The NFB Film Guide: The Productions of the National Film Board of Canada from 1939 to 1989

Cam Tolton is a professor of French and Cinema Studies at the University
of Toronto.

Two weighty volumes comprise this valuable guide to the films produced
by the National Film Board of Canada during its first fifty years. We
learn in the foreword that, designed as a follow-up to the
fiftieth-anniversary celebrations, the venture proved to be far more
daunting than its editor-in-chief, Donald W. Bidd, had anticipated. The
unforeseen encyclopedic proportions that the research assumed have paid
off in a volume apiece for the English- and French-language productions.

Naturally, the nature of the enterprise has resulted in some material
being repeated from volume to volume. Messages from political officials
and the editor are translated, as are practical chapters such as guides
to using of the volumes and to gaining access to the various film
collections and archives. Certainly the most interesting reading
material is the handy, nicely proportioned “Time-line/Chronologie,”
which provides, in two columns, a year-by-year history of the NFB
juxtaposed against corresponding events of interest in the Canadian film
industry at large. These pages, combined with the several
“Essays/Essais” that follow, are thoughtful commentaries that
surpass one’s usual expectations for what is essentially a research
tool.

The bulk of both volumes consists, of course, of alphabetical listings
of the films: about 4475 English-language and 3355 French-language
productions. For researchers who forget a film’s title, the editors
have provided indexes by subject, series, director, producer, and
production year. Each detailed entry informs the reader of such matters
as the release date, the running time, a color/black-and-white
indicator, credits, and an appropriate description of the film’s
content. Each volume contains stills from pertinent films and shots
taken of the actual production personnel in action. Surprisingly, the
English-language illustrations seem to be more fully identified than
their French counterparts.

A researcher’s delight is the exhaustive classified bibliography,
which lists 437 print references on the NFB. All in all, these cheery
blue volumes are welcome additions indeed to the growing shelf of
research resources for all who are interested in Canadian cinema.