''Air Cadets'' (also known as ''Air Cadet'') is a 15-minute 1944 Canadian

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

, made by the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

(NFB) as part of the wartime ''

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 the Second World War. Wit ...

'' series. The film describes the Air Cadet Movement in 1944 during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. ''Air Cadets'' was directed by Jane Marsh, who was also the writer and editor on the production. The film's

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

version title is ''Les Cadets de l'air''.

Synopsis

In 1941, the

Secretary of State for Canada The Secretary of State for Canada, established in 1867 with a corresponding department, was a Canadian Cabinet position that served as the official channel of communication between the Dominion of Canada and the Imperial government in London. Scot ...

granted a Charter to the

Air Cadet League of Canada The Air Cadet League of Canada is a volunteer organization that provides financial support and oversight to the Royal Canadian Air Cadets. The Air Cadet League owns all of the aircraft used in the Air Cadet Gliding Program. The League is organized ...

. The organization was officially incorporated as a charitable, voluntary non-profit corporation with the mandate of working in partnership with the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

(RCAF) to sponsor young males from 12 to 18 years of age, as future aircrew. With headquarters in Ottawa, sponsors and volunteers were recruited provincially and a Chairman was appointed in each province. By 1944, a total of 374 squadrons, over 29,000 Air Cadets, 1,750 officers and instructors and another 2,000 civilians who supplied financial and other support had become involved in the Air Cadet Movement. Air cadets received training on aeronautics and military subjects in an after-school program. Other cadet programs such as band and drill were also taught. Once a year, air cadets were able to go to a 10-day summer camp. The camp was a "tent village" located on an RCAF base such as RCAF Detachment

Carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

, a relief landing field for No.2 Service Flying Training School at RCAF Station Uplands, Ottawa. While at camp, cadets have an opportunity to work closely with RCAF personnel and receive practical instruction on RCAF frontline aircraft, including trainers, seaplanes, fighters and bombers. In preparation for a career in the RCAF, cadets from all across Canada receive a thorough introduction to aeronautical subjects such as navigation, mechanics and flying, as well as an orientation to military life. One of the greatest benefits of Air Cadet training is the camaraderie found in being part of a youth program that is focused on good citizenship, character-building and community involvement.

Production

Although part of the NFB's Second World War documentary short films in the ''Canada Carries On'' series, under the working title of ''Air Cadet'', it was the first film in the series to be shot in colour. Like many of the other films in the series, ''Air Cadets'' was created as a morale boosting

propaganda film A propaganda film is a film that involves some form of propaganda. Propaganda films spread and promote certain ideas that are usually religious, political, or cultural in nature. A propaganda film is made with the intent that the viewer will ad ...

, however, focusing on young people in the Air Cadets. ''Air Cadets'' utilized more of a

docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typic ...

or "realistic/actuality" approach.Morris, Peter
"Film Reference Library: Canada Carries On."
''Canadian Film Encyclopedia''. Retrieved: April 16, 2016. The film relied heavily on filming actual events as they occurred rather than staging events, with only two scenes filmed in a "studio" setting in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. Principal photography for ''Air Cadets'' took place in August, September and October 1943. Marsh was accompanied on location by Frank Radford "Budge" Crawley, who was the cinematographer on the film. Sequences were shot at air cadet squadrons situated throughout Canada, including scenes in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia,

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia Lunenburg is a port town on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada. Founded in 1753, the town was one of the first British attempts to settle Protestants in Nova Scotia. The economy was traditionally based on the offshore fishery and today L ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, RCAF Detachment Carp and

RCAF Station Rockcliffe The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environme ...

.Kemp. Hugh. "Shooting the Cadets." ''Canadian Air Cadet'', Vol. 3, No. 5, March 1944, pp. 13, 29. A great deal of aerial footage was filmed by "Budge" Crawley from aircraft flying alongside operational RCAF aircraft. Scenes of RCAF bombers, including the

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirlin ...

and a pair of

Handley Page Halifax The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester. The Halifax has its or ...

bombers as well as a formation flight of

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

fighter aircraft, however, were photographed in flight by the

(RCAF) Overseas Film Unit in Great Britain.Kemp. Hugh. "Shooting the Cadets." ''Canadian Air Cadet'', Vol. 3, No. 5, March 1944, p. 29. Director Jane Marsh's editing approach and her ability to incorporate a multitude of distinct sequences was "instinctual with a powerful artistic and political force." The choice to concentrate on a human interest story and feature some of the cadets in main "speaking roles" meant that the typical use of stage actor

Lorne Greene Lorne Hyman Greene (born Lyon Himan Green; 12 February 1915 – 11 September 1987) was a Canadian actor, musician, singer and radio personality. His notable television roles include Ben Cartwright on the Western ''Bonanza'' and Commander Ada ...

was limited in the narration of ''Air Cadets''. Greene, known for his deep baritone voice on both radio broadcasts as a news announcer at '' CBC'' as well as narrating many of the ''Canada Carries On'' series, would have been too powerful a presence in a story of the young people in the Air Cadets. In 1944, after a dispute with NFB founder

John Grierson John Grierson (26 April 1898 – 19 February 1972) was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. In 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" in a review of Robert J. Fla ...

, when Marsh asked to be named as the executive producer on the ''Canada Carries On'' series, she resigned from the NFB. Grierson refused to consider a woman in a prestigious position at the National Film Board.

Aircraft in the film

The NFB had full cooperation from the RCAF to film at training bases as well as other operational stations. The RCAF aircraft seen in the film include: *

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) a ...

* Bristol Bolingbrooke *

Cessna Bobcat The Cessna AT-17 Bobcat or Cessna Crane is a twin-engine advanced trainer aircraft designed and made in the United States, and used during World War II to bridge the gap between single-engine trainers and larger multi-engine combat aircraft. The ...

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

Douglas Digby The Douglas B-18 Bolo is an American heavy bomber which served with the United States Army Air Corps and the Royal Canadian Air Force (as the Digby) during the late 1930s and early 1940s. The Bolo was developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company ...

Grumman Goose The Grumman G-21 Goose is an amphibious flying boat designed by Grumman to serve as an eight-seat "commuter" aircraft for businessmen in the Long Island area. The Goose was Grumman's first monoplane to fly, its first twin-engined aircraft, and i ...

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and prim ...

Lockheed Ventura The Lockheed Ventura is a twin-engine medium bomber and patrol bomber of World War II. The Ventura first entered combat in Europe as a bomber with the RAF in late 1942. Designated PV-1 by the United States Navy (US Navy), it entered combat in 1 ...

North American Harvard The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces ...

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in e ...

Release

''Air Cadets'' was shot on

16 mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, edu ...

Kodachrome film and sent to Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

to blow it up to 35 mm to produce release prints for the theatrical market. Although the film was completed in 1943, the delay in its release came from technical problems encountered at Technicolor. Each film in the ''Canada Carries On'' series was shown over a six-month period as part of the shorts or newsreel segments in approximately 800 theatres across Canada. The NFB had an arrangement with

Famous Players theatres Famous Players Limited Partnership, DBA Famous Players, is a Canadian-based subsidiary of Cineplex Entertainment. As an independent company, it existed as a film exhibitor and cable television service provider. Famous Players operated numerous ...

to ensure that Canadians from coast-to-coast could see them, with further distribution by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

.Ellis and McLane 2005, p. 122. After the six-month theatrical tour ended, individual films were made available on

to schools, libraries, churches and factories, extending the life of these films for another year or two. They 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.Ohayon, Albert
"Propaganda cinema at the NFB".
''National Film Board of Canada'', July 13, 2009. Retrieved: April 16, 2016. The NFB considers ''Air Cadets'' a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...

. In 1967, the warehouse that stored many of the NFB films was destroyed by a fire, and as a result, most of the films were lost. What remains of ''Air Cadets'' , at present, is a 20-minute

internegative An internegative is a motion picture film duplicate. It is the color counterpart to an interpositive, in which a low-contrast color image is used as the positive between an original camera negative and a duplicate negative. After a film is shot, ...

copy consisting of individual film scenes that were shot by director

Jane Marsh Beveridge Jane Marsh Beveridge (born Jane Smart; December 2, 1915 – September 16, 1998) was a Canadians, Canadian Film director, director, Film producer, producer, Film editing, editor, composer, screenwriter, teacher and Sculpture, sculptor. She was bes ...

and her cinematographers.

Reception

After ''Air Cadets'' was given a "Family" classification by the Ontario Film Review Board on May 23, 1944, the film was released two days later by Columbia Pictures in Canada.Rist 2001, p. 242.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Armatage, Kay, Kass Banning,

Brenda Longfellow Brenda Longfellow (born 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker known for her biographies of female historic figures. Since 2007, Longfellow's focus in her films has been on environmental issues. Biography Brenda Longfellow was born in Copper Cliff, On ...

and

Janine Marchessault Janine Marchessault is a professor of Cinema and Media Studies and Canada Research Chair (2003-2013) at York University in Toronto, Canada. Her main fields of research are Ecologies of Media and Mediation, (sub)urban cultures, the works of Mars ...

, eds. ''Gendering the Nation: Canadian Women's Cinema''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999. . * Bennett, Linda Greene. ''My Father's Voice: The Biography of Lorne Greene''. Bloomington, Indiana: iUniverse, Inc., 2004. . * Ellis, Jack C. and Betsy A. McLane. ''New History of Documentary Film''. London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005. . * Evans, Gary. ''John Grierson and the National Film Board: The Politics of Wartime Propaganda''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1984. . * Khouri, Malek. ''Filming Politics: Communism and the Portrayal of the Working Class at the National Film Board of Canada, 1939-46.'' Calgary, Alberta, Canada: University of Calgary Press, 2007. . * Lerner, Loren. ''Canadian Film and Video: A Bibliography and Guide to the Literature''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997. . * Rist, Peter. ''Guide to the Cinema(s) of Canada''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001. .

External links

''Air Cadets'' NFB Collections page

''Air Cadets'' at Canadian Women Film Directors Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Air Cadets 1944 films Canadian aviation films Canadian short documentary films Canadian World War II propaganda films Documentary films about military aviation National Film Board of Canada documentaries 1944 documentary films Canadian docudrama films Lost Canadian films Films directed by Jane Marsh Beveridge Canada Carries On Columbia Pictures short films Quebec films 1940s English-language films Canadian drama short films 1940s Canadian films