement of Defense, p. 2.

  55. 55.

    Ibid., pp. 2–3.

  56. 56.

    Ray Presents, CMPD, 14 December 1940, p. 2.

  57. 57.

    “Privilege” Protects Digest Against Libel Damages, The Canadian Motion Picture Exhibitor, 15 December 1940, p. 5.

  58. 58.

    Coper Replaces Mrs. Falk, Film Daily, 19 March 1941, p. 3.

  59. 59.

    Bossin, H. (1951) Canada and the Film: The Story of the Canadian Motion Picture Industry. Film Weekly Year Book of the Canadian Motion Picture Industry, pp. 21–41.

  60. 60.

    Ray Lewis’ correspondence with R. B. Bennett can be found in the Prime Minister’s letters at Library and Archives Canada.

  61. 61.

    Lewis, R. (1930, October 9) Telegram from Ray Lewis to R.B. Bennett, Microfilm reel M1104, Library and Archives Canada.

  62. 62.

    Kearney, N.M. (1930, November 20) Letter from M. Neville Kearney to R.B. Bennett, Microfilm reel M1104, Library and Archives Canada.

  63. 63.

    Ibid.

  64. 64.

    Lewis, R. (1930, May 23) Telegram from Ray Lewis to R.B. Bennett, Microfilm reel M1104, Library and Archives Canada.

  65. 65.

    Bennett, R.B. (1930, May 27) Letter from Bennett to Ray Lewis, Microfilm reel M1104, Library and Archives Canada.

  66. 66.

    Lewis, R. (1930, May 30) Telegram from Ray Lewis to R. B. Bennett, Microfilm reel M1104, Library and Archives Canada.

  67. 67.

    Lewis, R. (1942, May 16) Letter to Walter Wanger from Ray Lewis, Academy War Film Library Files-Canada-Associated Screen News Limited. Margaret Herrick Library. In her exchange with the Academy she was once again misidentified as male.

  68. 68.

    Bossin, H. (ed.) (1955) Film Weekly Year Book of the Canadian Motion Picture Industry. Toronto: Canadian Film Weekly , p. 29.

  69. 69.

    Ray Lewis, Industry Leader, Passes, Canadian Film Weekly, 14 July 1954, p. 3.

  70. 70.

    Ray Lewis Being Widely Mourned, Canadian Film Weekly, 21 July 1954, p. 3.

  71. 71.

    “The Digest” Will Stop Publishing, Canadian Film Weekly, 27 February 1957, pp. 1, 3.

Acknowledgments

Research was funded by doctoral (Whitehead), postdoctoral (Pelletier), and faculty (Moore) research funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada. Part of this research was previously published as Pelletier, L. and Moore, P. (2005) Une Excentrique au Coeur de l’Industrie: Ray Lewis et le Canadian Moving Picture Digest, Cinémas, 16(1): 59–90; and as Moore, P. and Pelletier, L. (2016) Ray Lewis, in Gaines, J., Vatsal, R. and Dall’Asta, M. (eds.) Women Film Pioneers Project. New York: Columbia University Libraries. Online at wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Italian Studies and Cinema Studies Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Jessica L. Whitehead

  2. Département d’histoire de l’art et d’études cinématographiques, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Louis Pelletier

  3. Department of Sociology, Communication and Culture, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Paul S. Moore

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  1. Jessica L. Whitehead
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  1. Department of Communication Studies, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Daniel Biltereyst

  2. Department of Communication Studies, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Lies Van de Vijver

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Whitehead, J.L., Pelletier, L., Moore, P.S. (2020). “The Girl Friend in Canada”: Ray Lewis and Canadian Moving Picture Digest (1915–1957). In: Biltereyst, D., Van de Vijver, L. (eds) Mapping Movie Magazines. Global Cinema. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33277-8_7

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