The Film Daily

The Film Daily was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry.[1] It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, information on court cases and union difficulties, and equipment breakthroughs.

The Film Daily
September 3, 1922 cover of The Film Daily with child actress Baby Peggy
CategoriesFilm
PublisherWid's Films and Film Folk, Inc.
First issue1913 (daily in 1918)
Final issue1970
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Publication history

The publication was originated by Wid Gunning in 1913 (though not as a daily) and was known as Wid's Film and Film Folk (1915–1916) and Wid's Independent Review of Feature Films (1916–1918).[2] Gunning was previously film editor at the New York Evening Mail.[3] He also published Wid's Weekly,[1] and Wid's Year Book.[4]

In 1918, Joseph ("Danny") Dannenberg and Jack Alicoate purchased an interest in Wid's Weekly. On March 8, 1918, they released a daily publication, Wid's Daily. In 1921, Dannenberg and Alicoate took control of Wid's Films & Film Folk Inc., with Dannenberg as president and editor, and the publication changed name, in 1922,[5] to The Film Daily.[6][7]

During Dannenberg's time, the film yearbook (first published in 1918 as Wid's Year Book) expanded in size from 160 pages in 1918 to 860 pages in 1926.[6] Dannenburg died March 11, 1926, and was succeeded as president and editor by Jack Alicoate, who also became publisher.[7]

Chester B. Bahn became editor in 1937 but Alicoate remained as publisher until his death in 1960. Alicoate's brother Charles became executive publisher, and took over active management, a few years before Jack's death.[7]

Jack Alicoate added another publication, Radio Daily, in February 1937.[8] In September 1950, the publication was renamed Radio Daily-Television Daily.[9] The publication ceased in the late 1960s.

In 1969, Charles Alicoate sold Film Daily to DFI Communications who installed Hugh Fordin as editor-in-chief and associate publisher in December 1969. After publishing the June 1, 1970 issue, production was suspended with plans to redesign and further enliven the publication.[10]

The Film Daily Yearbook of Motion Pictures OCLC 38095889 was published[11] in 1929,[12] 1945,[13] ceased with 51st edition in 1969.[5]

Primary Source Microfilm republished the entire periodical on microfilm in 1990, in a 125 reel set. The Media History Digital Library has scans of the archive of Film Daily from 1918 to 1948 and Wid's Weekly from 1923 to 1925 available online and most years of the Film Daily Year Book (including two editions as Wid's Year Book) from 1918 to 1951.

The Internet Archive has The Film Daily, volume 5 (July 1918) to volume 70 (December 1936).[14]

Motion Picture World, Motion Picture World Magazine Company, New York City.[15][16][17][18]

Annual Critics' Poll

Film Daily was best known for its annual year-end critics' poll, in which hundreds of professional movie critics from around the country submitted their votes for the best films of the year, which the magazine then tallied and published as a top ten list. It was not uncommon for a film to win for a year that actually came after the year it first premiered, since the rollover date for each year's eligibility cycle was typically November 1 and the film was required to be in general release.[19] Gone with the Wind, for example, premiered in 1939 but didn't become eligible until 1941 when it switched from a roadshow format to a general release.[20] No winner was named in 1950 because for that year only, separate categories were polled for Drama of the Year and Musical of the Year (won by Sunset Boulevard and Annie Get Your Gun, respectively).[21]

Critics' Poll Results
Year Winning film Runner-up Cite(s)
1922Orphans of the StormGrandma's Boy[22]
1923The Covered WagonMerry-Go-Round[22]
1924The Thief of BagdadThe Sea Hawk[22]
1925The Gold RushThe Unholy Three[22]
1926VarietyBen-Hur[22]
1927Beau GesteThe Big Parade[22]
1928The PatriotSorrell and Son[22]
1929DisraeliThe Broadway Melody[22]
1930All Quiet on the Western FrontAbraham Lincoln[23]
1931CimarronStreet Scene[24]
1932Grand HotelThe Champ[25]
1933Cavalcade42nd Street[26]
1934The Barretts of Wimpole StreetThe House of Rothschild[27]
1935David CopperfieldThe Lives of a Bengal Lancer[28]
1936Mutiny on the BountyMr. Deeds Goes to Town[29]
1937The Life of Emile ZolaThe Good Earth[30]
1938Snow White and the Seven DwarfsYou Can't Take It with You[31]
1939Goodbye, Mr. ChipsMr. Smith Goes to Washington[32]
1940RebeccaThe Grapes of Wrath[33]
1941Gone with the WindSergeant York[20]
1942Mrs. MiniverHow Green Was My Valley[34]
1943Random HarvestFor Whom the Bell Tolls[35]
1944Going My WayThe Song of Bernadette[36]
1945WilsonA Tree Grows in Brooklyn[37]
1946The Lost WeekendThe Green Years[38]
1947The Best Years of Our LivesThe Jolson Story[39]
1948Gentleman's AgreementJohnny Belinda[40]
1949The Snake PitThe Red Shoes[41]
1950category not polled-[22]
1951A Place in the SunA Streetcar Named Desire[42]
1952High NoonThe Quiet Man[43]
1953From Here to EternityShane[44]
1954The Caine MutinyOn the Waterfront[44]
1955Mister RobertsMarty[44]
1956The King and IGiant[44]
1957Around the World in 80 DaysSayonara[45]
1958The Bridge on the River KwaiCat on a Hot Tin Roof[44]
1959Anatomy of a MurderThe Diary of Anne Frank[44]
1960The ApartmentElmer Gantry[44]
1961The Guns of NavaroneThe Hustler[44]
1962The Manchurian CandidateThe Music Man[44]
1963Tom JonesHud[46]
1964My Fair LadyBecket[47]
1965The Sound of MusicShip of Fools[48]
1966Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming[49]
1967In the Heat of the NightBonnie and Clyde[50]
1968The Lion in WinterRosemary's Baby[51][52]
1969Midnight CowboyButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid[53]

Further reading

References
  1. "Wid's Film Daily". Variety. May 3, 1918. p. 43.
  2. "The Film Daily (January – March 1935) Description". Media History Digital Library. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  3. "Gunning Off "The Mail"". Variety. August 27, 1915. p. 17.
  4. Gunning, Wid (1921). Wid's Year Book 1921. New York: Wid's Films and Film Folk, Inc. via archive.org
  5. "The Film daily year book of motion pictures". Dartmouth College Library. Dartmouth College. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  6. ""Danny's" Career". Film Daily. March 11, 1926. p. 1. Retrieved February 14, 2021 – via Archive.org.
  7. "Obituaries". Variety. June 29, 1960. p. 79. Retrieved February 13, 2021 – via Archive.org.
  8. Alicoate, Jack (February 9, 1937). "Introducing the Radio Daily" (PDF). Radio Daily. p. 1. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  9. "Radio Daily Television Daily" (PDF). Radio Daily Television Daily. September 7, 1950. p. 1. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  10. "Film TV Daily Suspends". Variety. June 3, 1970. p. 23.
  11. "Film Daily Year Book archives". onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  12. "The film daily year book : 1929". archive.org. New York : The Film Daily. 1929. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  13. "The Film Daily yearbook of motion pictures (1945)". archive.org. New York : The Film Daily. 1945. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  14. "Film Daily archives". onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  15. "The Economic History of the International Film Industry". eh.net. Economic History Association. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  16. Borden, Amy E. "Before Motion Picture World: Movies in Gilded Age American Magazines". academia.edu. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  17. The Scroll. Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. 1921. p. 254. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  18. Geduld, Harry M. (1975). The Birth of the Talkies: From Edison to Jolson. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-10743-5.open access
  19. "53 Feature Find Places on Poll Honor Roll". Film Daily. January 14, 1941. p. 4.
  20. Aitchison, Marion (January 14, 1942). "Times Reviewers Again Pick Eight Out of Ten Winners". St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Florida. p. 13.
  21. "Holden and Swanson Get Film Daily Nod". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Spokane, Washington. November 6, 1950. p. 16.
  22. Gottesman, Ronald; Geduld, Harry M. (1972). Guidebook to Film: An Eleven-in-one Reference. Holt McDougal. pp. 190, 192. ISBN 9780030852923.
  23. "The Ten Best Pictures of 1930". The Film Daily. January 22, 1931. p. 1.
  24. ""Cimarron" Heads Ten Best Films". Film Daily. January 18, 1932. p. 1.
  25. ""Grand Hotel" Leads Ten Best List". Film Daily. January 11, 1933. p. 1.
  26. ""Cavalcade" Heads Ten Best Films". Film Daily. January 10, 1934. p. 1.
  27. ""Barretts" Leads Ten Best Pictures". Film Daily. January 3, 1935. p. 1.
  28. ""Copperfield" Heads 1935 'Ten Best'". Film Daily. January 9, 1936. p. 1.
  29. ""Mutiny on the Bounty" Heads '36 "Ten Best"". Film Daily. January 7, 1937. p. 1.
  30. "Critics Vote "Emile Zola" Year's Best". Film Daily. January 6, 1938. p. 1.
  31. "Critics Vote 'Snow White' 1938's Best". Film Daily. January 12, 1939. p. 1.
  32. "Critics Vote "Mr. Chips" As '39's Best". Film Daily. January 12, 1940. p. 1.
  33. ""Rebecca" Wins Critics' Poll". Film Daily. January 14, 1941. p. 1.
  34. "Times Picks Six of Ten Best Films". St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Florida. January 13, 1943. p. 13.
  35. "'Random Harvest' Voted Best Film". San Jose Evening News. San Jose, California. January 18, 1944. p. 16.
  36. ""Way" First in 10 Best Poll". Film Daily. January 15, 1945. p. 1.
  37. ""Wilson" Tops "10 Best" Poll". Film Daily. January 14, 1946. p. 1.
  38. Bahn, Chester (January 8, 1947). ""Lost Weekend" Voted Best Film Feature From Hollywood in 1946". The Florence Times. Florence, Alabama. p. 8.
  39. ""Best Years" Tops 1947 Poll". Film Daily. January 12, 1948. p. 1.
  40. "Film Daily Lists Ten Best Movies". Evening Independent. St. Petersburg, Florida. December 20, 1948. p. 24.
  41. "'Snake Pit' Wins Top Place in National Movie Poll". The Pittsburgh Press. Pittsburgh. January 23, 1950. p. 10.
  42. "'A Place in Sun' Wins Film Poll". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. March 6, 1952. p. 2.
  43. "Western Voted Top 1952 Film". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Spokane Washington. March 9, 1953. p. 11.
  44. The 1963 Film Daily Year Book of Motion Pictures. New York: Wid's Films and Film Folk, Inc. 1963. pp. 119–125.
  45. "Todd Movie Voted Best Of Year". Daytona Beach Morning Herald. Daytona Beach, Florida. March 17, 1958. p. 1.
  46. "Tom Jones Film Picked as Best". The Day. New London, Connecticut. April 10, 1964. p. 1.
  47. Reid, John Howard (2010). British Movie Entertainments on Vhs and DVD: A Classic Movie Fan's Guide. Lulu. p. 204. ISBN 9780557582754.
  48. "'Sound of Music' Named Best". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Daytona Beach, Florida. April 11, 1966. p. 2.
  49. "Bits of Show Business". Milwaukee Journal. Milwaukee. February 5, 1967. p. Part 2, p. 6.
  50. Cohen, Harold V. (March 8, 1968). "Over 300 Critics Pick 'Heat of the Night,' Too". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 15.
  51. "'Lion in Winter' Selected As Best Film by Reviewers". Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, New Mexico. March 20, 1969. p. 33.
  52. Reid, John Howard (2006). Cinemascope 3: Hollywood Takes the Plunge. Lulu. p. 273. ISBN 9781411671881.
  53. "'Cowboy,' Hoffman, Voight, Liza Win". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. March 3, 1970. p. 10A.
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