''Tyler'' is a Canadian television film, directed by

Ralph L. Thomas Ralph L. Thomas (born September 8, 1939) is a Brazilian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter. He was born in São Luís, Maranhão to Canadian Baptist missionary parents and grew up there and in Canada. He attended the University of Toro ...

and broadcast by

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

in 1978.Sandra Peredo
"You can’t take the pulpit out of the boy"
''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...

'', October 2, 1978. The film stars

R. H. Thomson Robert Holmes Thomson (born 1947), known as R. H. Thomson, is a Canadian television, film, and stage actor. With a career spanning five decades he remains a regular presence on Canadian movie screens and television. He has received numerous ...

as Tyler Dorsett, a young man who aspires to take over ownership and operation of the family farm where he grew up, but becomes drawn into unethical or illegal activities, such as gambling and cockfighting, as he desperately tries to raise the money to buy the farm within the 30-day deadline before his father (

Murray Westgate Murray Westgate (April 16, 1918 – August 27, 2018) was a Canadian actor. He is best known for his longtime role as a television pitchman in Canadian commercials for Esso on ''Hockey Night in Canada'' in the 1950s and 1960s, and also for his roles ...

) sells out to a major

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit w ...

corporation.Margaret Daly, "Tyler is a television triumph: Thomson's performance topples movie's flaws". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', September 30, 1978. The film's teleplay was written by journalist Roy MacGregor. It had its television airing on September 30, 1978. In advance of its television premiere, the film had a theatrical screening at the

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Internat ...

, where it won the award for Best Canadian Film. Thomson received a

Canadian Film Award The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...

nomination for Best Actor in a Non-Feature at the

29th Canadian Film Awards The 29th Canadian Film Awards were held on September 21, 1978 to honour achievements in Canadian film. They were the last Canadian Film Awards ceremony to be held before the program was taken over by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, ...

. It received several nominations at the

ACTRA Awards The ACTRA Awards were first presented in 1972 to celebrate excellence in Canada's television and radio industries.

in 1979, for Best Television Program, Best Performance in a Television Film (Thomson), Best Supporting Performance in a Television Film (Westgate) and Best Dramatic Writing for Television (MacGregor); Westgate and MacGregor won the awards in their categories.Donn Downey, "CBC scores landslide in ACTRA awards". ''

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 5, 1979.

References

External links

* 1978 television films 1978 films CBC Television original films Cockfighting in film English-language Canadian films Canadian drama television films 1970s Canadian films {{Canada-drama-tv-prog-stub