''The Coffin Affair'' (french: L'Affaire Coffin) is a Canadian drama film from

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, released in 1980. Directed by

Jean-Claude Labrecque Jean-Claude Labrecque, (June 19, 1938 – May 31, 2019) was a director and cinematographer who learned the basics of filmmaking at the National Film Board of Canada. Career Jean-Claude Labrecque was born in Quebec City, Quebec, and trained as ...

, the film is a dramatization of the

Coffin affair The Coffin affair was an event in Canadian history in which a man named Wilbert Coffin was hanged for the murder of three men. The affair started in June 1953 in Gaspésie when three men from Pennsylvania were reported missing. Their bodies were f ...

of 1953. The film stars

August Schellenberg August Werner Schellenberg (July 25, 1936 – August 15, 2013) was a Canadian actor. He played Randolph in the first three installments of the ''Free Willy'' film series (1993–1997) as well as characters in ''Black Robe'' (1991), '' The New Wor ...

Wilbert Coffin Wilbert Coffin (23 October 1915 – 10 February 1956) was a Canadian prospector who was convicted of murder and executed in Canada. Montreal journalist, editor, author and politician Jacques Hebert raised doubt as to Coffin's guilt in ''J'accus ...

. The cast also includes

Gabriel Arcand Gabriel Arcand (born June 4, 1949) is a Canadian actor. He is the brother of film director Denys Arcand. After studying philosophy at McGill University, Arcand spent his formative professional years at La Criée in Marseilles, France, and late ...

Micheline Lanctôt Micheline Lanctôt (born May 12, 1947) is a Canadian actress, film director, screenwriter, and musician. Biography Lanctôt was born in Frelighsburg, Quebec. Her post-secondary education was in music, fine arts, and theatre at ''Collège Jésu ...

Roger Lebel Roger Lebel (June 5, 1923 – June 18, 1994) was a Canadian actor. Career Label was born in Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec, Canada. A Québécois character actor, Roger Lebel began his career on stage and in radio. He started to show up movies in the ...

Aubert Pallascio Aubert Pallascio (August 19, 1937 – July 5, 2020) was a Canadian actor. Pallascio trained at the CNSAD and for a period of time worked under the pseudonym Luis Aubert. He has performed on the stages of the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, Théâtr ...

, Yvon Dufour and Raymond Cloutier. The film reignited the controversy over Coffin's conviction and execution. Jules Deschênes, the Quebec Superior Court judge who had presided over the 1964 inquiry into Coffin's conviction, publicly claimed that the filmmakers "twisted the facts to accommodate their personal convictions and thus present a slanderous portrait of the judicial system to the viewing public"; Jacques Hébert, the journalist who had initiated the original controversy with his 1963 book ''J'accuse les assassins de Coffin'' and had been a consultant on the film, responded with an

open letter An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter addressed to an indiv ...

in '' La Presse'' in response to Deschênes' allegations.

Critical response

The film received mostly favourable reviews, although

Jay Scott Jeffrey Scott Beaven (October 4, 1949 – July 30, 1993), known professionally by his pen name Jay Scott, was a Canadian film critic."Critic Jay Scott, 43 among world's best". ''Toronto Star'', July 31, 1993. Early life Scott was born in Lincol ...

criticized the English-language dubbing, saying that it sounded like it had been dubbed by news announcers: "August Schellenberg ''appears'' to give an extraordinary performance as the condemned Wilbert Coffin, but the quality of the film over all, thanks to disembodied Esperanto voices reading the script as if it were a speech by Ed Schreyer, is anyone's guess.""Toronto's Quebec film test offers good, bad and superb". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', April 18, 1981.

Awards

The film garnered four Genie Award nominations at 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 ...

in 1981: * Best Actor: August Schellenberg * Best Supporting Actress: Micheline Lanctôt *

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

: Jean-Claude Labrecque *

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...

: Jean-Claude Labrecque and Jacques Benoit.

References

External links

* 1980 films 1980 crime drama films Canadian crime drama films Films directed by Jean-Claude Labrecque Crime films based on actual events French-language Canadian films 1980s Canadian films {{1980s-Canada-film-stub