Cinema in Canada dates back to the earliest known display of film in Saint-Laurent, Quebec, in 1896. The film industry in Canada has been dominated by the United States, which has utilized Canada as a shooting location and to bypass British film quota laws, throughout its history. Canadian filmmakers, English and

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 ...

, have been active in the development of cinema in the United States. Films by Thomas A. Edison, Inc. were some of the first to arrive in Canada and early films made in the country were produced by

Edison Studios Edison Studios was an American film production organization, owned by companies controlled by inventor and entrepreneur, Thomas Edison. The studio made close to 1,200 films, as part of the Edison Manufacturing Company (1894–1911) and then Thom ...

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

and other railways supported early filmmaking including

James Freer James Simmons Freer (4 January 1855 – 22 December 1933) was a Canadian film-making pioneer. Born in Woodstock, Oxfordshire Freer was a newspaper reporter who emigrated to Manitoba, Canada in 1888 from Bristol and became a farmer, settling ...

, whose ''

Ten Years in Manitoba ''Ten Years in Manitoba'' is a Canadian documentary film, directed by James Freer and released in 1898.Evangeline'' is the earliest recorded Canadian feature film.

George Brownridge George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...

and Ernest Shipman were major figures in Canadian cinema in the 1920s and 1930s. Shipman oversaw the production the most expensive

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

up to that point. Brownridge's career led to ''

Carry on, Sergeant! ''Carry On, Sergeant!'' is a 1928 Canadian World War I drama, and is considered to be one of the earliest Canadian feature-length motion pictures. Costing half-a-million to make, it certainly was the most expensive. Plot ''Carry On, Sergeant! ...

'' and its failure caused a decline in the film industry. 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 ...

was formed in 1918, and expanded to sound and

16 mm film 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, educ ...

in the 1930s before merging into the National Film Board of Canada. The NFB expanded under the leadership of

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 ...

. The Canadian Cooperation Project between the government and Motion Picture Association of America from 1948 to 1958, negatively effected Canadian filmmaking. Internal divisions between English and French Canadians within the NFB starting in the 1940s led to the creation of an independent branch for French language productions by the 1960s. The government provided financial support to the film industry through the Capital Cost Allowance and Telefilm Canada.

History

Film

Arrival of film

The first time a film was displayed in Canada, and one of the first times in North America, was at an event organized by Louis Minier and Louis Pupier using a

cinematograph Cinematograph or kinematograph is an early term for several types of motion picture film mechanisms. The name was used for movie cameras as well as film projectors, or for complete systems that also provided means to print films (such as the Cin ...

in Saint-Laurent, Quebec, on 27 June 1896. Prior to the discovery of the Saint-Laurent showing by Germain Lacasse in 1984, it was believed that a showing conducted by Andrew M. Holland and George C. Holland, where films by Thomas A. Edison, Inc. such as '' The Kiss'' were shown, 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 ...

, on 21 July 1896, was the first. The Saint-Laurent showing was overlooked as English researchers did not search through French sources.

Léo-Ernest Ouimet Léo-Ernest Ouimet (March 16, 1877 - March 2, 1972) was a Canadian film pioneer. He was a theater operator, filmmaker, producer, and distributor. Early life Ouimet was born on March 16, 1877 in Laval, Quebec. He planned a career in electrical ...

stated that he attended the showing and he was used as evidence of it until Lacasse found newspaper coverage of the event in '' La Presse''. The development of a Canadian film industry was hampered by the country's low population density, it had six million inhabitants and only Toronto and Montreal had more than 100,000 people in 1905, and the lack of domestic vaudeville as most of the acts came from the United States, United Kingdom, and France. Early films were used to as promotional material for companies, promote immigration, or displays of scenic locations including Niagara Falls. The Edison Company created some of the first films in Canada by documenting the Klondike Gold Rush, Canadian soldiers leaving to fight in the Second Boer War, and George V, the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...

, arriving in Canada in 1902. Bioscope Company of Canada 1903

is believed to have been the first Canadian to produce films. He purchased an Edison camera and projector and started filming agriculture activates and

trains in 1897, and toured the United Kingdom with the sponsorship of the CPR in 1898, and a second less successful tour was sponsored by Clifford Sifton in 1901. His second tour was the first time that the government was directly involved with film. British and American filmmakers were selected as they could guarantee the distribution of their films unlike Canadian filmmakers. The CPR enlisted Charles Urban and his

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

, in order to allow the distribution of the films to the United Kingdom, to travel and film Canada to promote settlement in the western areas. This group, the Bioscope Company of Canada, conducted filming in Quebec to Victoria from 1902 to 1903. The film, ''Living Canada'', was premiered at the

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia *Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...

in 1903, with High Commissioner Donald Smith in attendance. A total of thirty-five ''Living Canada'' films were released by 1904, and was reedited into ''Wonders of Canada'' in 1906. Urban success led to him gaining contracts with the government of British Columbia and the Northern Railway Company. The Grand Trunk Railway entered the industry by hiring Butcher's Film Service in 1909. The CPR hired the Edison Company to film in Canada and they sent nine people, including J. Searle Dawley,

Henry Cronjager Henry Cronjager (February 15, 1877 – August 1, 1967) was a cinematographer during the early days of silent film, and was active during the beginning of the sound film era. Biography Born in Germany on February 15, 1877, Cronjager and his broth ...

, and Mabel Trunnelle, in 1910. They were provided a specialized train and the RMS Empress of India and produced thirteen films.

Creating an independent film industry

Silent films used intertitles in English and French, but sound films were mostly produced in English. The first recorded feature film created in Canada was '' Evangeline''. The Palace was the first theatre to transition to showing sound films when it presented '' Street Angel'' on 1 September 1928. There were multiple attempts to create an independent film industry in Canada in the early 20th century. Thirty-six companies meant for film production were created between 1914 and 1922, but the majority of the companies did not produce any films. British Canadian Pathe News

In 1914, ''Canadian Animated Weekly'' by Universal Pictures became one of the first newsreels in Canada. Ouimet, who was a pioneer for Canadian newsreels, created Specialty Film Import in 1915, as a distributor, but his newsreel and distribution companies were sold in 1923, and he unsuccessfully worked in the United States in the 1920s. At the peak of Ouimet's career 1.5 million Canadians were watching his newsreels twice per week. Domestic newsreel companies were unsuccessful after branches of American companies, Fox Canadian News and Canadian Kinograms, were established. Ernest Shipman established multiple film companies in cities and would produce a limited amount of films using local money before moving to another area. Unlike other Canadian filmmakers he sought financial support from the American market. In 1919, incorporated Canadian Photoplays with a financial capital of $250,000 in Alberta. He started production on ''Wapi, the Walrus'', but retitled it to '' Back to God's Country'' to capitalize ''God's Country and the Woman'', starring his wife Nell Shipman. The film was a critical and financial success, with it grossing over $500,000 in its first year, and Shipman's investors saw a 300% return on investment. Despite the success of the film Canadian Photoplays did not produce another film and went into voluntary liquidation. He signed a contract with

Ralph Connor Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

in 1919, and formed Dominion Films, based in New York, to produce films in Winnipeg. Winnipeg Productions was formed to adapt twelve of Connor's stories, but only five were filmed. Shipman created five companies across Canada in 1922, but only three produced films. He incorporated New Brunswick Films on 23 August 1922, but the failure of '' Blue Water'' ended Shipman's career. Trenton, Ontario, despite its small size, was a major film production area and had one of the few studios to last longer than a few years. Canadian National Features, founded by George Brownridge, construction a studio in the town and raised a financial capital of $500,000, with $278,000 coming within the first week, in 1916. However, the company suspended production after spending $43,000 on its first two films, ''The Marriage Trap'' and ''Power'', and declared bankruptcy with $79,000 in assets. The studio in Trenton was taken over by the Pan American Film Corporation in 1918, but only released one film before closing. Brownridge founded Adanac Producing Company and released the two Canadian National Features films in 1918. Brownridge shifted production towards corporate sponsorships by displaying products in dramatized films. Brownridge sought a sponsorship from the CPR and John Murray Gibbon saw ''Power'' and asked Brownridge to make anti-Bolshevik films during the First Red Scare. Adanac was reorganized in 1919, with Brownridge as its managing director and

Denis Tansey Denis may refer to: People * Saint Denis of Paris, 3rd-century Christian martyr and first bishop of Paris * Denis the Areopagite, Biblical figure * Denis, son of Ampud (died 1236), baron in the Kingdom of Hungary * Denis the Carthusian (1402–14 ...

, a member of parliament, as its president. ''

The Great Shadow ''The Great Shadow'', also known as ''The Great Shadow and other Napoleonic Tales'', is an action and adventure novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was published in 1892 in J.W. Arrowsmith’s Bristol Library. The novel takes place in the ...

'' was released in 1920, after being filmed in Canada rather than New York as Brownridge wanted to create a domestic film industry, and was a critical and financial success although the CPR pulled its public support before its release. However, the company went bankrupt with Brownridge balming Harley Knoles's wastefulness and

Selznick Pictures Selznick Pictures was an American film production company active between 1916 and 1923 during the silent era. History Selznick Pictures was founded in April 1916 by Lewis J. Selznick following his loss of control at World Film. Selznick moved p ...

's distribution policy. Brownridge sold the Trenton studio to the

Ontario Motion Picture Bureau The Ontario Motion Picture Bureau was established by the Government of Ontario in 1917 and was the first state-founded film organization in the world, preceding the Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau by a year. Its mandate was to carry out "e ...

in 1924, and it continued to be used, with ''

'' as the sole fictional work filmed there, until Mitchell Hepburn ordered its closure in 1934, and it was turned into a community centre. British Columbia's government agencies used promotional films from 1908 to 1919, before the creation of the British Columbia Patriotic and Educational Picture Service. It was headed by May Watkis, who was the first woman to lead a film agency in Canada. Specialty Film Import was the distributor for the service and the provincial legislature passed legislation requiring the display of at least one ten-minute education film or travelogue during all of the programs. The Motion Picture Branch of the Bureau of Publications was created by Saskatchewan in 1924, to produce education films. The Ontario Motion Picture Bureau was established in 1917, but did not produce its own films until 1923. S.C. Johnson, who worked in the Ontario Agriculture Department, was its first director. The victory of the United Farmers of Ontario in the 1919 election resulted in Peter Smith reorganized film production under the Amusement Branch with Otter Elliott heading it. He changed the focus of filmmaking from agricultural training towards quality productions. By 1925, the bureau had 2,000 films in its library, distributed 1,500 reels of film per month, and made one feature-length documentary, Cinderella of the Farms in 1931, but the bureau was dissolved after the Ontario Liberal Party won in the

1934 Ontario general election The 1934 Ontario general election was the 19th general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on June 19, 1934, to elect the 19th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs"). The Ontario Liberal Party, led by Mitchell Hepbur ...

. Albert Tessier and Maurice Proulx produced large amounts of films in French at a time when it was uncommon. Joseph Morin, the Quebec Minister of Agriculture, used film for education purposes and the Service de ciné-photographie was established in 1941. The

Associated Screen News of Canada The Associated Screen News of Canada (ASN) was incorporated in 1920 by the Canadian Pacific Railway in Montreal. Ben Norrish, who formerly worked for the Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau, was appointed its director. In the period from 1921 ...

was founded by Bernard Norrish in 1920, and the CPR held a majority control of its stock. The company grew from two employees in 1920, to over one hundred by 1930, and focused on the production of newsreels, theatrical shorts, and sponsored films. It was one of Canada's longest lasting film production companies with Crawley Films and the National Film Board of Canada being one of the few to outlast it. Before ASN constructed a film laboratory all of the film print distributed in Canada were processed in the United States. The company was processing twenty-two million feet of film in per year by 1929. ASN constructed a sound stage in 1936, and produced ''House in Order'', which was its only feature film in the 1930s. Premier of Carry on Sergeant!

Brownridge was sent to New York in 1925 by the Ontario Motion Picture Bureau to gain a distribution contract, but only negotiated one with Cranfield and Clarke after a year of high expenses. Treasurer William Herbert Price criticized Brownridge stating that his "travelling expenses are very high and I do not see there was very much result from anything he has done". George Patton, the bureau's head, supported the deal as Cranfield and Clarke had no Jews in its company. W.F. Clarke, who was later blamed for the company's financial failure, pushed for Canadian film production and came up with an idea of a film about "a dramatic story written by an eminent authority around the part played by the Canadians in the World War". Clarke incorporated British Empire Films of Canada in June 1927. The

film adaption A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

of '' The Better 'Ole'' was released in Canada under the name ''Carry On!'' and was financially success. Clarke's film was named ''Carry on, Sergeant!'' to help raise funds. It received financial backing from influential people, including prime ministers Arthur Meighen and Bennett. The film started production, by the recently created subsidiary Canadian International Films, in 1926, and Bruce Bairnsfather was hired to direct with an expensive contract, but his inexperience with film led to production troubles that increased the cost of the budget. The production difficulties led to internal company problems and Clarke was removed as general manager although he remained vice-president. The film was released in 1928, to mixed-to-negative reviews and was only distributed in Ontario before the company went bankrupt in 1929. Brownridge attempted to recut and release the film in 1930, stating that it "would gross at least $200,000", but it did not happen. The Ontario government was still interested in attempting to create a large film studio by 1932, along with

Edward Wentworth Beatty Sir Edward Wentworth Beatty (October 16, 1877 – March 23, 1943) was the first Canadian-born president of the Canadian Pacific Railway (1918–1943). He was responsible for building the Royal York Hotel and RMS Empress of Britain, and lat ...

and Herbert Samuel Holt, but the recent failure of Canadian International Films and

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

led to its not receiving investments. The Canadian film industry would not recover until after World War II.

National Film Board

Cameramen for the Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau in 1925

The Exhibits and Publicity Bureau was founded on 19 September 1918, and was reorganized into the Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau in 1923. The organization's budget stagnated and declined during the Great Depression. Frank Badgley, who served as the bureau's director from 1927 to 1941, stated that the bureau needed to transition to sound films or else it would lose its access to theatrical releases, but the organization did not gain the equipment until 1934, and by then it had lost its theatrical distributors. Badgley was able to get a

facility for the bureau in 1931. The bureau was reorganized into the National Film Board of Canada in 1941, following

's recommendation. Jorge Ruiz - John Grierson 1955

Ross McLean was working as the secretary to High Commissioner Vincent Massey when he met Grierson, and asked for Grierson to come to Canada to aide in the governmental film policy. Grierson made a report on the Canadian film industry in 1938, and the National Film Act, which he drafted, was passed in 1939 causing the creation of the NFB. Grierson became the first Film Commissioner of the NFB and served until the end of World War II. Employment rose from fifty to over seven hundred from 1941 to 1945, although it was cut by 40% after the war ended. Grierson selected McLean to work as assistant commissioner and

Stuart Legg Stuart Legg (31 August 1910 in London, England – 23 July 1988 in Wiltshire, England) was a documentary filmmaker who was a leading figure in both the United Kingdom and Canada as a pioneering director, writer and producer. During his long filmma ...

to oversee the productions. Grierson made efforts to increase the theatrical distribution of NFB films, primarily its war-related films, as he was coordinating wartime information for the United Kingdom in North America. Famous Players aided in distribution and the Canadian Motion Picture War Services Committee, which worked with the War Activities Committee of the Motion Pictures Industry, was founded in 1940. NFB productions such as '' The World in Action'' was watched by 30-40 million people per month in the United Kingdom and United States in 1943, and '' Canada Carries On'' was watched by 2.25 million people by 1944. The audience for NFB newsreels reached 40-50 million per week by 1944. Grierson opposed feature film production as he believed that Canada did not have a large enough market for an independent feature film industry. He supported working with American film companies and stated that "the theatre film business is an international business, dependent when it comes to distribution on an alliance or understanding with American film interests". He travelled to Hollywood in 1944, and the NFB sent scripts to American companies for consideration. Grierson lacked strong support in the Canadian government and some of his films received opposition from members of the government. ''

Inside Fighting Russia ''Inside Fighting Russia'' (aka ''Our Russian Ally'') is a 1942 22-minute Canadian short documentary film produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) for distribution by United Artists, as part of the wartime ''The World in Action'' series ...

'' was criticized for its support of the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

and ''Balkan Powderkeg'' for criticizing the United Kingdom's policy in the Balkans. Grierson and the NFB were attacked during the onset of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. The

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

created a file on Grierson in 1942, due to the ''World in Action'' newsreel being considered too left-wing. Leo Dolan, an ally of Hepburn and the head of the Canadian Government Travel Bureau, accused Grierson of being Jewish and a

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialism, democra ...

supporter. The Gouzenko Affair implicated Freda Linton, one of Grierson's secretaries, and the organization was criticized by the Progressive Conservative Party for subversive tendencies, financial waste, and being a monopoly. Grierson was also accused of being involved, but was proven not to be although he resigned as commissioner in 1945. McLean was ordered to assist the Royal Canadian Mounted Police screen NFB employees and the RCMP requested him to fire a list of employees. McLean, who refused to fire any employees without their disloyalty being proven, was not reappointed as commissioner and replaced by

William Arthur Irwin William Arthur Irwin, OC, often credited as W. Arthur Irwin (May 27, 1898 – August 9, 1999), was a Canadian journalist and diplomat. He is best known for his work on ''Maclean's'', a magazine with which he held various positions across a qua ...

in 1950. Irwin also refused to fire employees without proven disloyalty and reduced the demand and only three of the thirty-six requested were fired. The Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences, with Massey as its chair, was formed in 1949. The NFB submitted a brief asking to have a headquarters constructed, budget increases, and to become a

Crown corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

. Robert Winters, whose ministry oversaw the NFB, stated that its brief did not represent government policy. The Association of Motion Picture Producers and Laboratories of Canada submitted a brief criticizing a government monopoly, with the NFB's crown corporation request being referred to as an "expansionist, monopolistic psychology", and that they were unable to compete with the NFB as it paid no taxes and was exempt from tariffs. The commission's report supported the NFB and its requests for Crown corporation status and a headquarters were accepted. Queen Elizabeth II official portrait for 1959 tour (retouched) (cropped) (3-to-4 aspect ratio)

Queen Elizabeth II official portrait for 1959 tour (retouched) (cropped) (3-to-4 aspect ratio)

A Canadian tour by Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip was filmed and was initially meant to be two reels, worth twenty minutes, but grew to five reels as they could not determine what to cut. Irwin met with Harvey Harnick, the NFB's Columbia theatrical distributor, and J.J. Fitzgibbons, the president of Famous Players, and Fitzgibbons told Irwin that he would screen all five reels if the film was completed for a Christmas release. '' Royal Journey'' opened in seventeen first-run theatres and over course of the next two years it was screened in 1,249 Canadian theatres where it was watched by a record two million people and the film was also screened in forty other countries. The film cost $88,000, but the NFB gained a profit of $150,000 and the film's success was one of the reasons Grierson stated that Irwin "saved the Film Board". The Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau and Associated Screen News of Canada had no French-Canadian employees. Vincent Paquette became the NFB's first French-Canadian filmmaker in 1941, and directed ''La Cité de Notre-Dame'', the board's first in-house French-language film, in 1942. The number of French-Canadian employees grew to seventeen by 1945, and a quarter of the board's budget was spent on French productions. The Massey Commission and Gratien Gélinas, a member of the NFB's Board of Governors, called for an improvement in French-language productions, but Premier Maurice Duplessis opposed it. French-language media, including '' Le Devoir'', criticized the NFB after it removed Roger Blais in 1957. NFB francophone directors Denys Arcand, Gilles Carle, Jacques Godbout, Gilles Groulx, and

Clément Perron Clément Perron (July 3, 1929 – October 12, 1999) was a Canadian film director and screenwriter. Early life and education Perron was born in Quebec City, Quebec. After graduating from the University of Laval with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosop ...

criticized the organization for its censorship policies, refusal to produce feature films, and its colonial treatment of Quebec. Michel Brault, Carle,

Bernard Gosselin Bernard Gosselin (October 5, 1934 – March 20, 2006) was a Canadian cinematographer and documentary film director.Jerry White. The Cinema of Canada'. Wallflower Press; 2006. . p. 43–. He is known for his work with the National Film Board of ...

, Groulx, and Arthur Lamothe left following reprimands. Guy Roberge became the first French-Canadian to serve as the NFB's commissioner. Duplessis died in 1959, and

Quebec Liberal Party The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; french: Parti libéral du Québec, PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has always been associated with the colour red; e ...

gained control while the Liberal Party won in the

1963 Canadian federal election The 1963 Canadian federal election was held on April 8, 1963 to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 26th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of the minority Progressive Conservative (Tory) government of Prime Mini ...

. The Liberals supported a policy of bilingualism and biculturalism. A French-language branch of the NFB that was independent of its English-language productions was formed in 1964, under the leadership of Pierre Juneau. ''

Drylanders ''Drylanders'' is a 1962 Canadian western (genre), Western film directed by Don Haldane and Written by M. Charles Cohen and starring Frances Hyland and James B. Douglas. It was the National Film Board of Canada's first English-language feature fi ...

'', the organization's first English language feature-length fiction film, was released in 1963.

Kathleen Shannon Kathleen Shannon (November 11, 1935 – January 9, 1998) was a Canadian film director and producer. She is best known as the founder and first executive producer of Studio D of the National Film Board of Canada, the first government-funded fi ...

organized

Studio D Studio D was the women's unit of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and the world's first publicly funded feminist filmmaking studio. In its 22-year history, it produced 134 films and won 3 Academy Awards. ''Cinema Canada'' once called it the ...

, the first publicly funded feminist film-production unit in the world, in 1974, and produced 125 films before its closure in 1996. However, there would be no French version of Studio D until the formation of Studio B in 1986.

Governmental financial involvement

Starting in 1954, the Capital Cost Allowance was able to be used for a 60% tax write-off for film investment and the amount was increased to 100% in 1974. $1.2 billion was invested in Canadian film and television in the thirteen years following the increase. The average film budget rose from $527,000 to $2.6 million in 1979, and $3.5 million in 1986. From 1958 to 1967, private film investment accounted for 18% of film investments and it declined to 13.5% in 1968, while the CFDC accounted for 37.5%. Following the tax write-off increase private investment rose to account for 47% of film investment between 1975 and 1978 while the CFDC declined to 15%. '' Silence of the North'' was the first film with American backing to receive CCA certification. The Film and Video Production Tax Credit replaced the Capital Cost Allowance in 1995. In 1962, Roberge proposed the creation of an organization to aid in film finance based on the National Film Finance Corporation and

Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

The Interdepartmental Committee on the Possible Development of a Feature Film Industry in Canada, under the leadership of NFB commissioner Roberge, was formed by the secretary of state. The committee submitted a report to the

19th Canadian Ministry The Nineteenth Canadian Ministry was the cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. It governed Canada from 22 April 1963 to 20 April 1968, including all of the 26th, and 27th Canadian Parliaments. The government was formed by the Li ...

for the creation of a loan fund to aid the development of the Canadian film industry. The proposal was approved in October 1965, and legislation, the Canadian Film Development Corporation Act of 1966-67, for its creation was introduced in June 1966, before being approved on 3 March 1967. The Canadian Film Development Corporation was established with a budget of $10 million in 1967. In February 1968, Spender was appointed as its director along with a five-member board. Canada lack of a film school leading to the creation of the Canadian Film Centre by Norman Jewison. The CFDC started investing up to 50% of its budget into films that cost less than $500,000. ''Explosion'' was the first film to receive financial support from the CFDC. '' Valérie'' by Denis Héroux, which was not financially supported by the CFDC, was made at cost of $70,000 and made over $1 million in Quebec. The CDFC financially supported Héroux's other films ''

Here and Now Here and Now may refer to: Music * Here & Now (band), an English progressive/space rock band * Here and Now Tour, a series of concert tours Albums * ''Here and Now'' (The Jazztet album) (1962) * ''Here and Now'' (Hampton Hawes album) (1965) * ...

'', ''Love in a Four-Letter World'', ''Virgin Lovers'', and ''

Deux Femmes en or Deux and D'eux means "of them" or "about them" while also being the number "two" in French. *2 (number), the natural number following 1 and preceding 3 **Two (disambiguation) *Folie à deux, a rare psychiatric syndrome Geography *Deux Montagnes ...

''. Deux Femmes en or was financially successful, with its two million ticket sales remaining the highest in Canadian history, and became the highest grossing Canadian film. The $10 million budget was used by October 1971, after the CFDC invested $6.7 million into 64 films with an average cost of $250,000 per film. The CFDC was not financially successful as only three of those films made a profit and the organization recovered $600,000 of its investments. After 1970 the CFDC focused on investing in smaller budgeted films and ended its work with American theatrical distributors to them hiding profits. Another $10 million budget was given to the CFDC in November 1971, and a new investment strategy in which $600,000 per year would be invested into productions, with its creative and technical crew being Canadian, budgeted below $100,000, and $3 million per year on films with guaranteed distribution. It took the CFDC five years to recover its first $1 million investment, but recovered $1 million in 1977 alone. From 1977 to 1978, the CFDC invested $1.6 million into twenty films and its investments rose to $10.8 million into 34 films from 1979 to 1980. Between 1968 and 1978, the organization funded 103 English-language films, but only '' Black Christmas'',

Death Weekend ''Death Weekend'' (released in the USA under the title ''The House by the Lake'') is a 1976 Canadian horror/thriller film. It stars Brenda Vaccaro and Don Stroud and was one of the first films from Canadian director William Fruet. The low-budget ...

, ''Heart Farm'', '' Shivers'', and '' The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' were profitable to the CFDC. The Toronto Filmmakers' Coop, an organization with 150 filmmakers, sent a letter with the endorsement of 200 filmmakers to Gérard Pelletier asking for the creation of a content quota that required distributors to have 15% of their films be Canadian. Pelletier announced the creation of a theatre in the National Capital Region that exclusively showed Canadian films in 1972. A study published by the Secretary of State reported that a content quota would not work as a 50% quote would generate less revenue than a 5% sales increase for foreign films. The study stated that new tax regulations and investments by the CFDC could make the Canadian film industry internationally competitive. The budget for the CFDC was limited to a few million and its budget from 1982 to 1983 was $4.5 million. However, the organization had its role expanded to include television in 1983, and administered the Canadian Broadcast Program Development Fund. The television fund was initially given an annual budget of $60 million. An annual budget of $30 million through the Feature Film Fund was created in 1986, and an annual budget of $17 million through the Feature Film Distribution Fund was created in 1988. The organization's combined budget grew to $146 million by 1989. A report was written by a task force in 1985, and it stated that foreign domination of film and video distribution, chronic undercapitalization of production companies, and concentration of theatre ownership and distribution and exhibition vertical integration hurt the development of the film industry. They recommended legislation to increase the control of Canadian-owned companies over distribution and Minister of Communications Flora MacDonald proposed a film licensing system based on their recommendations. American distributors opposed the policy and lobbied the American government through the MPAA and its president,

Jack Valenti Jack Joseph Valenti (September 5, 1921 – April 26, 2007) was an American political advisor and lobbyist who served as a Special Assistant to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. He was also the longtime president of the Motion Picture Association ...

. Valenti met with President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

at least twice and Reagan criticized the legislation of a US-Canadian economic summit. 54 members of the United States Congress signed a letter to Prime Minister

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political sci ...

opposing the legislation. The legislation was not tabled and it failed.

Post-Carry on, Sergeant!

F. R. Crawley Frank Radford "Budge" Crawley, (November 14, 1911 – May 13, 1987) was a Canadian film producer, cinematographer and director. Along with his wife Judith Crawley, he co-founded the production company Crawley Films in 1939.Judith Crawley Judith Rosemary (Sparks) Crawley (April 21, 1914 – September 16, 1986) was a Canadian film producer, cinematographer, director, and screenwriter. She and her husband Frank Radford "Budge" Crawley co-founded the production company Crawley Film ...

created ''Île d'Orléans'' in 1938, and its success led to a $3,000 loan from F. R. Crawley's father that created Crawley Films. It employment rose from 6 in 1946, 33 in 1949, and around 100 by the 1950s. One-sixth of the $3 million worth of films produced by the Canadian film industry in 1952 came from Crawley Films. France Film and other companies started creating French film productions in the 1930s. '' Maria Chapdelaine'' is commonly, although incorrectly, regarded as the first French-Canadian sound movie. ''

Étienne Brûlé gibier de potence Étienne, a French analog of Stephen or Steven, is a masculine given name. An archaic variant of the name, prevalent up to the mid-17th century, is Estienne. Étienne, Etienne, Ettiene or Ettienne may refer to: People Scientists and inventors * ...

'' was the first colour feature film made in Quebec and the first Canadian colour film shot in English and French. Joseph-Alexandre DeSève monopolized the distribution of French-language films through France-Film. France-Film arose from the distribution of '' Maria Chapdelaine'' which sold 70,000 tickets in Canada. He also aided in the production of '' Notre-Dame de la Mouise'' in response to the papal

encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally from ...

''Vigilanti Cura''. DeSève purchased Renaissance Films following the success of '' The Music Master''. DeSève produced four films through Renaissance Films Distribution.

Paul L'Anglais Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

formed Quebec Productions filmed '' Whispering City'' in English and French, under the title ''La Forteresse''. It was seen by over 100,000 people in Quebec over the course of six weeks. The papal

Vigilanti Cura in 1936, changed the Catholic attitude towards movies and the church became a part of Quebec movie production in the 1940s. Most of the nineteen movies, fifteen in French and four in English, produced in Quebec from 1944 to 1953 were made by Renaissance Films or Quebec Productions. '' Bush Pilot'' was the only English-language feature film created by a Canadian company in the 1940s.

Modern industry

Canadians had to import colour 35 mm film until 1967, as Canada did not produce any internally. By the 1960s Nat Taylor, a theatre owner, controlled the largest private film studio in Canada, Toronto International Film Studios, two distribution companies, International Film Distributors and Allied Artists Pictures, a television station, CJOH-DT, and multiple production companies. He entered film production with '' The Mask'' in 1961. Taylor, unlike other members of the AMPPLC, supported state involvement in feature film production.

Bryant Fryer Bryant may refer to: Organizations * Bryant Bank, a bank in Alabama, United States * Bryant Electric Company, an American manufacturer of electrical components * Bryant Homes, a British house builder, part of Taylor Woodrow * Bryant University ( ...

founded one of the first animation companies in Canada and made six silhouette films from 1927 to 1935.

Norman McLaren William Norman McLaren, LL. D. (11 April 1914 – 27 January 1987) was a Scottish Canadian animator, director and producer known for his work for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).Rosenthal, Alan. ''The new documentary in action: a caseb ...

was brought to Canada from Scotland by Grierson in 1941. McLaren recruited English-Canadian animators from OCAD University, including George Dunning, Evelyn Lambart, Grant Munro, and

Robert Verrall Robert Verrall (born January 13, 1928 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian animator, director, film producer and administrator who worked with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) from 1945 until the 1980s. One of the first to join the NFB's fled ...

. McLaren recruited French-Canadian animators from École des beaux-arts de Montréal, including René Jodoin. Jodoin created a French animation unit in 1966, which included

Laurent Coderre Laurent Coderre (1931 – 2011) was a Canadian animator, director, and musician based in Ottawa, Ontario. Artistic career Music, painting and medical drawing Music occupies an important place in the career of Laurent Coderre. He learned the ...

and

Bernard Longpré Bernard Longpré (January 1, 1937 – June 24, 2002) was a Canadian director and animator. Longpré was born in 1937 in Montreal, Quebec. Filmography * ''An Introduction to Jet Engines'' (1959) * ''Bandwidth'' (1960) * ''Four-line Conics'' (19 ...

. Le village enchanté was the first recorded animated feature film in Canadian history and Return to Oz which was based on Tales of the Wizard of Oz, the first recorded Canadian

animated television series An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...

, was the second recorded animated feature film. In the 1960s filmmakers came from universities throughout Canada.

David Cronenberg David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation ...

, Clarke Mackey, and David Secter graduated from the University of Toronto. John Hofsess, Ivan Reitman, and Peter Rowe graduated from McMaster University.

Jack Darcus Jack Winston Darcus (born February 22, 1941 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and painter. Since graduating from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1963, Jack Darcus ha ...

and Larry Kent graduated from the University of British Columbia. Cronenberg received financial support from the CFDC and '' Shivers'' was their most successful investment, with a budget of $150,000 ($75,000 from the CFDC) and gross of $5 million. 708 feature films, over twice the amount made in the past fifty years, were made during the 1970s. Carle, Groulx, Claude Jutra, and Jean Pierre Lefebvre, who were inspired by the

French New Wave French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of iconocla ...

, made their directorial debuts from 1963 to 1965, and all won the Grand Prix at the Montreal International Film Festival throughout the 1960s. Jean-Claude Lauzon's '' Night Zoo'' won the most Genie Awards in history, with thirteen awards. Porky's became the first Canadian film to gross more than $100 million. '' The Care Bears Movie'', by

Nelvana Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. (; previously known as Nelvana Limited, sometimes known as Nelvana Animation and simply Nelvana or Nelvana Communications) is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. Founded ...

, was the highest-grossing non-Disney animated film at the time of its release. Six of the ten highest-grossing films in Canada between 1991 to 2001, were made in Quebec.

Theatres

In the 1890s and 1900s films were shown by travelling showmen. John C. Green, a magician who presented for the Holland brothers at their first showing, travelled throughout eastern Canada and New England until the establishment of movie theatres. John Albert Schuberg was credited with bringing movies to Vancouver and Winnipeg, and the provinces of British Columbia and the Canadian Prairies. Schuberg established Canada's first permanent movie theatre, the Electric Theatre, in Vancouver, in October 1902, with its first movie played being '' The Eruption of Mount Pelee''. He opened additional theatres in Winnipeg, and later gained the license for

First National Pictures First National Pictures was an American motion picture production and distribution company. It was founded in 1917 as First National Exhibitors' Circuit, Inc., an association of independent theatre owners in the United States, and became the count ...

in western Canada. He had one of the largest theatre chains and sold it to

Jay and Jules Allen Jay Allen (1890–1942) and Jules Allen (1888–1964) were pioneering film exhibitors in Canada. They were born in Bradford, Pennsylvania, and they both died in Toronto, Ontario. Early life Jay and Jules Allen were born in 1890 and 1888 to Bernard ...

in 1919, before returning in 1921, and then selling it to Famous Players in 1924. Jay and Jules Allen established their first theatre in Brantford in 1906. The established Allen Amusement Corporation, a film exchange, in 1908. Their chain was worth over $20 million by 1920, and had fifty-three theatres by 1923, when they declared bankruptcy and it was acquired by Famous Players. The Allens owned the distribution rights for

Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French people, French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest ...

and

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. In 1916, they rejected an offer by Paramount president

Adolph Zukor Adolph Zukor (; hu, Zukor Adolf; January 7, 1873 – June 10, 1976) was a Hungarian-American film producer best known as one of the three founders of Paramount Pictures.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'' (June 16, 1976), p. 76. He produ ...

to create an equal partnership. The Allens informed Nathan Nathanson of this attempt and Nathanson convinced Zukor to give him their distribution rights in 1920, for twenty years after creating his own theatre chain.

Nathanson's Famous Players started an expansion campaign in the 1920s that led to its gaining control of all first run theatres in the major cities. Zukor and Paramount forced Nathanson out of Famous Players after buying a large amount of the stock in 1930. Famous Players also controlled the distribution industry in Canada, accounting for at least 40% of distribution, due to its connections to Paramount Pictures. Paul Nathanson managed Regal Films, which was controlled by Paramount, and distributed films from British International Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Pathé, and Famous Players also distributed films from Columbia Pictures.

Fox Film The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film C ...

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...

, Tiffany Pictures, and Warner Bros. were the other main distributors in Canada in the 1930s. A study conducted by United Artists in 1931 showed that 67% of rental revenue in Canada came from nineteen theatres in Canada's main cities while the remainder came from the rest. Block booking by major studios, that were from outside Canada, prevented independent theatre owners from obtaining films at a reasonable price.

R. B. Bennett Richard Bedford Bennett, 1st Viscount Bennett, (July 3, 1870 – June 26, 1947), was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Canada from 1930 to 1935. Bennett was born in ...

, who invested into the film industry, made investigating the film industry an issue in the 1930 election. Peter White was appointed to investigate Famous Players' monopolistic control of theatres under the Combines Investigation Act. White concluded that "a combine exists and has existed at least since the year of 1926" and Famous Players was detrimental to the public interest in 1931, but no action was taken against the company. Bennett supported taking action and the attorney generals of Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan would prosecute Famous Players. Fifteen companies and three people, including Nathan Nathanson, were charged, but the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

ruled in favor of the companies. After losing control over Famous Players Nathanson created

Odeon Theatres Odeon, stylised as ODEON, is a cinema brand name operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Norway, which along with UCI Cinemas and Nordic Cinema Group is part of the Odeon Cinemas Group subsidiary of AMC Theatres. It uses the famous name of ...

in April 1941, and resigned from his position at Famous Players in May. He built the company using Regal Films, which was managed by his brother and distributed MGM films, and gaining the business of companies whose contracts with Famous Players were expiring. Odeon did not gain a MGM distribution contract, but did gain ones for all of Columbia Pictures' films, two-thirds of Universal's films, and one-third of Fox's films. Nathanson died in 1943, and was succeeded by his son Paul. Films released in Famous Players and Odeon theatres, both foreign owned after Paul sold his stock to

J. Arthur Rank Joseph Arthur Rank, 1st Baron Rank (22 December 1888 – 29 March 1972) was a British industrialist who was head and founder of the Rank Organisation. Family business Rank was born on 22 or 23 December 1888 at Kingston upon Hull in England into ...

in 1946, accounted for over 60% of the Canadian box office by 1947. Taylor, who declined to become the general manager of Odeon in 1941, founded Twentieth Century Theatres in the 1930s and the Famous Players-aligned company grew to own sixty-five theatres by the 1960s. He opened the International Theatre in Toronto which was the first theatre in Canada dedicated towards screening art films. Taylor and Garth Drabinsky created the Cineplex Odeon Corporation in 1979, and by 1987 it was the largest theatre chain in North America with 1,500 theatres, with two-thirds of them in the United States. The deaths of seventy-eight children from the Laurier Palace Theatre fire in 1927, and opposition to film from the Catholic Church led to a ban on minors attending movie theatres until 1961. In the 1930s Quebec was the only province that allowed for theatres to be open on Sundays. The Quebec Cinema Act, passed in 1983, required that English-language films in Quebec must be translated into French within sixty days. However, films from the United States were unaffected as their distribution ended before the deadline and the NFB was exempted from the requirements. The Canadian box office increased following World War II. In 1934, there were 796 theatres which admitted 107 million people to earn $25 million and that grew to 1,229 theatres admitting 151 million people to make $37 million in 1940. By 1950, the amount of theatres increased to 2,360 earning $86 million with 245 million people attending. However, during the 1950s Canadian film attendance declined with the nation falling from the fifth-highest in film attendance to twenty-fifth by the 1960s and the amount of films the average Canadian saw per year dropped from seventeen in 1950 to eight in 1960. Ticket sales in Quebec fell from 60 million in 1952, to 19 million in 1969. The amount of theatres in Canada declined from 1,635 in 1962, to 1,400 in 1967, to 1,116 in 1974, and to 899 in 1984.

International

Many native-born Canadians, such as

Al Christie Charles Herbert Christie (April 13, 1882 – October 1, 1955) and Alfred Ernest Christie (November 23, 1886 – April 14, 1951) were Canadian motion picture entrepreneurs. Early life Charles Herbert Christie was born between April 13, 1 ...

Allan Dwan Allan Dwan (born Joseph Aloysius Dwan; April 3, 1885 – December 28, 1981) was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter. Early life Born Joseph Aloysius Dwan in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Dwan, was ...

, Louis B. Mayer, Sidney Olcott, Mack Sennett, and

Jack L. Warner Jack Leonard Warner (born Jacob Warner; August 2, 1892 – September 9, 1978) was a Canadian-American film executive, who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. Warner's career spanned some ...

, aided in the creation and development of the American film industry. In the early 1900s Canada was used as a shooting location for dramatic productions with ''

Hiawatha, the Messiah of the Ojibway ''Hiawatha, the Messiah of the Ojibway'' is a 1903 dramatic short film shot in Canada directed by the American pioneering cinematographer and director Joe Rosenthal, based on the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's famous poem, ''The Song of Hiawatha'', ...

'' being one of the first in 1903. The Kalem Company was one of the first American companies to conduct location shooting in Canada in 1909. Two of the films

D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the na ...

made in his first year as a director, ''

The Ingrate ''The Ingrate'' is a 1908 American silent short drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. Cast * Arthur V. Johnson as The Trapper * Florence Lawrence Florence Lawrence (born Florence Annie Bridgwood; January 2, 1886 – December 28, 1938) w ...

'' and '' A Woman's Way'', were made in Canada. British American Film Company, Canadian Bioscope Company, Conness Till Film Company of Toronto, and the All-Red Feature Company, the four Canadians companies that produced fictional films prior to World War I, had their invested come from Americans, but all of them were financially unsuccessful and closed within a few years with Conness Till suffering a fire that destroyed their $50,000 studio. Canadians were hostile to American filmmakers and provincial film review boards instituted censorship policies in 1915, which included a ban on the gratuitous display of the

flag of the United States The national flag of the United States, United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rect ...

. Fifty reels of film were banned in British Columbia in 1914, due to "an unnecessary display of U.S. flags" which put it as the third most common reason behind infidelity and seduction. In 1927, the United Kingdom created a quota limiting the amount of foreign films that could be shown in the country, but productions that were produced within the British Empire and was mostly made by British subjects were excluded from the quotas. American financers produced low-budget

B movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

s within Canada to exploit the loophole before the legislation was changed in 1938 to exclude the Dominion. '' Nanook of the North'' and '' The Viking'' exploited the loophole. From 1928 to 1938, twenty-two feature films, the majority of Canada's film production, meant solely for the British market were filmed. American companies made $17 million in profits from Canada in 1947. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King's government sought to reduce the general trade imbalance between Canada and the United States. McLean called for the reinvestment of this money into Canadian film production and requiring the American distribution of Canadian shorts. The Motion Picture Association of America proposed the Canadian Cooperation Project and it was accepted by the Canadian government on 14 January 1948. The government would not restrict revenue to American companies in exchange for productions being filmed in Canada and mentions of Canada in those scripts to promote tourism. The project was considered unsuccessful and stifled Canadian filmmaking, with only eight Canadian feature films being made during the CCP's existence, before it ended in 1958. McLean was critical of the agreement as there was a lack of Canadian films distributed in the United States. Michael Spencer stated that the agreement was "allowed to die of embarrassment". Gilbert Agar attended the Fourth National Motion Picture Conference of the Motion Picture Council in America in 1926, and reported that 95% of films released in Canada were from the United States.

Eric Johnston Eric Allen Johnston (December 21, 1896 – August 22, 1963) was a business owner, president of the United States Chamber of Commerce, a Republican Party activist, president of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), and a U.S. governme ...

stated that "outside the U.S. itself, Canada ranks as the second largest market in the world for Hollywood films." The amount of films in Canada of American origin declined to 68% by 1954, and 41% in 1962. Canadian directors, such as Norman Jewison, left Canada to work in the United States. Raoul Barré worked as a

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

in Canada before moving to the United States and working as an

animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video gam ...

at Barré Studio.

Stephen Bosustow Stephen Reginald Bosustow (November 6, 1911 in Victoria, British Columbia – July 4, 1981) was a Canadian-born American film producer from 1943 until his retirement in 1979. He was one of the founders of United Productions of America (UPA) and pr ...

and other animators left Walt Disney Animation Studios during the Disney animators' strike and founded United Productions of America. Seven Arts Productions, while being listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and having a majority of its investors be Canadians, had the majority of its productions done by its American subsidiary. It spent $25 million on ten American film productions, including '' Dr. Strangelove'' and '' What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?''. Canadian 3D animation companies, such as

Softimage Autodesk Softimage, or simply Softimage () was a 3D computer graphics application, for producing 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling, and computer animation. Now owned by Autodesk and formerly titled Softimage, XSI, the software has been predomi ...

and Alias Research, had their software used for American films, such as

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later also referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 when ...

Reception

Churchill's Island ''Churchill's Island'' ( French title: ''La Forteresse de Churchill''

'' and '' If You Love This Planet'' were awarded the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film. ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...

'' was also awarded in 1953, being the first time the NFB received an Academy Award. The Crawleys produced 2,500 films and won over 200 awards during their careers, including the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film for ''

The Man Who Skied Down Everest ''The Man Who Skied Down Everest'' is a documentary about Yuichiro Miura, a Japanese alpinist who skied down Mount Everest in 1970. The film was produced by Canadian film maker F. R. "Budge" Crawley. Miura skied 2,000 m (6,600 ft) ...

''. '' The Sand Castle'', '' Special Delivery'', and '' Every Child'' were awarded the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. ''

I'll Find a Way ''I'll Find a Way'' is a 1977 Canadian short documentary film directed by Beverly Shaffer about nine-year-old Nadia DeFranco, who has spina bifida. Produced by Studio D, the women's unit of the National Film Board of Canada, the film won an Os ...

'' was awarded the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. David Bairstow's ''Royal Journey'' won the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary in 1952. Colin Low's ''

The Romance of Transportation in Canada ''The Romance of Transportation in Canada'' is a 1952 animated short film made by the National Film Board of Canada, as part of the postwar ''Canada Carries On'' series, offering a humorous account of the history of transportation in Canada. The f ...

'' was awarded the Prix du Film d'Animation at the Cannes Film Festival in 1953. Brault won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director for ''

Orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

''.

Censorship and preservation

Censorship

Ouimet's fine of $10 in February 1908, for having the Ouimetoscope open on Sundays was a test case to establish the power to close places of amusement on Sundays. In 1920,

Pierre-François Casgrain Pierre-François Casgrain, (August 4, 1886 – August 2, 1950) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons from 1936 to 1940. Born in Montreal, Quebec, his father was a physician. Following the dea ...

opposed an attempt to remove a 15¢ per reel per day tax on film exhibitors stating that "Pictures that are shown are an invitation to the people of the poorer classes to revolt, and they bring disorder into the country". Fees implemented by the censorship boards earned the government large amounts of money with Alberta's two censorship boards making $12,275 in 1927. By 1921, New Brunswick had the lowest fee at $0.50 per reel while Ontario had the highest at $3 per reel, $1 per reel license for each copy. Appeals cost $5 in Quebec and $10 in Ontario. '' Variety'' reported in 1950 that censorship fees were costing the film industry over $1,450,000 per year, with $600,000 of the expense coming from Canada. Censorship boards were established in Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec in 1911, in Alberta and British Columbia in 1913, and in Nova Scotia in 1915. 5,500 reels of film were censored in the United Kingdom in 1925, compared to 6,639 reels in Quebec, 5,518 reels in Manitoba, and 5,013 reels in Alberta. '' Maclean's'' reported that the amount of films banned in Canada fell from one hundred one in 1932, to nineteen in 1940, with nine being banned in Quebec and none in Ontario. Three hundred of the six hundred films examined by censors in 1940 were censored. Quebec censors rejected all films the dealt with divorce. Multiple Russian films were banned due to "suspected Communist propaganda" and during World War II all foreign films, with the exception of France, were banned. Ontario banned all war films in 1914. The Canadian Militia initially ordered censorship boards in very province to condemn war films, but later created its own war films by 1915. In 1950, ''

All Quiet on the Western Front ''All Quiet on the Western Front'' (german: Im Westen nichts Neues, lit=Nothing New in the West) is a novel by Erich Maria Remarque, a German veteran of World War I. The book describes the German soldiers' extreme physical and mental trauma du ...

'' was banned in Nova Scotia as there was a military recruitment drive happening. '' Damaged Goods'', a film about

sexually transmitted infection Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are Transmission (medicine), spread by Human sexual activity, sexual activity, especi ...

, was banned in Ontario in 1916. Mutual Film screened the film to a selected audience, as a private showing it was exempt from the provincial censorship laws, and asked them if the film should be released. The audience approved of the film and Mutual Film appealed the ruling, but were unsuccessful. To combat the spread of sexual diseases a government campaign was initiated in the late 1910s. The Canadian National Council for Combating Venereal Disease, which was led by

William Renwick Riddell William Renwick Riddell (6 April 185218 February 1945) was a Canadian lawyer, judge, and historian. Early life and education Riddell was born on 6 April 1852 in Hamilton Township, Ontario, and attended a public school in Hamilton Township, Co ...

and Gordon Bates, sought to distribute '' The End of the Road'' in Ontario in 1919. The censorship board was conflicted over maintaining its earlier ruling or allowing a government campaign to continue. The board rejected the film and the ruling was maintained on appeal. However, the ruling was reversed in 1920, and over 20,000 people saw the film within five days of its release and 40,000 by 1932. Other films about sexual diseases were allowed to be shown as well. Mitchell Hepburn1

Censors were criticized starting in the 1950s for their abuse of power. Minister of Finance Hepburn banned all of '' The March of Time'' newsreels in 1942, without the board watching it, due to a '' Time'' article about him that he did not like. J. Bernard Hughes, the chief censor in British Columbia, banned ''Diary of a Nazi'' stating that it was "purely Russian propaganda" that depicted "the Nazis at their worst". Ernest Manning believed that the film industry in the United States was dominated by communists and sought to ban multiple films including

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

's '' The House I Live In''. The advent of television made it difficult for censors as they could not control the content being broadcast to Canada from the United States and had limited control over internal television broadcasts, with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation showing films that were banned in provinces in those provinces. Henry McLeod, a censor from Nova Scotia, stated that "What's the point of banning a film when the trade can turn around and sell it to the CBC?". The Canadian Federation of Film Societies, an organization with 25,000 members, called for the replacement of censorship boards with a

rating system A rating system can be any kind of rating applied to a certain application domain. They are often created using a rating scale. Examples include: * Motion picture content rating system ** Motion Picture Association film rating system **Canadian m ...

. In 1961, George Enos, who served as New Brunswick's censor for thirty years, stated that censorship "is very undesirable" and that "Ninety percent of the worry is needless. Respectable people will condemn a bad picture. I don't like the idea of setting up one man to say what his neighbour shall see or not see. He would have to be a superman." By the 1960s the Quebec censorship board was one of the largest with eighteen full-time staff employed compared to other provincial boards which had two to five full-time staff. By the 1970s the censorship boards were being transitioned to classification boards with the companies having to recut their films rather than the boards. The

Hicklin test The Hicklin test is a legal test for obscenity established by the English case ''Regina v Hicklin'' (1868). At issue was the statutory interpretation of the word "obscene" in the Obscene Publications Act 1857, which authorized the destruction of ...

was used as the standard for film censorship until 1959, when the Criminal Code was amended and the Supreme Court of Canada overruled a ruling by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal that held that the Hicklin test was still in effect. ''The Columbus of Sex'' by John Hofsess was the first film in Canada charged with obscenity. The film was ordered to be destroyed following the trial, but the film's producers, Reitman and Daniel Goldberg, sold the rights to an American company that recut the film into ''My Secret Life''. '' Last Tango in Paris'' was banned in Nova Scotia in 1974. Gerard McNeil, the editor of the Dartmouth Free Press, opposed the film's censorship and he filed a

lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

in which he argued that the censors were acting illegally when they banned the film, citizens have a right to view uncensored films regardless of its content, and that the taxes and fees collected by the Amusements Board was to continue its illegal activities. The censors argued that McNeil had no standing to sue as he had no direct interest in the case, but the Nova Scotia Supreme Court stated that "there could be a large number of persons with a valid desire to challenge". The court ruled on 2 February 1976, that the provinces had no power to censor films under the

British North America Acts The British North America Acts 1867–1975 are a series of Acts of Parliament that were at the core of the constitution of Canada. Most were enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom and some by the Parliament of Canada. In Canada, some ...

. However, the Supreme Court of Canada overruled the court on 19 January 1978, in a five to four decision.

Preservation

The University of Alberta created a film library in 1917, and Quebec was the first province to utilize film in schools. The rights to ''Carry on, Sergeant!'' were acquired by the National Film Archive of Canada and reconstructed the film with Gordon Sparling, who worked on it as an assistant director, to show on television in 1968. The Canadian Film Archives was formed by the NFB in 1951. In 1924, the majority of Ouimet's Specialty Film Import's collection was destroyed by fire. The rising costs for the construction of the NFB's headquarters in Montreal resulted in the Department of Public Works cancelling the construction of film vaults. 13.1 million metres of archival footage worth $4.8 million () was instead stored in Kirkland, Quebec, and were destroyed in a fire in July 1967.

Financial

References

Works cited

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Notes

External links

Canadian Feature Film DatabaseCanadian Film EncyclopediaCanadian Film OnlineThe Toronto Film Map
- Map of full-length feature films or television shows set in Toronto, indicating availability at

University of Toronto Libraries The University of Toronto Libraries system is the largest academic library in Canada and is ranked third among peer institutions in North America, behind only Harvard and Yale. The system consists of 39 libraries located on University of Toronto' ...

and Toronto Public Library {{World cinema navbox Cultural history of Canada