Canada Carries On
Canada Carries On (French: En avant Canada) was a series of short films by the National Film Board of Canada, which ran from 1940 to 1959. The series was initially created as morale boosting propaganda films during World War II. With the end of the war, the series lost its financial backing from the Wartime Information Board, but continued under as an NFB series of theatrical shorts that included newsreels as well as animated shorts.[1]
The series was initially produced by Stuart Legg, who also directed many of the early films in Canada Carries On. The first film in the series was Legg's Atlantic Patrol, released in April 1940, about the Canadian Navy's role in protecting convoys from Halifax to the United Kingdom from U-boat attack.[2] One of the most famous films from this series was his Churchill's Island, released in Canada in June 1941, and winner of the first-ever Academy Award for documentary.[3][4]
The success of Canada Carries On inspired a second NFB series The World in Action, which was more tailored to international audiences.[5]
Canadian distribution
The series was produced in 35 mm for the theatrical market. Each film was shown in approximately 800 theatres across Canada, over a six-month period. Films were distributed by Columbia Pictures,[2] and the NFB had an arrangement with Famous Players theatres to ensure that Canadians from coast to coast had access to the films. After the six-month theatrical tour ended, films were made available on 16 mm to schools, libraries, church basements and factories, extending the life of these films for another year or two. Films were also made available to film libraries operated by university and provincial authorities. A total of 199 films were produced before the series was canceled in 1959.[3]
En avant Canada
The French-language series En avant Canada was distributed in Quebec and New Brunswick by France Film Distribution in some 60 theatres. 8 to 12 issues were produced each year in French; some versions of English titles, others original, for a total of 173 French titles before the program's cancellation in 1959.[3]
International distribution
Some films were distributed internationally in Australia, the UK and USA (by Telenews), in India (by Fox Film Corporation) and the West Indies (by Inter-continental). These were usually titles that dealt with international rather than Canadian issues. One such film was Warclouds in the Pacific, released just one week before the attack on Pearl Harbor, warning of an imminent Japanese attack.[3]
Films in series
This film-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
1940
| Title | Director |
|---|---|
| Atlantic Patrol | Stuart Legg |
| Children from Overseas | Stanley Hawes |
| Front of Steel | John McDougall |
| Home Front | Stanley Hawes |
| Letter from Aldershot | John Taylor |
| Letter from Camp Borden | Raymond Spottiswoode |
| Squadron 992 | |
| Un du 22ième |
1941
| Title | Director |
|---|---|
| Battle of Brains | Stanley Hawes |
| Churchill's Island | Stuart Legg |
| Food - Weapon of Conquest | Stuart Legg |
| Guards of the North | Raymond Spottiswoode |
| Heroes of the Atlantic | J. D. Davidson |
| Soldiers All | |
| Strategy of Metals | Raymond Spottiswoode |
1942
| Title | Director |
|---|---|
| Battle for Oil | Stuart Legg |
| Battle of the Harvests | Stanley Jackson |
| Everywhere in the World | Stuart Legg |
| Forward Commandos | Raymond Spottiswoode |
| Geopolitik - Hitler's Plan for Empire | Stuart Legg |
| High Over the Borders | Raymond Spottiswoode |
| Inside Fighting Canada | Jane Marsh |
| Quebec, Path of Conquest | Radford Crawley |
| Road to Tokyo | |
| This Is Blitz | Stuart Legg |
1943
| Title | Director |
|---|---|
| Banshees Over Canada | James Beveridge |
| Coal Face, Canada | Robert Edmonds |
| Fighting Norway | Sydney Newman |
| The Gates of Italy | Stuart Legg Tom Daly |
| Pincer on Axis Europe | |
| Proudly She Marches | Jane Marsh |
| Train Busters | Sydney Newman |
1944
| Title | Director |
|---|---|
| Air Cadets | Jane Marsh |
| Break-through | James Beveridge |
| Fighting Sea-Fleas | Sydney Newman Julian Roffman Nicholas Read |
| Flight 6 | Sydney Newman |
| Future for Fighters | Stuart Legg James Beveridge |
| Look to the North | James Beveridge |
| Mosquito Squadron | Ernest Borneman |
| Target - Berlin | Ernest Borneman |
1945
| Title | Director |
|---|---|
| Atlantic Crossroads | Tom Daly |
| Back to Jobs | Nicholas Balla |
| Gateway to Asia | Tom Daly |
| Headline Hunters | Alan Field |
| Music in the Wind | Guy Glover |
| Ordeal by Ice | Tom Daly |
| Road to the Reich | Tom Daly |
| Salute to a Victory | |
| Suffer Little Children | Sydney Newman |
| This Is Our Canada | Stanley Jackson |
1946
| Title | Director |
|---|---|
| Bronco Busters | Laurence Hyde |
| Canada, World Trader | Tom Daly |
| The Challenge of Housing | Tom Daly |
| A City Sings | Gudrun Parker |
| Everyman's World | Sydney Newman |
| Fashions by Canada | |
| The New North | Hamilton Wright |
| Science Goes Fishing | Jean Palardy |
| Ski Skill | Bernard Devlin Roger Blais |
| Small Fry | Jack Olsen |
1947
| Title | Director |
|---|---|
| Canada Dances | Nicholas Balla |
| Careers and Cradles | Jack Olsen |
| Eyes on Canada | |
| Johnny at the Fair | Jack Olsen |
| Mexico Today | |
| Montreal by Night | Jean Palardy Arthur Burrows |
| Peoples of Canada | James Beveridge |
| River Watch | Roger Morin |
1948
| Title | Director |
|---|---|
| Arctic Jungle | Sydney Newman |
| Art for Everybody | Laurence Hyde |
| Champions in the Making | Sydney Newman |
| The Home Town Paper | Morten Parker |
| Inside the Atom | Jack Olsen |
| It's Fun to Sing | Roger Blais |
| Maps We Live By | Gudrun Parker |
| Mercy Flight | Evelyn Cherry Lawrence Cherry |
| Pay-Off in Pain | Robert Anderson |
| Science in Bloom | Nicholas Balla |
1949
| Title | Director |
|---|---|
| 55,000 for Breakfast | Lawrence Cherry Evelyn Cherry |
| Ballet Festival | Roger Blais |
| A Capital Plan | Bernard Devlin |
| Famous Fish I Have Met | Jack Olsen |
| Passport to Canada | Roger Blais |
| Red Runs the Fraser | E. Taylor |
| Sight and Sound | Gudrun Parker Nathan Clavier |
| Summer Is For Kids | Stanley Jackson |
1950
| Title | Director |
|---|---|
| City in Siege | James Parker Allen Stark |
| Cliff Hangers | Don Mulholland |
| Gentleman Jekyll and Driver Hyde | David Bairstow |
| Hunters of the North Pole | Nils Rasmussen |
| Life Under A Leaf | Ronald Weyman |
| Our Town is the World | Stanley Jackson |
| Snow Fiesta | Harry Foster |
1951
| Title | Director |
|---|---|
| After Prison What? | Ronald Weyman |
| Cadet Holiday | David Bairstow Robert Humble Douglas Wilkinson |
| Flying Skis | Harry Foster |
| Gangway for Navy | Jack Olsen |
| Inside Newfoundland | Sydney Newman Roger Morin |
| It's The Fashion! | Ronald Weyman |
| The Man in the Peace Tower | Roger Blais |
| The Outlaw Within | Morten Parker |
| Penitentiary | Ronald Weyman |
| Rescue Mission | Ronald Weyman |
| Screaming Jets | Jack Olsen |
| Struggle for Oil | Ronald Dick |
| Talent Showcase | Roger Blais Douglas Tunstell Sydney Newman |
1952
| Title | Director |
|---|---|
| Arctic Saga | Douglas Wilkinson |
| Beyond the Frontier | Ronald Dick |
| Canada's Atom Goes To Work | Roger Blais |
| Horizons of Quebec | Raymond Garceau |
| The Mountain Movers | Ronald Weyman |
| The Romance of Transportation in Canada | Colin Low |
| Singing Champions | Roger Blais |
1953
| Title | Director |
|---|---|
| Citizen Varek | Gordon Burwash |
| Farewell Oak Street | Grant McLean |
| Germany - Key to Europe | Nicholas Balla |
| The Harbour | Earnest Kirkpatrick |
| Here's Hockey! | Leslie McFarlane |
| Herring Hunt | Julian Biggs |
| In Search of Home | Roger Blais |
| Inland Seaport | Ronald Weyman |
| Mission Ship | Robert Anderson |
| Mister Mayor | Raymond Garceau |
| Tempest in Town | Raymond Garceau |
1954
| Title | Director |
|---|---|
| Bottleneck | Leslie McFarlane |
| British Empire and Commonwealth Games | Jack Olsen |
| Bush Doctor | Jean Palardy |
| College in the Wilds | Julian Biggs |
| Corral | Colin Low |
| Diggers of the Deeps | Grant McLean |
| Sorel | Jean Palardy |
1955
| Title | Director |
|---|---|
| The Dikes | Roger Blais |
| Gold | Colin Low |
| Harvest in the Valley | Larry Gosnell |
| High Tide in Newfoundland | Grant McLean |
| The Jolifou Inn | Colin Low |
| The Lumberjack | Jean Palardy |
| The Maple Leaf | J. V. Durden |
| Needles and Pins | Roger Blais |
| Problem Clinic | Ronald Weyman |
| Return of the Indian | Grant McLean |
1956
| Title | Director |
|---|---|
| Fishermen of Pubnico | Leonard Forest |
| Frontiers to Guard | Ian MacNeill |
| The Lively Pond | Nicholas Balla |
| The Shepherd | Julian Biggs |
1957
| Title | Director |
|---|---|
| Bridge Under the Ocean | Raymond Garceau |
| Carnival in Quebec | Jean Palardy |
| Snow Fighters | Leslie McFarlane |
1958
| Title | Director |
|---|---|
| The Awakening Mackenzie | Hector Lemieux |
| Fraser's River | Gordon Sparling |
| Industrial Canada | Guy L. Coté |
| The Man From Karachi | Leslie McFarlane |
| Songs of Nova Scotia | Grant Crabtree |
| Street to the World | Louis-Georges Carrier |
1959
| Title | Director |
|---|---|
| The Atom - Servant of Man | Edmund Reid |
| The Chairmaker and the Boys | Tim Wilson |
| The Magic Mineral | Roger Blais |
| Man of Music | Roger Blais |
| The Modern Prospector | Jean-Yves Bigras |
| Portrait of Canada | Hector Lemieux |
| Railroaders | Guy L. Coté |
References
- ↑ Morris, Peter. "Canada Carries On". Canadian Film Encyclopedia. Film Reference Library. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ellis, Jack C.; Betsy A. McLane (Aug 1, 2005). "Theatrical Series". New History of Documentary Film. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 122. ISBN 0-8264-1750-7.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Ohayon, Albert (July 13, 2009). "Propaganda cinema at the NFB". NFB.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ↑ "Oscar Awards: Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject". Retrieved 2009-10-18.
- ↑ Ellis, Jack C.; Betsy A. McLane (2005). A new history of documentary film. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 123. ISBN 0-8264-1751-5.
Further reading
- Goetz, William, 'The Canadian Wartime Documentary: "Canada Carries on" and "The World in Action"', Cinema Journal 16 (1977), pp. 59–80