The NFB is committed to respecting your privacy

We use cookies to ensure that our site works efficiently, as well as for advertising purposes.

If you do not wish to have your information used in this way, you can modify your browser settings before continuing your visit.

Learn more
Skip to content Accessibility
New release
Coming 
None

The Deserter

1956 30 min
Leaving soon

This short drama highlights the work of the Family Welfare Service in its compassionate tale of a husband who abandons his wife and children. Part of the Perspective series.

This content is not available for free viewing in your location.
Your rental expires on
None
You've already purchased this film.
Download it from My purchases.
Not available
Share
The Deserter
  • Perspective
    Perspective
    1955 46 films
    This TV series from the mid-1950s blended documentary and fiction to tell Canadian stories from a Canadian perspective.

Details

This short drama highlights the work of the Family Welfare Service in its compassionate tale of a husband who abandons his wife and children.

Part of the Perspective series.

  • director
    Julian Biggs
  • producer
    Grant McLean
  • executive producer
    Grant McLean
  • script
    Thomas Farley
  • photography
    John Foster
  • sound
    Frank Orban
  • editing
    Dennis Sawyer
  • cast
    Sean Sullivan
    Les Rubie
    Charmion King

Enjoy the NFB experience on your favourite device

Education

Ages 15 to 18
School subjects

Warnings: [Depictions of alcohol consumption, alcoholism]

A short film revolving around family, poverty and social programs in the mid-20th century. Ideal for research projects, essays and classroom discussions about economics, social programs and media depictions of family life in post-World War II Canada. The film begins with the narrator describing it as a story about “a man and his troubles.” Do you think this is an accurate assessment? Why or why not? The family in the film is presented as an average Canadian family; what does this say about how the “average Canadian” was imagined in media during the post-World-War II era? How does this depiction differ from your own experiences? Discuss the relationship between compassion and professionalism in the film.