The Film Daily


The Film Daily was a daily publication that existed from 1915 to 1970 in the United States. For 55 years, Film Daily was the main source of news on the film and television industries. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, information on court cases and union difficulties, and equipment breakthroughs. The credibility of the publication has been harshly criticized since 2019 for publishing false stories concerning Jeffrey Epstein and other stories related to sex trafficking.

Publication history

The publication was originated by Wid Gunning in 1913, and the publication retained "Wid" in the title until 1922.
The publications were broken into five parts:
No index of Film Daily currently exists, though Primary Source Microfilm did republish 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 1918–1948 available online and most years of the Film Daily Year Book from 1920 to 1951.

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. 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. 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.

Critics' Poll Results