Eye Witness (Canadian film series) Canadian current events film series, 1947-1958
Eye Witness Country of origin Canada No. of episodes101 Executive producers Tom Daly (1947-1952) Nicholas Balla (1952-1958)Producers Don Mulholland (1947-1950) Gordon Burwash (1951-1952David Bairstow (1952-1954) Jack Olsen (1954-1955) Peter Jones (1956-1957) Tim Wilson (1957-1958)Running time 9-12 minutes Production company National Film Board of Canada Release November 1, 1947 (1947-11-01 ) – February 1, 1958 (1958-02-01 ) Canada Carries On Candid Eye
Eye Witness was a current events film series, produced by the National Film Board of Canada , which ran from 1947 to 1958. It ran concurrently in Quebec as Coup d'oeil .[ 1] [ 2]
In 1940, the National Film Board (NFB) created the morale-boosting propaganda series Canada Carries On , which was funded by the Wartime Information Board . When the war ended in 1945, the series lost its funding from that source, but the NFB continued with it until 1959.[ 3]
At the time, Canada had a huge theatre-going public, and one theatre show would normally be a cartoon, a sponsored, promotional or informational film, and then the main feature. Canada Carries On was supplied for inclusion in the shows of all Famous Players theatres. In the mid-1940s, with heavy investment from The Rank Organisation of Britain, Odeon Cinemas came into being. It also needed content and, in 1947, the NFB answered with Eye Witness .[ 4]
Eye Witness was less about propaganda and more about the NFB's mandate to show Canada to Canadians, and foster a greater sense of unity.[ 5] [ 6] It was also distributed by Columbia Pictures , which included Eye Witness in its international offerings. The show was issued monthly, with each reel lasting from nine to twelve minutes and, for the most part, containing three distinct stories. They were vignettes covering various aspects of Canadian life, and/or issues that Canadians cared about, and could take place anywhere in the country.
The show's first producer was Don Mulholland , who managed its difficult logistics by dispatching cameramen, rather than entire teams, to film stories. As time went on, and budgets were increased, production could include an entire crew. Until 1952, Lorne Greene was the narrator; from then on, narration was handled, mainly, by Budd Knapp, Fred Davis , Elwood Glover and Geoffrey Hogwood.
By 1958, an ever-increasing number of Canadians had televisions in their homes and theatres were running features. The NFB commissioner Guy Roberge cancelled Eye Witness and replaced it with the short-lived series Candid Eye .
Episodes
1947
1948
Number
Title
Director/Camera
Producer
Length
2
Canada at the U.N. Security Council , Harvesting Hemlock in B.C.
Don Mulholland
10 min.
3
European Immigrants Arrive in Halifax , Population Explosion in Yellowknife
Don Mulholland
11 min.
4
Commercial Ice Fishing in Manitoba , Indian Health Service Doctor , Banff Winter Carnival , Barbara Ann Scott
Don Mulholland
13 min.
5
Mass Housing Construction in Ottawa , Logs Head to Pulp Mills
Don Mulholland
11 min.
6
Liberal Convention , Valleyfield Regatta
Don Mulholland
11 min.
7
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation , Antgonish Highland Festival
Don Mulholland
9 min.
8
Progressive Conservative Convention , Bird Dog Trials
Don Mulholland
11 min.
9
Mackenzie King Retires , Crossroads for Ducks , Whaling Begins Again on the British Columbia Coast , Pennies from Canada
Don Mulholland
15 min.
10
Gréber Plan , Terrace Bay , Floating Village
Don Mulholland
10 min.
1949
1950
Number
Title
Director/Camera
Producer
Length
17
Modern Magic with Liquid Air , Canada's Biggest Bird House , City Mobilizes for Crippled Children
Don Mulholland
11 min.
18
Salt Water Farmers Grow Fancy Crops , Regina Rainmaker , Springtime in the Sugar Bush
Don Mulholland
11 min.
19
Flying Farmers , Miser Makes Money for Others , Toronto Curbs Jay-Walkers feat. Edward Everett Horton , Landlubbers Become Salty Sailors
Don Mulholland
11 min.
20
Hunting the Rare Snow Goose , Slum Dwellers Get New Homes for Old , Mighty Men Match Muscle Magic
Don Mulholland
10 min.
21
B.C.'s Lady Legislator , Researchers Pave Skyways for Canada's Plane Makers , Cow Collects Currency, Then Caches Cash , Skiers Travel 5000 Miles to Challenge Famous Hill
Don Mulholland
11 min.
22
Alberta's Blood Indians , Music Master , Sky Sentries
Don Mulholland
11 min.
23
The Magic Isle in Toronto Bay , Nature Conscripted in War on Worms , Students Learn Lessons in the Sky
Grant McLean , Hector Lemieux, Maurice Constant
Don Mulholland
11 min.
24
The Fine Art of Making Money , Sable Island : Graveyard of the Atlantic , B.C. Develops Schoolboy Rangers
John Foster
Don Mulholland
11 min.
25
New Methods Feed the North , A Brain, a Voice - and Courage , From Ivy Walls to Sea and Squalls
Hector Lemieux, John Foster, Osmond Borradaile
Don Mulholland
11 min.
1951
Number
Title
Director/Camera
Producer
Length
26
Their Hobby Is Saving Lives , Diana Discovers the Drama , Man-Made Hades - The Steel Mill
Hector Lemieux, Lorne C. Batchelor
Gordon Burwash
10 min.
27
Halifax's Junior Bengal Lancers , Where the Big Ones Grow Bigger and Bigger , From Jobs and Schools to Swimming Pools , Alberta Blitzes Prairie Killers
Jean-Marie Couture, John Foster
Gordon Burwash
11 min.
28
New Look on Rails , Dedication to the Dance , Fun in Fur Land
Ron Weyman , Allen Stark, Gordon Burwash
Gordon Burwash
11 min.
29
Pied Piper of the Three R's , Radio Runs Water War , Church of the Open Road , Down-Under with Toronto's Subway Builders
Osmond Borradaile , Robert Humble, Lorne C. Batchelor, Jean-Marie Couture
Gordon Burwash
9 min.
30
Still Gold in Them Thar Hills , Canada's New State Residence , Sister Pelagie , Trapping the Sea Lamprey , Flying Fashions
Julien St-Georges, Lorne C. Batchelor, Jean Roy, Hector Lemieux
Gordon Burwash
11 min.
31
unknown
32
Show World's Show Place , Nipissing 's Net Prophet , Sarnia Unlimited
Hector Lemieux, Thomas Farley, Gordon Burwash
Gordon Burwash
11 min.
33
The Ship that Never Sails , Freedom Jamboree , A Metal Mountain
John Foster, Walter A. Sutton, Walford Hewitson
Gordon Burwash
11 min.
34
The Fireman Is a Grocer , Artistry in Clay and Cloth , Winter Morning
Grant McLean , Walford Hewitson, Hector Lemieux, Lorne C. Batchelor
Gordon Burwash
11 min.
35
The Lonely Age: Sixty , Operation Niagara , Weekend in Herring Neck
Gordon Burwash
11 min.
1952
Number
Title
Director/Camera
Producer
Length
36
Cosmic Clock , Downtown Mountain , Grand Champs
Gordon Burwash, John Foster, Hector Lemieux, Gil LaRoche, Roger Racine
Gordon Burwash
11 min.
37
Queer Careers , Defeating Delinquency , Tomorrow's Favourites
Don Mulholland
11 min.
38
Sea-Coast Service , White Water Highways , Fun and Fine Arts
Hector Lemieux, Walford Hewitson, E. Wilson
Gordon Burwash
11 min.
39
Riches to Burn , Old Art--New Mould , Arctic Lifeline
Walford Hewitson, Don Peters, John Spotton , Douglas Wilkinson Jean Roy
Gordon Burwash
11 min.
40
The Port of Flowing Grain , Modern Miracle: Surgery Is Safe , Home-Made Community
Walford Hewitson, Robert Humble
Gordon Burwash
11 min.
41
Sabres at the Ready , Midnight Sculptors , Crime Detection at the Double
Thomas Farley, Walford Hewitson
David Bairstow
11 min.
42
27th Canadian Infantry Brigade at Hanover
Grant McLean
David Bairstow
11 min.
43
Traffic Cops in Jumpers and Jeans , Gill Netters by the Dozen , A 'Canadien' in Paris
Walford Hewitson, Stanley Clinton, Jack Long, Grant McLean
David Bairstow
11 min.
44
Whittlers' Village , Flying Farmer , The Children's Own Hospital
Gil LaRoche, John Foster, Thomas Farley, Walter A. Sutton, John Spotton
David Bairstow
11 min.
45
Laval Keeps Up with the Times , Luxury Crop from Northern Lakes , Allied Airmen Train in Canada
Roger Blais , Lorne C. Batchelor, Walford Hewitson, Thomas Farley, Walter A. Sutton
David Bairstow
10 min.
46
Gadget Ship Aids Mariners , Canadian Soldiers See Normandy Today , Maple Leaf Gardens Merry-Go-Round
Thomas Farley, Walter Sutton, Grant McLean , Gordon Burwash, John Foster
David Bairstow
11 min.
47
Their Clinic's the World , Home on the Campus , The Plane that Beats the Bush
Grant McLean , Gordon Burwash, Walford Hewitson
David Bairstow
11 min.
1953
Number
Title
Director/Camera
Producer
Length
48
Modes by Mail , Sentinel in the Gulf , School for Test Pilots
Grant McLean , Gordon Burwash, Jean Roy, Jacques Giraldeau , John Foster
David Bairstow
10 min.
49
Backstage Artists , Bird Man of Grand Manan , The Looms That Crossed the Sea
Walford Hewitson, Lorne C. Batchelor, Thomas Farley, Walter A. Sutton, Gil LaRoche, John Spotton
David Bairstow
11 min.
50
The Glass Makers , Return of the Beaver , Uranium City
John Spotton , Stephen Greenlees, Gil LaRoche, Lorne C. Batchelor
David Bairstow
11 min.
51
Royal Ontario Museum Is a Popular Classroom , R.C.A.F. Teaches Wilderness Survival , Getting Together with Overseas Friends
David Bairstow
11 min.
52
Next Year's Newsprint on Its Way , Moppet Models
Jean Palardy , Hector Lemieux
David Bairstow
9 min.
53
Immigrants from Holland
Grant McLean
David Bairstow
11 min.
54
Ball Stars Start Young , An Auto a Minute , A Railroad Goes to Sea
Daryl Duke , Felix Lazarus, Jack Long
David Bairstow
11 min.
55
Indian Canoe Experts Shoot White Water , Low-Cost College Stresses Books, Not Buildings , Canada's First Five-Pin 'Grey Cup'
Stephen Greenlees, John Foster, Gordon Burwash
David Bairstow
11 min.
56
Scottish Shepherd Tries New Pastures , Outdoor Classrooms Help Children Catch Up , Canadian Experts Help Arab Farmers
Hector Lemieux, Ron Weyman , Grant McLean
David Bairstow
11 min.
57
Light Plane Armada Makes Friendly Invasion , Canada's Vegetable Garden Beats the Season , Canadian Experts Help Arab Farmers
Julian Biggs , Grant McLean
David Bairstow
11 min.
58
Canadian Works with U.N.'s Problem Refugees , Tractor Train Pushes Through Northern Wilderness
Ron Weyman , Grant McLean
David Bairstow
11 min.
59
Bridging the Gap , Ancient Art, Modern Sport , V.O.N.: Everybody's Nurse
David Bairstow
David Bairstow
11 min.
60
Tomorrow's Officers , This Unseen World , Scientists Uncover Prehistoric Alberta
Raymond Garceau, Lorne C. Batchelor, Maurice Constant, Jack Long
David Bairstow
11 min.
1954
Number
Title
Director/s
Producer
Length
61
R.C.A.F. Keeps Watch on the Moselle , New NATO Brigade Takes Up Position
Robert Humble, David Bairstow
David Bairstow
11 min.
62
All-Girl Chorus Makes Fine Music , First Cruise for a New Supply Ship
David Bairstow , Hector Lemieux
David Bairstow
11 min.
63
Veteran Steamer Ends Record Service , Inside Story of a Lady's Mink Coat
Jack Long, Walford Hewitson
David Bairstow
11 min.
64
A New Life for the Handicapped , Fishermen Hunt Battling Broadbills
Hector Lemieux, Walford Hewitson
Jack Olsen
11 min.
65
Old Glory Weather Station , Easter in Jerusalem
Hector Lemieux, Ron Weyman
Jack Olsen
11 min.
66
Canada Helps Pakistan Bridge the Gap of Centuries of Economic Adversity
Gordon Burwash
Jack Olsen
11 min.
67
Apprentices Learn While Building School , Aerial Attack on Spruce Budworm
Fernand Ménard, Robert Anderson
Jack Olsen
11 min.
68
Birth of a Book , Eskimos Work Arctic Coal Mine , Dispatch Riders Perform Cycle Capers
Walford Hewitson, Douglas Wilkinson, Peter Jones
Jack Olsen
11 min.
1955
Number
Title
Director/s
Producer
Length
69
Spanish Decoys Curious Ducks , Snowmobile: Winter Transport , Maid of the Mist
Grant Crabtree , Hector Lemieux
Jack Olsen
11 min.
70
Blessing of the Fleet , Canadian Singers Study Opera at La Scala
Allan Wargon, Ron Weyman
Jack Olsen
10 min.
71
Connie MacFarlane: Seaweed Scientist , Capilano Western Railroad Appoints New President , Arctic Stone Carvers
Grant Crabtree , Hector Lemieux, Jean Palardy
Jack Olsen
11 min.
72
The Salvation Army
William Davidson
Jack Olsen
11 min.
73
Musical Holiday , Arctic Easter
Peter Jones, Douglas Wilkinson
Jack Olsen
11 min.
74
Scientists of the Sea , Alcoholism: A New Approach
Jack Long, William Davidson
Jack Olsen
11 min.
75
Army Trains Student Cooks , R.C.A.F. Re-supplies Arctic Weather Stations
Grant Crabtree , Wilfred Doucette
Jack Olsen
11 min.
76
Valley of Contrasts , Noise!
Gordon Burwash, Peter Jones
Jack Olsen
11 min.
77
Eating Is Their Business , Face-off for Future Hockey Stars , Boom Town Settles Down
Stephen Greenlees, Grant Crabtree , Hector Lemieux
Jack Olsen
11 min.
78
Montrealers Take Molière to Paris , Sealing - Still a Dangerous Gamble
Bernard d'Aillencourt, Wilfred Doucette
Peter Jones
11 min.
79
Ferries, Tankers, Frigates: Made in Canada , Caviar Comes from Canada's Queerest Fish , New Aircraft Joins Maritime Command
Walter A. Sutton, Grant Crabtree , Hector Lemieux
Peter Jones
11 min.
80
Tired of Traffic? Try Motor Sport , John Furch: Glass Craftsman , Water Highway Supplies the North
Norman Klenman, Hector Lemieux
Peter Jones
11 min.
81
New Life for Ghost Town Miners , School for Frogmen
Alvin Goldman, Hector Lemieux
Peter Jones
11 min.
82
Canadian Artists In Paris , Dude Ranch Holiday
Felix Lazarus, Hector Lemieux
Peter Jones
11 min.
1956
1957
Number
Title
Director/s
Producer
Length
89
Star Gazers Explore the Heavens , Science Exploits the Woodlot , Adventure Aboard a Brigantine
Peter Jones
Peter Jones
11 min.
90
Apple Garden of Québec , A Great Inventor Is Remembered
Maurice Blackburn, Grant Crabtree
Peter Jones
11 min.
91
A Quarter Century of Cellophane , Eagle Evangelist
Maurice Blackburn , William H. Carrick
Peter Jones
11 min.
92
Transport on Trial , Cape Breton 's Contented Chairmaker
Hector Lemieux, Grant Crabtree
Peter Jones
10 min.
93
Inside the Trucking Business
Hector Lemieux
Peter Jones
11 min.
94
House of Straw , Acadian Artistry in Rugs , Gibraltar of America
Hector Lemieux, Grant Crabtree , Maurice Blackburn
Peter Jones
10 min.
95
How to Retire and Start Living , The Story of a Stamp
Hector Lemieux, Grant Crabtree
Peter Jones
11 min.
96
School Timetable Suits Rural Students , Where Old Dolls Never Die , Nothing Stops the Scoot
Tim Wilson, Hector Lemieux, Irving Dooh
Tim Wilson
10 min.
97
The Making of an Airline Stewardess
Hector Lemieux
Tim Wilson
10 min.
98
Beauty Makes Business , Meeting of Minds , McGill Winter Carnival
Hector Lemieux, Tim Wilson
Tim Wilson
10 min.
1958
References
^ "Eye Witness" . onf-nfb.gc.ca . National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved April 12, 2023 .
^ "Watch Eye Witness Episodes" . nfb.ca . National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved April 12, 2023 .
^ Evans, Gary (April 26, 1991). "In the national interest : a chronicle of the National Film Board" . archive.org . Retrieved April 12, 2023 .
^ Eamon, Greg (September 3, 2022). "The Origin of Motion Picture Production in Canada" . canadianfilm.ca . Retrieved April 3, 2023 .
^ McGechaen, Alexander, The Role of the National Film Board in the Development of Adult Education Programs... University of British Columbia 1971
^ " 'The Way We Were': Nova Scotia in Film, 1917-1950" . archives.novascotia.ca . Nova Scotia Archives. April 20, 2020. Retrieved April 12, 2023 .