Lewis Varick Frissell (1903 – March 15, 1931) was an American documentary

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

. His last film, '' The Viking'', set in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, involved the largest loss of life of the film production crew in film history. This film was also "the first film to record sound and dialogue on location".McIntosh, Andrew
"The Viking (White Thunder)."
''Canadian Film Encyclopedia''. Retrieved: March 29, 2012.

Early life

Frissell came from a well-to-do family (his grandfather was founder and president of the Fifth Avenue Bank of New York), studied at

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

, and took a keen interest in film at an early age. He was mentored by renowned documentarian

Robert Flaherty Robert Joseph Flaherty, (; February 16, 1884 – July 23, 1951) was an American filmmaker who directed and produced the first commercially successful feature-length documentary film, ''Nanook of the North'' (1922). The film made his reputatio ...

. In 1921, Frissell heard a lecture by Dr Wilfred Grenfell, which inspired him to visit the

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

mission and to explore the northern wilderness. In 1922, Frissell volunteered to work for the

International Grenfell Association The International Grenfell Association (IGA) is an organization founded by Sir Wilfred Grenfell to provide health care, education, religious services, and rehabilitation and other social activities to the fisherman and coastal communities in norther ...

, driving a

dog team A sled dog is a dog trained and used to pull a land vehicle in Dog harness, harness, most commonly a Dog sled, sled over snow. Sled dogs have been used in the Arctic for at least 8,000 years and, along with watercraft, were the only transport ...

in the winter and working on the hospital boat ''Strathcona'' in the summer.

Film career

In 1925, Frissell and fellow Yale student Jim Hillier explored the Hamilton River and shot the first film ever of the great waterfall. They also searched for and discovered the Unknown River of Indian legend and called it the Grenfell River. Frissell wrote an account of his explorations and submitted it to ''

The Geographical Journal ''The Geographical Journal'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal of the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers). It publishes papers covering research on all aspects of geography. It also publishes shorter C ...

'' for publication entitled ''Explorations in the Grand Falls Region of Labrador'', which earned him membership in the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

. Frissell completed his film of the Hamilton River and titled it ''The Lure of Labrador''. After graduation from Yale in 1926, he embarked on another film, ''The Great Arctic Seal Hunt'', which was compiled from film he had shot aboard the SS ''Beothic'' during the seal hunt.

''The Viking''

Frissell formed his own company, the Newfoundland-Labrador Film Company, and obtained the backing of

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 ...

to make a feature film, tentatively titled ''White Thunder''. Captain

Bob Bartlett Edward Lewis "Bob" Bartlett (April 20, 1904 – December 11, 1968), was an Alaska politician and a member of the Democratic Party. A key fighter for Alaska statehood, Bartlett served as the Secretary of Alaska Territory from 1939 to 1945, ...

played the ship's captain in this film about the

seal hunt. This was the first Hollywood-style sound film ever made in what is now Canada. Frissell filmed most of '' The Viking'' (named for a sealing ship) in

Quidi Vidi Quidi Vidi is a neighbourhood in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador (pronunciations vary, even amongst longtime residents, but "Kiddy Vidi" is the most common). The village is adjacent to Quidi Vidi Lake (where the Royal St. John's Regatta is ...

in 1930.Rist 2001, p. 230. For realistic footage, Frissell then took his crew to the

Grand Banks The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod, swordf ...

and Labrador to film exciting action sequences. The film debuted at the

Nickel Theatre The Nickel Theatre was the first movie theatre in Newfoundland. Part of the five-cent picture show craze that brought daily movies to almost every city and town all across North America, the Nickel opened in the Benevolent Irish Society's St. Patr ...

at St. John's on March 5, 1931, where Frissell decided that his movie needed more real scenes from the sea ice. Within days, Frissell and his crew had boarded the SS ''Viking'' for its annual seal hunt; it got trapped in ice near the Horse Islands.

Death

On March 15, 1931, a cache of dynamite being stored in case it was needed to break the ship free from the ice pans exploded, destroying the stern of the ship, killing 28 men, including Frissell. The ship subsequently sank, and Frissell's body and his pet

Newfoundland dog The Newfoundland is a large working dog. They can be black, brown, or black and white. However, in the Dominion of Newfoundland, before it became part of the confederation of Canada, only black and Landseer (white-and-black) coloured dogs were ...

, Cabot, were never found.Rhodes 2001, p. 95.

Aftermath

''White Thunder'', a

National Film Board 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 fi ...

documentary on Frissell's life, directed by Newfoundlander Victoria King, was released in 2002.Miller, John
"White Thunder on DVD."
''Turner Classic Movies'', 2015. Retrieved: November 6, 2015.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Rhodes, Gary Don. ''White Zombie: Anatomy of a Horror Film''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2001. . * Rist, Peter. ''Guide to the Cinema(s) of Canada''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001. .

External links

Early days of Film in Newfoundland

Milestone Films

The Viking Film
*

Filmography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Frissell, Varick 1903 births 1931 deaths Artists from Boston American expatriates in Canada American film directors Film producers from Massachusetts Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society People from Labrador Accidental deaths in Newfoundland and Labrador