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The Back-breaking Leaf
1959
29 min
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Here is a graphic picture of the tobacco harvest in southwestern Ontario. At the end of July, transient field workers move in for a brief bonanza when the plant is ripe. The tobacco harvesters call it "the back-breaking leaf."
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Candid Eye1958 14 filmsShot unscripted and unrehearsed, this NFB documentary series for television is a seminal offering in the history of doc filmmaking.
Here is a graphic picture of the tobacco harvest in southwestern Ontario. At the end of July, transient field workers move in for a brief bonanza when the plant is ripe. The tobacco harvesters call it "the back-breaking leaf."
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directorTerence Macartney-Filgate
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cameraTerence Macartney-Filgate
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assistant directorGilles Gascon
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editingJohn Spotton
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soundTerence Macartney-FilgateVictor MerrillGeorge Croll
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musicEldon Rathburn
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commentaryStanley Jackson
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producerRoman KroitorWolf Koenig
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executive producerTom Daly
Ages 12 to 17
School subjects
Discuss the diverse world of the migrant workers who create a multicultural community during the tobacco harvest. Read John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" or watch the film adaptation starring John Malkovich and Gary Sinise. Compare the worlds of George and Lennie and the tobacco primers in Ontario (the social order, the friendships, the challenges, etc.).