Gordon Sparling (1900-1994) was a pioneering Canadian film maker. He was educated at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

in the

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

. He directed such early Canadian films as '' The Tidy House (La maison en ordre)'' in 1936 and '' The Kinsmen'' in 1938. Along with such films, Sparling directed film shorts as ''Pleasure Island (''1936) that promoted Canada's largest and most luxurious summer resort, Bigwin Inn, on

Bigwin Island Bigwin Island is an island in the municipality of Lake of Bays, District Municipality of Muskoka in Central Ontario, Canada. It the largest island on Lake of Bays. There are multiple Indigenous burial grounds on the island and immediately offsho ...

, Ontario. Gordon Sparling's start with the Ontario Motion Picture Bureau in 1924, led to a 40-year career with the

Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau The Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau (CGMPB; )—founded as the Exhibits and Publicity Bureau—was the film production agency of the Government of Canada administered by the Department of Trade and Commerce, and intended to promote trad ...

and Associated Screen News of Canada (ASN). He worked as an assistant director on Carry on, Sergeant! in 1928 and during the 1930s was virtually the only creative filmmaker in the Canadian commercial film industry.Morris, Peter (2015
Gordon Sparling
''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' Historica Canada He launched the Canadian Cameo series of theatrical shorts at ASN in 1932 and continued to direct and produce the series until 1955. 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 ...

, he was the head of the

Canadian Army Film and Photo Unit The Canadian Army Film and Photo Unit (CFPU) was a Canadian Army unit founded in 1941 in order to document military operations during World War II. It was the last unit of its kind to be founded by the Allied armies. Among the campaigns which it ...

, producing and directing propaganda films. He returned to ASN and remained with the studio until the production department was closed down in 1957.

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*
Film Reference Library
1900 births 1994 deaths Canadian film directors University of Toronto alumni Trinity College (Canada) alumni {{Canada-film-director-stub

See also

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