Eye Witness (Canadian film series)

Eye Witness was a current events film series, produced by the National Film Board of Canada, which ran from 1947 to 1958. It ran concurrently in Quebec as Coup d'oeil.

In 1940, the National Film Board (NFB) created the morale-boosting propaganda series Canada Carries On, which was funded by the Wartime Information Board. When the war ended in 1945, the series lost its funding from that source, but the NFB continued with it until 1959.

At the time, Canada had a huge theatre-going public, and one theatre show would normally be a cartoon, a sponsored, promotional or informational film, and then the main feature. Canada Carries On was supplied for inclusion in the shows of all Famous Players theatres. In the mid-1940s, with heavy investment from The Rank Organisation of Britain, Odeon Cinemas came into being. It also needed content and, in 1947, the NFB answered with Eye Witness.

Eye Witness was less about propaganda and more about the NFB's mandate to show Canada to Canadians, and foster a greater sense of unity.McGechaen, Alexander, The Role of the National Film Board in the Development of Adult Education Programs... University of British Columbia 1971 It was also distributed by Columbia Pictures, which included Eye Witness in its international offerings. The show was issued monthly, with each reel lasting from nine to twelve minutes and, for the most part, containing three distinct stories. They were vignettes covering various aspects of Canadian life, and/or issues that Canadians cared about, and could take place anywhere in the country.

The show's first producer was Don Mulholland, who managed its difficult logistics by dispatching cameramen, rather than entire teams, to film stories. As time went on, and budgets were increased, production could include an entire crew. Until 1952, Lorne Greene was the narrator; from then on, narration was handled, mainly, by Budd Knapp, Fred Davis, Elwood Glover and Geoffrey Hogwood.

By 1958, an ever-increasing number of Canadians had televisions in their homes and theatres were running features. The NFB commissioner Guy Roberge cancelled Eye Witness and replaced it with the short-lived series Candid Eye.

Episodes

1947 NumberTitleDirector/CameraProducerLength0Shipping Milk to Europe, Tuna Fishing, Shipping Grain to Britain, Garden Seed IndustryDon Mulholland 11 min.1 Chalk River, Industrialization in South AfricaDon Mulholland11 min.

1948 NumberTitle Director/CameraProducerLength2Canada at the U.N. Security Council, Harvesting Hemlock in B.C.Don Mulholland10 min.3European Immigrants Arrive in Halifax, Population Explosion in YellowknifeDon Mulholland11 min.4Commercial Ice Fishing in Manitoba, Indian Health Service Doctor, Banff Winter Carnival, Barbara Ann ScottDon Mulholland13 min.5Mass Housing Construction in Ottawa, Logs Head to Pulp MillsDon Mulholland11 min.6Liberal Convention, Valleyfield RegattaDon Mulholland11 min.7Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, Antgonish Highland FestivalDon Mulholland9 min.8Progressive Conservative Convention, Bird Dog TrialsDon Mulholland11 min.9Mackenzie King Retires, Crossroads for Ducks, Whaling Begins Again on the British Columbia Coast, Pennies from CanadaDon Mulholland15 min.10Gréber Plan, Terrace Bay, Floating VillageDon Mulholland10 min.

1949 NumberTitle Director/CameraProducerLength11Classroom on Rails, Disabled Civilians WorkshopDon Mulholland11 min.12The Opening of Canada's ParliamentDon Mulholland20 min.13Lumber Tugs Buck Flood-Swollen Fraser, Spring Round-up in B.C.Don Mulholland10 min.14Man-Made Desert, Police Boys' ClubDon Mulholland11 min.15Man-Made Niagara, Irrigation Revitalizes Dust Bowl, Underwater HarvestDon Mulholland11 min.16Art in the Park, Billions in Black Oil, The Friendly Tides of FundyNathan Clavier, Gordon BurwashDon Mulholland11 min.

1950 NumberTitleDirector/CameraProducerLength17Modern Magic with Liquid Air, Canada's Biggest Bird House, City Mobilizes for Crippled ChildrenDon Mulholland11 min.18Salt Water Farmers Grow Fancy Crops, Regina Rainmaker, Springtime in the Sugar BushDon Mulholland11 min.19Flying Farmers, Miser Makes Money for Others, Toronto Curbs Jay-Walkers feat. Edward Everett Horton, Landlubbers Become Salty SailorsDon Mulholland11 min.20Hunting the Rare Snow Goose, Slum Dwellers Get New Homes for Old, Mighty Men Match Muscle MagicDon Mulholland10 min.21B.C.'s Lady Legislator, Researchers Pave Skyways for Canada's Plane Makers, Cow Collects Currency, Then Caches Cash, Skiers Travel 5000 Miles to Challenge Famous HillDon Mulholland11 min.22Alberta's Blood Indians, Music Master, Sky Sentries Don Mulholland11 min.23The Magic Isle in Toronto Bay, Nature Conscripted in War on Worms, Students Learn Lessons in the Sky Grant McLean, Hector Lemieux, Maurice ConstantDon Mulholland11 min.24The Fine Art of Making Money, Sable Island: Graveyard of the Atlantic, B.C. Develops Schoolboy Rangers John FosterDon Mulholland11 min.25New Methods Feed the North, A Brain, a Voice - and Courage, From Ivy Walls to Sea and Squalls Hector Lemieux, John Foster, Osmond BorradaileDon Mulholland11 min.

1951 NumberTitle Director/CameraProducerLength26Their Hobby Is Saving Lives, Diana Discovers the Drama, Man-Made Hades - The Steel Mill Hector Lemieux, Lorne C. Batchelor Gordon Burwash10 min.27Halifax's Junior Bengal Lancers, Where the Big Ones Grow Bigger and Bigger, From Jobs and Schools to Swimming Pools, Alberta Blitzes Prairie KillersJean-Marie Couture, John Foster Gordon Burwash11 min.28New Look on Rails, Dedication to the Dance, Fun in Fur LandRon Weyman, Allen Stark, Gordon Burwash Gordon Burwash11 min.29Pied Piper of the Three R's, Radio Runs Water War, Church of the Open Road, Down-Under with Toronto's Subway Builders Osmond Borradaile, Robert Humble, Lorne C. Batchelor, Jean-Marie CoutureGordon Burwash9 min.30Still Gold in Them Thar Hills, Canada's New State Residence, Sister Pelagie, Trapping the Sea Lamprey, Flying Fashions Julien St-Georges, Lorne C. Batchelor, Jean Roy, Hector LemieuxGordon Burwash11 min.31unknown32Show World's Show Place, Nipissing's Net Prophet, Sarnia UnlimitedHector Lemieux, Thomas Farley, Gordon BurwashGordon Burwash11 min.33The Ship that Never Sails, Freedom Jamboree, A Metal Mountain John Foster, Walter A. Sutton, Walford HewitsonGordon Burwash11 min.34The Fireman Is a Grocer, Artistry in Clay and Cloth, Winter Morning Grant McLean, Walford Hewitson, Hector Lemieux, Lorne C. BatchelorGordon Burwash11 min.35The Lonely Age: Sixty, Operation Niagara, Weekend in Herring NeckGordon Burwash11 min.

1952 NumberTitle Director/CameraProducerLength36Cosmic Clock, Downtown Mountain, Grand Champs Gordon Burwash, John Foster, Hector Lemieux, Gil LaRoche, Roger RacineGordon Burwash11 min.37Queer Careers, Defeating Delinquency, Tomorrow's FavouritesDon Mulholland11 min.38Sea-Coast Service, White Water Highways, Fun and Fine Arts Hector Lemieux, Walford Hewitson, E. WilsonGordon Burwash11 min.39Riches to Burn, Old Art--New Mould, Arctic Lifeline Walford Hewitson, Don Peters, John Spotton, Douglas Wilkinson Jean RoyGordon Burwash11 min.40The Port of Flowing Grain, Modern Miracle: Surgery Is Safe, Home-Made Community Walford Hewitson, Robert HumbleGordon Burwash11 min.41Sabres at the Ready, Midnight Sculptors, Crime Detection at the DoubleThomas Farley, Walford HewitsonDavid Bairstow11 min.4227th Canadian Infantry Brigade at HanoverGrant McLeanDavid Bairstow11 min.43Traffic Cops in Jumpers and Jeans, Gill Netters by the Dozen, A 'Canadien' in ParisWalford Hewitson, Stanley Clinton, Jack Long, Grant McLeanDavid Bairstow11 min.44Whittlers' Village, Flying Farmer, The Children's Own Hospital Gil LaRoche, John Foster, Thomas Farley, Walter A. Sutton, John SpottonDavid Bairstow11 min.45Laval Keeps Up with the Times, Luxury Crop from Northern Lakes, Allied Airmen Train in Canada Roger Blais, Lorne C. Batchelor, Walford Hewitson, Thomas Farley, Walter A. SuttonDavid Bairstow10 min.46Gadget Ship Aids Mariners, Canadian Soldiers See Normandy Today, Maple Leaf Gardens Merry-Go-RoundThomas Farley, Walter Sutton, Grant McLean, Gordon Burwash, John FosterDavid Bairstow11 min.47Their Clinic's the World, Home on the Campus, The Plane that Beats the Bush Grant McLean, Gordon Burwash, Walford HewitsonDavid Bairstow11 min.

1953 NumberTitleDirector/CameraProducerLength48Modes by Mail, Sentinel in the Gulf, School for Test PilotsGrant McLean, Gordon Burwash, Jean Roy, Jacques Giraldeau, John FosterDavid Bairstow10 min.49Backstage Artists, Bird Man of Grand Manan, The Looms That Crossed the SeaWalford Hewitson, Lorne C. Batchelor, Thomas Farley, Walter A. Sutton, Gil LaRoche, John SpottonDavid Bairstow11 min.50The Glass Makers, Return of the Beaver, Uranium CityJohn Spotton, Stephen Greenlees, Gil LaRoche, Lorne C. BatchelorDavid Bairstow11 min.51Royal Ontario Museum Is a Popular Classroom, R.C.A.F. Teaches Wilderness Survival, Getting Together with Overseas FriendsDavid Bairstow11 min.52Next Year's Newsprint on Its Way, Moppet ModelsJean Palardy, Hector LemieuxDavid Bairstow9 min.53Immigrants from HollandGrant McLeanDavid Bairstow11 min.54Ball Stars Start Young, An Auto a Minute, A Railroad Goes to SeaDaryl Duke, Felix Lazarus, Jack LongDavid Bairstow11 min.55Indian Canoe Experts Shoot White Water, Low-Cost College Stresses Books, Not Buildings, Canada's First Five-Pin 'Grey Cup''' |Stephen Greenlees, John Foster, Gordon Burwash |David Bairstow |11 min. |- |56 |Scottish Shepherd Tries New Pastures, Outdoor Classrooms Help Children Catch Up, Canadian Experts Help Arab Farmers|Hector Lemieux, Ron Weyman, Grant McLean |David Bairstow |11 min. |- |57 |Light Plane Armada Makes Friendly Invasion, Canada's Vegetable Garden Beats the Season, Canadian Experts Help Arab Farmers|Julian Biggs, Grant McLean |David Bairstow |11 min. |- |58 |Canadian Works with U.N.'s Problem Refugees, Tractor Train Pushes Through Northern Wilderness|Ron Weyman, Grant McLean |David Bairstow |11 min. |- |59 |Bridging the Gap, Ancient Art, Modern Sport, V.O.N.: Everybody's Nurse|David Bairstow |David Bairstow |11 min. |- |60 |Tomorrow's Officers, This Unseen World, Scientists Uncover Prehistoric Alberta''Raymond Garceau, Lorne C. Batchelor, Maurice Constant, Jack LongDavid Bairstow11 min.

1954 NumberTitleDirector/sProducerLength61R.C.A.F. Keeps Watch on the Moselle, New NATO Brigade Takes Up PositionRobert Humble, David BairstowDavid Bairstow11 min.62All-Girl Chorus Makes Fine Music, First Cruise for a New Supply ShipDavid Bairstow, Hector LemieuxDavid Bairstow11 min.63Veteran Steamer Ends Record Service, Inside Story of a Lady's Mink CoatJack Long, Walford HewitsonDavid Bairstow11 min.64A New Life for the Handicapped, Fishermen Hunt Battling BroadbillsHector Lemieux, Walford HewitsonJack Olsen11 min.65Old Glory Weather Station, Easter in JerusalemHector Lemieux, Ron WeymanJack Olsen11 min.66Canada Helps Pakistan Bridge the Gap of Centuries of Economic AdversityGordon BurwashJack Olsen11 min.67Apprentices Learn While Building School, Aerial Attack on Spruce BudwormFernand Ménard, Robert AndersonJack Olsen11 min.68Birth of a Book, Eskimos Work Arctic Coal Mine, Dispatch Riders Perform Cycle CapersWalford Hewitson, Douglas Wilkinson, Peter JonesJack Olsen11 min.

1955