Arthur Chetwynd Bt. (1913– 2004) was a Canadian film producer and founder and president of the pioneering film production company Chetwynd Films. He was an early, prolific producer of high-quality sponsored short documentaries; it has been estimated that he produced as many as 3,000 films. At the 12th Canadian Film Awards in 1960, Chetwynd was presented with a Special Award "for dedicated service in the interest of Canadian filmmakers as an executive officer of the Association of Motion Picture Producers and Laboratories of Canada". In 1981, the

2nd Genie Awards The 2nd Genie Awards were held March 12, 1981, honouring Canadian films released the previous year.Jay Scott, "Genie nominations released". ''The Globe and Mail'', February 10, 1981. The ceremony was held at the Royal Alexandra Theatre and was hos ...

presented a one-time Chetwynd Award for Business Promotion.

Early life

Arthur Ralph Talbot Chetwynd was born in the ghost town of

Walhachin Walhachin is a small ghost town in the Thompson Country region of British Columbia, Canada. It is located about 10 km west of Kamloops Lake, and is 65 km west of Kamloops on the south shore of the Thompson River near Highway 1. The popu ...

, a once-affluent hamlet in

Thompson Country Thompson Country, also referred to as The Thompson and sometimes as the Thompson Valley and historically known as the Couteau Country or Couteau District, is a historic geographic region of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, more or less de ...

, in the British Columbia Interior. His father, Ralph Chetwynd was an English war hero (

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

1918) who had moved to Canada to go into the cattle and fruit-growing business; he would become one of the founders of the

Pacific Great Eastern Railway The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

as well as a

Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. ...

for the Cariboo, and British Columbia's Minister of Trade and Industry, Minister of Railways and Fisheries, and Minister of Agriculture. The city of

Chetwynd, British Columbia Chetwynd is a district municipality located on the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. Situated on an ancient floodplain, it is the first town eastbound travellers encounter after emerging from the Rocki ...

is named after him. Arthur grew up in Vernon, in the British Columbia fruit-growing region of

Okanagan The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is par ...

. After graduating from Vernon Preparatory School, he attended the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

. From 1943 to 1945, he was Chief Instructor for Medical Reconditioning for 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 ...

. After the war, he taught Physical and Health Education at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

and became Publicity Officer for the University of Toronto Athletic Association, as well as Field Supervisor for the

Canadian Red Cross The Canadian Red Cross Society ()

Career

The first productions of Chetwynd Films’ (aka Chetwynd Productions) were films on coaching, education, and the activities of the Red Cross. These were followed by children's shows for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

. Beginning in 1947, he produced shows about each Grey Cup championship, as well as shows for the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

teams and the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

's annual Schenley Awards. Beginning in 1952, he produced shows about each

Calgary Stampede The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and featu ...

. Sports films would account for 30% of Chetwynd's work; the rest was made up by films about accident prevention, medicine and travel. Films were often for, or in co-production with, CTV, the CBC and 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 ...

, which distributed many of his films. Some of his films were dramatizations (e.g. ''The Anderson File'', 1977); others featured the client—in 1969, hockey great

Jean Béliveau Joseph Jean Arthur Béliveau (August 31, 1931 – December 2, 2014) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played parts of 20 seasons with the National Hockey League's (NHL) Montreal Canadiens from 1950 to 1971. Inducted into the ...

paid Chetwynd to make ''The Jean Béliveau Story'', a one-hour special which aired on CTV. Chetwynd also directed films (''Calgary Stampede : Banff Indian Days'', 1957) and worked on films for other producers, e.g. he was one of the cinematographers on the 1963

Crawley Films Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...

production ''Repeat Performance''. Chetwynd's award-winning film ''Jamboree'', about the

8th World Scout Jamboree The 8th World Scout Jamboree was held in August 1955, it was hosted by Canada at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. The Jamboree saw the introduction of the World Membership Badge which is still worn on the uniforms of Scouts worldwide. This was the ...

in Niagara-on-the-Lake, was selected for "Significance" by the Canadian government and became one of six films shown at the Canadian Pavilion at Expo 58 in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. In 1972, Chetwynd succeeded his uncle as 8th Baronet Chetwynd, of Brocton Hall, Staffordshire. In 1977, his son Robin, who had been directing films for the company since the mid-1960s, took over as president of Chetwynd Films. He carried on making promotional films until he closed the company c. 1980. Arthur founded the Toronto PR firm Brocton Hall Communications. He retired in 1988.

Personal life and death

Chetwynd was community-minded and acted as member, director, president, chair and/or patron of the

Empire Club of Canada The Empire Club of Canada is a Canadian speakers' forum. Established in 1903, the Empire Club has provided a forum for many thousands of different speakers. Through a variety of presentation formats, the Empire Club invites local, national and in ...

, the Royal Commonwealth Society of Canada, the

Monarchist League of Canada The Monarchist League of Canada (french: Ligue monarchiste du Canada) is a Canadian nonprofit monarchist advocacy organization.

, the Saint Lazarus Society,

Grenville Christian College Grenville Christian College is a former private boarding school located in the rural community of Maitland, some northeast of Brockville, Ontario, on the bank of the St. Lawrence River. " The independent university preparatory school was compo ...

, the Barbados National Trust, and the Canterbury Cathedral Restoration Appeal in Canada. He died in Cobourg,

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 C ...

in 2004, at age 94, survived by his wife Marjory and three sons.

Honours

* Victory Medal (1945) * Canadian Volunteer Service Medal (1945) * Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (1977) *

Order of Barbados The Order of Barbados is a Order (distinction), national Order of honours and decorations for Barbados. History The first Order of Barbados was instituted by Queen Elizabeth II by letters patent dated 25 July 1980. With Barbados becoming a republ ...

Silver Crown of Merit (1984) *

Freedom of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom o ...

(1989) * Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2003) * Knight Commander, Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem * Canadian Film and Television Production Association, Honorary Life Member *

Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) (, rarely ), founded in 1916 as the Society of Motion Picture Engineers or SMPE, is a global professional association of engineers, technologists, and executives working in the m ...

, Life Member

Filmography (partial)

Below is a sampling of the films produced by Arthur Chetwynd. Records of approximately 300 can be found at CESIF, Concordia University's Canadian Educational, Sponsored and Industrial Film Project. Records of another 1,300 are in the collection of the Canadian Government. *''Jamboree'', for Eaton's 1955 *''No Time to Spare'' (''Pas de temps à perdre''), for Les Compagnies d'assurance-vie du Canada 1955 *''Kinai Chieftainship'', for Calgary Brewing and Malting Co., dir. Robert Barclay 1957 *''Re-Creation of Art'', for the Spanish Consul and

Francisco Franco National Foundation The Francisco Franco National Foundation ( es, Fundación Nacional Francisco Franco, links=no; FNFF) is a foundation and propaganda hub created in 1976 devoted to promoting the legacy of the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. The only child of Fr ...

, dir. Eric Hagen 1958 *''Castle of Learning'', for the Spanish Consul and CBC, dir. Eric Hagen 1958 *''Football Fever'', for the

, dir. Robert Barclay 1958 *''Pursuit of Wisdom'', for the

, dir. John Rooke 1959 *''This is Husky'', for Husky Oil, dir. Robert Brooks 1959 *''Scotch Cup 1961'', for the

Scotch Whisky Association The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) is a trade organisation that represents the Scotch whisky industry. The Scotch whisky industry is an important part of the Scottish economy, and particularly the Scottish export market. Structure The main o ...

, dir. Ross McConnell 1961 *''A Look Behind the Big B.A.'', for British American Oil Company of Canada 1962 *''Land of the Blue Tartan'', Canadian National Railway 1963 *''The Little Grey Cup Game'', for

Molson Brewery The Molson Brewery is a Canadian based brewery company based in Montreal which was established in 1786 by the Molson family. In 2005, Molson merged with the Adolph Coors Company to become Molson Coors. Molson Coors maintains some of its Ca ...

1963 *''Calgary Stampede 1964'', for Calgary Exhibition and Stampede, dir. Arthur Chetwynd, 1964 *''Barbados: As You Like It'', for Barbados Tourism Authority 1964 *''Canadian Schenley Football Awards 1964'', for Canadian Schenley Distilleries, dir. Ross McConnell 1964 *''Some Are Sunfishers'', for

, dir. Robert Barclay 1964 *''Marine Holiday West Coast Style'', for

, dir. Robert Brooks 1965 *''Miss Canada Pageant'', for

Miss Canada Miss Canada is a beauty pageant for young women in Canada. It was founded in Hamilton in 1946. No title was awarded from 1993 through 2008. The trademark was purchased in 2009 by a Québec organization who produces the pageant under the name to ...

, dir. Robin Chetwynd 1965 *''Putting on a Front'', for General Motors of Canada, dir. Peter Kelly 1965 *''University of Windsor : A Place to Live and Learn'', for the

University of Windsor , mottoeng = Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge , established = , academic_affiliations = CARL, COU, Universities Canada , former_names = Assumption College (1857-1956)Assumption University of Windsor (1956-1963) , type = Public universi ...

, dir. Joy Gavill 1966 *''Du Maurier International Slalom 1966'', for

Imperial Tobacco Canada Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited is a cigarette manufacturing company operating in Canada. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of British American Tobacco. It was created in 1908 and bought out the Canadian interests of the American Tobacco Company, w ...

, dir. Robin Chetwynd 1966 *''Litton Systems'', for

Litton Industries Litton Industries was a large defense contractor in the United States named after inventor Charles Litton Sr. During the 1960s, the company began acquiring many unrelated firms and became one of the largest conglomerates in the United States. A ...

, dir. Karl Konnery 1967 *''Five Courses for Horses'', for the

Ontario Jockey Club Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG), known as the Ontario Jockey Club from 1881 to 2001, is the operator of two horse racing tracks, a casino and off-track betting stations in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. It also owns and operates ...

, dir. Karl Konnery 1967 *''The Ileostomist'', for the Ileostomy Association of Toronto, dir. Karl Konnery 1968 *''Safety Prevents Sorrow'', for the Industrial Accident Prevention Association 1969 *''Every Square Inch'', for the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, dir. Ross McConnell 1969 *''Our Thing'', for Labatt Breweries, dir. Robin Chetwynd 1969 *''Fashion Council Puppet Show'', for

Dylex Dylex Limited was one of Canada's largest retailers during the 1970s and 1980s, where it operated a number of specialty retail stores, including women's wear, men's wear, and family stores, including BiWay, a large, and now defunct, Canadian dis ...

Stores 1969 *''Manitoba Festival Country'', for the Manitoba Department of Tourism, 1970 *''Quarterback'', for the

, dir. Robin Chetwynd 1970 *''The Money Go Round'', for the Canadian Life Insurance Officers Association, dir. Leo Brouse 1970 *''Shell Ski Jump 70 Meter'', for CTV, dir. Robin Chetwynd 1975 *''Motorsport Canada 1975'', for

, dir. Robin Chetwynd 1975

Awards

* ''Calgary Stampede'', Honourable Mention,

5th Canadian Film Awards The 5th Canadian Film Awards were presented on April 30, 1953 to honour achievements in Canadian film.Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards''. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. . pp. 21-23. The cer ...

1953 * ''No Time to Spare'', Special Mention,

7th Canadian Film Awards The 7th Canadian Film Awards were announced in 1955 to honour achievements in Canadian film.Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards''. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. . pp. 29-31. Due to organizatio ...

, 1955 * ''Jamboree'', Special Mention,

8th Canadian Film Awards The 8th Canadian Film Awards were held on August 6, 1956 to honour achievements in Canadian film.Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards''. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. . pp. 33-35. The ceremony ...

, 1956 * ''Grey Cup Festival '58'', Best Film, Travel and Recreation, 11th Canadian Film Awards, 1959 * ''Man of Kintail'', Best Film, TV Information (tied), 12th Canadian Film Awards, 1960 * ''Grey Cup Festival '60'', Best Film, Travel and Recreation (Recreation), 13th Canadian Film Awards, 1961 * ''Epidural Anaesthesia for Vaginal Delivery in Obstetrics'', Best Film, Training and Instruction, 13th Canadian Film Awards, 1961 * ''Grey Cup Festival '62'', Best Film, Travel and Recreation (Recreation),

15th Canadian Film Awards The 15th Canadian Film Awards were held on May 10, 1963 to honour achievements in Canadian film. This year saw a new record in film submissions: 175 productions from 44 producers, with the greatest increases in the TV Information and Travel and Re ...

, 1963 * ''Stanley Cup Finals 1963'', Best Film, Travel and Recreation (Recreation),

16th Canadian Film Awards The 16th Canadian Film Awards were held on May 8, 1964 to honour achievements in Canadian film. This year saw 148 films entered, including five features, and the fact that a French-language film won Film of the Year was a tremendous boost for Fra ...

, 1964 * ''Some Are Sunfishers'', Best Film, General Information (tied), 17th Canadian Film Awards, 1965 * ''Light for the Mind '', Best Film, Public Relations,

18th Canadian Film Awards The 18th Canadian Film Awards were held on May 6, 1966 to honour achievements in Canadian film.Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards''. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. . pp. 73-75. The ceremony wa ...

, 1966 * ''Driver Training: Life Is Worth the Living'', Best Film, Sales Promotion,

20th Canadian Film Awards The 20th Canadian Film Awards were held on October 4, 1968 to honour achievements in Canadian film.Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards''. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. . pp. 81-83. The ceremo ...

, 1968 * ''It Starts at the Top'', Best Film, Training and Instruction,

23rd Canadian Film Awards The 23rd Canadian Film Awards were held on October 1, 1971 to honour achievements in Canadian film.Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards''. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. . pp. 93-95. The ceremon ...

, 1971

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chetwynd, Arthur 1913 births 2004 deaths Canadian film producers