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Newfoundland Scene : A Tale of Outport Adventure

Accession number: 
1949.0031
Alternate Titles: 
Terre-Neuve : la vie aventureuse en bordure des côtes
French version
Production Years: 
1949
Release Year: 

Languages:

Film Properties: 
Length (feet): 
1325 (16mm)
Length (minutes): 
38
Holding Institutions: 

Library and Archives Canada: 16mm, VHS.
"Portrait of Newfoundland's rugged beauty and the robust spirit of her people. Made in the first few months after Newfoundland joined Canada, this historic motion picture records a way of life that has all but disappeared."

"A study of Newfoundland's natural resources and primary industry. Cod fishing, sealing, and whaling are the focus of this documentary. Also looked at is transportation by Eskimo sled. Exceptional material includes: Labrador Retrievers; a malemute dog sled team mutinying against its leader causing injuries; the light from a lighthouse; and a Newfoundland outport wharf in the misty dawn."

University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta: 16mm.
"From behind its shrouds of mist, Newfoundland appears in a pageantry of color, filled with the drama of the sea that is so closely linked with the lives of its people, From views of the fishing villages that encircle its rocky shores, the film moves along the course of the trans-island railway, past mines, pulp and paper mills and farmlands, arriving finally at the historic capital of St. John's. The ocean, from which the islanders reap their livelihood, is seen in all its changing moods, from towering gray-green billows to placid blue ripples."
From the Catalogue of 16mm Educational Motion Pictures. Published by the Educational Media Division, Department of Extension, University of Alberta, Edmonton, 1967.

Bibliography: 

"Canada - 50 Entries for Annual Awards," Film News (April 1952): no page number.
"The documentary film short NEWFOUNDLAND SCENE, produced by Crawley Films, Ottawa, for Imperial Oil Limited, has been named 'Film of the Year' in the 1951 Canadian Film Awards, Walter Herbert, Awards chairman announced today. [...] Documentary Shorts, Open: First - NEWFOUNDLAND SCENE, Crawley Films, for Imperial Oil Limited. Honourable Mention - THE LONGHOUSE PEOPLE, National Film Board. Honourable Mention - LES MOINES DE ST. BENOIT DU LAC, National Film Board. [...] No 'Film of the Year' was made last year, but the winner for the previous year was THE LOON"S NECKLACE, which like this year's winner, NEWFOUNDLAND SCENE, was produced by Crawley Films for Imperial Oil."

"What They Are Showing," Film News 13, no.5 (1953): 8.
"Canadian Version - Estelle Craig presented five 'Cinema 16 Tours' programs in Toronto during the past season. [...] The final program was NEWFOUNDLAND SCENE, TRANCE AND DANCE IN BALI, WAVERLY STEPS and POULETTE GRISE."

"World-Wide News...Selected for Significance," Film News 17, no. 1 (Spring 1957): 7.
"A 300-seat theater has been approved for the Canadian Pavilion to be erected at the Brussels Universal and International Exhibition in 1958. The theater will be used to tell some of the expected 25-million Exhibition visitors about Canada. Films to be shown will be in three major categories: Resources and Industry; Education and Information; also, Canadian Culture. Among films selected so far are: CANADIAN PROFILE (National Film Board of Canada); A NEW FUTURE LIES NORTH and NEWFOUNDLAND SCENE (Crawley's Ltd.); CALGARY STAMPEDE (Davart); THE SEASONS (Christopher Chapman); and JAMBOREE (Chetwynd Films)."

Crawley Films, Free Films: Directory of Sources of Free 16mm Sponsored Films in Canada (Ottawa: Crawley Films, May 1952): 9.

Imperial Oil, Selection of 16mm Films Available Without Charge to Schools, Church Groups, Service Clubs and Similar Organizations (n.d.: Imperial Oil).
"This salute to Canada's newest province was chosen 1951 film of the year.
Newfoundland is an island of rugged beauty, rich in tradition, with a happy, hardy people and age-old customs. 'Newfoundland Scene' reveals much of the island's beauty, shows some of its livelihoods and captures the robust spirit of the sea-going people of Canada's tenth province.
'Newfoundland Scene' took more than two years to complete and conveys the intermingling of the traditional and modern customs on the island. It does this by concentrating on the picturesque, but little-known outports - places with such storybook names as Come-by-Chance and Heart's Desire - where the hardy villagers wrest their living from a stubborn soil and ever-dangerous ocean.
The craggy outports are shown in their summer glory and winter bleakness. Out of them sail the fishing, sealing and whaling fleets. A whale-hunting sequence has been described as among the most exciting ever filmed. The actors give authenticity to the film for they are the people of the outports themselves, going about their daily tasks.
'Newfoundland Scene' was chosen by the Canadian Film Awards as 'Film of the Year' for 1951. The musical background was specially composed and includes many traditional Newfoundland airs."

Imperial Oil, Un choix de films 16mm prêtés, à titre grâcieux, aux maisons d'enseignement, clubs sociaux et autres groupements (n.d.: Imperial Oil).
"Cet hommage à la plus récente province du Canada a mérité le Grand Prix du Film 1951.
Île d'une beauté sauvage, Terre-Neuve est riche en traditions et peuplée de gens heureux, vaillants. Ce film fait bien ressortir cette splendeur insulaire et révèle quelques aspects de ses moeurs en décrivant particulièrement les moyens de subsistance des gens de la mer qui peuplent le littoral de cette dixième province du Canada.
Il a fallu plus de deux ans à tourner ce film dont se dégage très bien cette juxtaposition des coutumes traditionnelles et modernes. On y parvient en dirigeant l'attention sur les petits ports de mer, ports aussi pittoresques que peu connus et où les rudes villageois tirent leur subsistance d'un sol maigre et d'une mer sans cesse menaçante. Ces ports, on les présente dans leur splendeur estivale et leur tristesse hivernale. C'est de là que partent les bâteaux de pêche, les baleiniers et les chasseurs de phoques. Jamais peut-être n'est apparue sur l'écran une chasse à la baleine si réaliste. Les acteurs en sont d'autant plus authentiques qu'il s'agit des marins eux-mêmes croqués sur le vif.
En 1951, 'Terre-Neuve' a décroché haut la main le Grand Prix du FIlm à titre de 'Film de l'Année'. Spécialement composé pour la circonstance, l'accompagnement musical comporte plusieurs airs traditionnels de cette province."

Gouvernement du Québec: Ministère des Communications, Direction générale du cinéma et de l’audiovisuel, Catalogue des films d’archives, volume 2 (Québec: Éditeur officiel du Québec, 1978), 143.
"La vie adventureuse en bordure des côtes. Terre-Neuve s'achemine lentement vers l'exploitation industrielle de ses ressources naturelles. Cependant, la majeure partie de sa population vit surtout de chasse et de pêche. Le sol, qui est d'une pauvreté décourageante, répond à peine aux efforts de ceux qui le cultivent. Mais c'est la pêche qui, depuis toujours, fait vivre la presque totalité des habitants de Terre-Neuve. La pêche au 'caplan' dont on se sert surtout comme appât, quoique ce soit un petit poisson délicieux à manger. La pêche à la morue, une des grosses industries de Terre-Neuve. La pêche à la baleine, entreprise gigantesque, digne du rude métier de marin. En hiver, la chasse au phoque dont la fourrure rapporte de gros revenus. Toutes ces images sont d'une beauté saisissante et illustrent puissamment le mode de vie de ce peuple fort et courageux dont l'existence est un défi continuel à une nature grandiose mais sauvage, à la mer qu'il brave constamment pour gagner son pain quotidien."

Service de ciné-photographie de la province de Québec, Films 16mm: édition 1956-57 (Quebec City: Service de ciné-photographie, 1956), 280.

Comments: 
Drawings: William Gee.