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Home Front (22)
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Atlantic CrossroadsTom Daly 1945 10 minThis short documentary focuses on Newfoundland's role in WWII. Due to its geographical position, Newfoundland became a central point of activity during the war, housing military air bases and becoming the link between the Allied forces and Europe. In stark contrast with the Depression in the 1930s, this film highlights Newfoundland's opportunities for economic growth during, and after, the war. Part of the Canada Carries On series. -
Banshees Over CanadaJames Beveridge 1943 19 minThis newsreel documentary made during WWII was used to illustrate Britain's preparations for an air attack. Scenes depict destruction wrought by enemy planes, the efficiency of retaliation by the Royal Air Force and the precautions taken in Canada against possible air attack. Part of the Canada Carries On series.
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Call for VolunteersRadford Crawley 1941 10 minThis short archival film from WWII depicts how the women of Winnipeg opened a volunteer bureau and enlisted 7000 women into the war effort. Through a variety of activities, these women extended and maintained social services during the war.
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Children from OverseasRuby Grierson & Stanley Hawes 1940 10 minA WWII film about children evacuated from Britain and sent to Canada for their safety. The film begins in England with children seeking shelter as anti-aircraft guns roar outside. On their arrival in Canada, they are thrilled by the brightly lit cities, powerful Canadian trains, hot dogs and ice cream. They find, too, that instead of becoming Mounties or cowboys, they have to go to school. The closing sequence shows them learning to ski and skate and preparing for Christmas in their new homes.
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Children First1944 17 minThis wartime film emphasizes the importance of milk in the diet. Growing children, teenage youngsters, and expectant and nursing mothers are priority milk consumers. The film deals with minimum milk requirements, various milk products and derivatives, and the problem of conserving and sharing supplies.
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Coal Face, CanadaRobert Edmonds 1943 20 minA young man, discharged from the army, returns to his coal town. As he wanders the streets, he sees that life remains much as he left it. He takes a room with a miner who had known his father and who recalls the tragedy of his death in the mines. When the young dischargee attends a union meeting he hears the labourers speak of their relation to the war effort and, realizing the importance of coal to victory, he joins a night shift and goes to work in the mine.
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Empty Rooms Mean Idle Machines1942 2 minThis animated short produced during WWII shows how Plugger helped the war effort by renting out his spare room so that a new worker could be brought in to work an idle machine at the munitions plant.
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Flight 6Sydney Newman 1944 10 minThis short wartime documentary describes Canada’s airmail service in 1944. Every night, Trans-Canada Airlines Flight 6 crossed Canada from Vancouver to Montreal with its load of blue and yellow airmail bags, playing an important role in Canadian life and business. Three times a week, cargoes bound eventually for London, Moscow, Lisbon and Paris were flown to Scotland. Letters and parcels for prisoners of war, diplomats, business executives and soldiers went into a thirty-ton Lancaster. When decisions were vital and information had to travel quickly, Canada's air service proved its value.
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A Friend for SupperGudrun Bjerring 1944 10 minIn this short film made during World War II, a teacher explains how children in Russia, China and occupied Europe are going hungry and how Canada is helping to remedy the situation.
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Great Guns1942 23 minAn outline of the principles underlying gun production during World War II. The various types of guns used on world battlefronts are discussed. All the stages of production are shown, from the forging of steel to the packing of the completed weapon for shipment to the fighting fronts.
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He Plants for Victory1943 2 minThis animated short focuses on Mrs. Plugger, who is eager to start her own Victory Garden. Reminding her that tools are hard to get and that neither of them know much about gardening, Plugger organizes his neighbours to cultivate vegetables in a vacant lot. A message about the importance of cooperation and knowledge sharing . . . especially during war time.
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Handle with CareGeorge L. George 1943 20 minThis short documentary, produced by the NFB for the Department of Munitions and Supply, profiles Canada’s World War II-era munitions factories, which produced explosives in vast quantities. Looking at a typical munitions plant, we learn about the science behind the explosives, the strict safety precautions required in these workplaces, and the methodical work of the plant’s largely female wartime labour force.
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Home FrontStanley Hawes 1940 11 minThis short documentary is part of the Canada Carries On series of morale-boosting wartime propaganda films. In Home Front, the various WWII-era social contributions of women are highlighted. From medicine to industrial labour to hospitality, education and domesticity, the service these women provided to their country is lauded.
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Keep Your Mouth ShutNorman McLaren 1944 2 minThis animated short from Norman McLaren features a human skull cautioning Canadians to “keep their mouths shut” in an effort to end gossiping during World War II.
Warning: This film contains flashing images and stroboscopic sequences -
Ottawa, Wartime Capital1942 10 minThis look at Ottawa shows it as the nerve-centre of Canada during World War II. Everyone, from Prime Minister Mackenzie King and his Cabinet down to the most junior civil servants, shares the responsibility of maintaining the country in the face of wartime requirements.
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Shameless PropagandaRobert Lower 2014 1 h 11 minThis feature documentary examines its own genre, which has often been called Canada's national art form. Released in the year of the NFB's 75th birthday, Shameless Propaganda is filmmaker Robert Lower's take on the boldest and most compelling propaganda effort in our history (1939-1945), in which founding NFB Commissioner John Grierson saw the documentary as a "hammer to shape society". All 500 of the films produced by the NFB until 1945 are distilled here for the essence of their message to Canadians. Using only these films and still photos from that era, Lower recreates the picture of Canada they gave us and looks in it for the Canada we know today. What he finds is by turns enlightening, entertaining, and unexpectedly disturbing.
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Shameless Propaganda: Part 2 (Educational Version)Robert Lower 2014 36 minSome have called the documentary Canada’s national art form. If it is, the foundations of that art were laid by the National Film Board of Canada in the first six years of its existence, 1939–45, under the inspired vision and watchful eye of John Grierson, its first Commissioner. Released in the year of the NFB’s 75th birthday, Shameless Propaganda is filmmaker Robert Lower’s take on the greatest and most compelling propaganda effort in our history. Lower has watched the films produced by the NFB up until 1945—all 500 of them—and distilled the essence of their message to Canadians. Using only these films and still photos from that era, Lower recreates the picture of Canada they gave us and looks in it for the Canada we know today. What he finds is by turns enlightening, entertaining, and unexpectedly disturbing. Part 2 of a 2 episode Educational series.
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Shameless Propaganda: Part 1 (Educational Version)Robert Lower 2014 36 minSome have called the documentary Canada’s national art form. If it is, the foundations of that art were laid by the National Film Board of Canada in the first six years of its existence, 1939–45, under the inspired vision and watchful eye of John Grierson, its first Commissioner. Released in the year of the NFB’s 75th birthday, Shameless Propaganda is filmmaker Robert Lower’s take on the greatest and most compelling propaganda effort in our history. Lower has watched the films produced by the NFB up until 1945—all 500 of them—and distilled the essence of their message to Canadians. Using only these films and still photos from that era, Lower recreates the picture of Canada they gave us and looks in it for the Canada we know today. What he finds is by turns enlightening, entertaining, and unexpectedly disturbing. Part 1 of a 2 episode Educational series.
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Trans-Canada ExpressStanley Hawes 1944 9 minThis short documentary from the Canada Carries On series celebrates the contribution of Canada’s railroads to the war effort. The film includes a sequence from Buster Keaton's 1926 silent comedy The General, as well as a re-enactment of Lord Strathcona driving the final spike into the Canadian Pacific Railway Line.
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Timber FrontFrank Badgley 1940 21 minThis black-and-white archival film outlines the importance of Canada's forests in the national war effort during the Second World War.
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To the Ladies1946 10 minFrom the Canada Carries On series, this is a tribute to the women of Canada for their part in the World War II effort. The Canadian Women's Army Corps and homemakers alike were called upon to do their part. From careful budgeting in the home to services rendered overseas, women's work was integral to the well-being of all.
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Universities at War1944 11 minCanadian universities made many contributions to the war effort through research and applications in many disciplines including engineering, medicine, psychiatry, chemistry, agriculture and sociology. Many of these developments were also envisioned as having important peacetime applications.
