7.7 MOVING IMAGES, ARCHIVAL DESCRIPTION AREA

7.7A. Preliminary rule

7.7A1. Scope

See 1.7A1.

7.7A2. Punctuation

Precede each element of description with a full stop, space, dash, space or start a new paragraph for each element of description.
Separate the introductory wording of an element of description from the main content of a note by a colon followed but not preceded by a space.

7.7A3. Form of presentation of information.

Follow the instructions set out in 1.7A4.

7.7A4. Citations in the archival description area.

Follow the instructions set out in 1.7A5.

7.7B. Administrative history / Biographical sketch

7.7B1. Administrative history.

Give a concise administrative history as instructed in 1.7B1.

Crawley Films Limited grew out of the unexpected success of a film shot by F.R. (Budge) Crawley and his wife Judith on their honeymoon. Île d’Orléans won the Hiram Percy Maxim Award for Best Amateur Film of 1939. This success, in conjunction with the developing activities of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) led to the creation of the Ottawa Film Unit, beginning production in 1939. In the early years, they worked closely with the NFB, producing under contract many of the Board’s best known films.
By 1946, the company had been officially incorporated as Crawley Films Limited. In this post-war period, the company turned increasingly to the private sector for sponsorship. Among the more successful collaborations was their long relationship with Imperial Oil Limited. Such successes eventually made Crawley’s the largest private production house in Canada. They also offered production and storage services to many smaller Canadian production companies on a contract basis.
In later years, with the production of television commercials providing a stable financial base, Crawley Films Limited turned its attention to feature- length films.
Over the years, Crawley Films Limited made over 3,500 films, in 25 languages, for over 400 different clients. Their productions depicted the activities of Canadians in every province and territory, as well as topics and locations abroad. The company won 260 awards in national and international competitions and festivals. Crawley Films Limited ceased production in 1989

Le 5 juin 1941, le gouvernement du Québec crée le Service de ciné- photographie sous l’autorité du Conseil exécutif. Le mandat du Service est de gérer tout ce qui concerne la cinématographie, incluant la photographie, pour tous les départements et organismes relevant du Conseil. Le 27 avril 1961, le Service de ciné-photographie devient l’Office du film de la province du Québec, puis l’Office du film du Québec (OFQ), en 1963, sous la responsabilité du Secrétariat de la province.
Le 22 novembre 1967, l’Office du film du Québec est rattaché au ministère des Affaires culturelles, où il demeurera jusqu’au 17 septembre 1975, date de son transfert au ministère des Communications. Le 12 décembre 1980, l’Office du film du Québec retourne au ministère des Affaires culturelles et est aboli le 14 décembre 1983.
L’Office du film du Québec, comme le Service de ciné-photographie, était divisé en trois sections : distribution, photographie et production, appuyés par des services administratifs. La section de distribution comprenait une importante cinémathèque, de près de 6 000 titres et 20 000 copies, dont 20% de productions originales.

Les photographes de la section photographique ont produit pas moins de 500 000 clichés à travers le Québec, touchant tous les sujets.

La section de production a fait réaliser par l’entreprise privée plus de 90% de tous les documents requis par les services gouvernementaux

7.7B2. Biographical sketch.

Give a concise biographical sketch as instructed in 1.7B2.

Early in their careers as filmmakers, Evelyn Spice and Lawrence Cherry met and began a collaboration which spanned many years.
Evelyn Spice Cherry was born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan in 1906 and attended St. John’s College, the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg. She taught school in Canora and Springside, Saskatchewan between 1923 and 1926 before obtaining her Bachelor of Journalism degree in 1929 from the University of Missouri. During the depression, Evelyn Spice Cherry worked as a reporter with the Yorkton Enterprise and the Regina Leader-Post, before travelling to England where she became a member of the British Documentary Group headed by John Grierson. She learned her craft as a film writer, director and producer along with Basil Wright, Arthur Elton and Stuart Legg and remained in England for nine years.
Lawrence W. Cherry was born in Regina, Saskatchewan in 1902. In the early thirties he left for London, England to learn about the making of documentary films. Along with Evelyn, Lawrence worked with John Grierson and the British Documentary Group, and subsequently with the General Post Office. They returned to Canada when World War II was declared and worked independently for several years before joining John Grierson in setting up the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) in Ottawa. The Cherrys headed up the Agriculture Unit of the NFB with Evelyn working as scriptwriter, editor, director and producer, and Lawrence as camera operator, director and producer.
In 1950 Evelyn Cherry resigned from the National Film Board of Canada, while Lawrence continued to produce and direct films until 1957. During this period Evelyn Cherry continued her freelance film writing and taught English at Lafortune Business College in Ottawa. In 1958 the Cherrys returned to Saskatchewan, where Lawrence set up a provincial film unit for the Saskatchewan Government. In 1961, they founded their own company, Cherry Film Productions Ltd., in Regina.
They were joined by their son Bill, who took over much of the direction work after Lawrence Cherry’s death in 1966. Following her retirement from active filmmaking in 1985, Evelyn Cherry moved to Cortes Island, British Columbia. She died in December 1990 in Campbell River, British Columbia

Maurice Proulx est né le 13 avril 1902 à Saint-Pierre-de-Montmagny d’une famille de cultivateurs. Après des études classiques à Sainte-Anne-de-la- Pocatière, il entre au Grand Séminaire du Québec et est ordonné prêtre en 1928. L’année suivante, il entreprend des études en agronomie à la Faculté d’agriculture de l’Université Laval. En 1931 il s’inscrit à l’Université Cornell à Ithaca, dans l’État de New York. C’est là qu’il découvre le cinéma qui s’avère un “professeur” d’anglais patient et efficace.
En 1933, il obtient de ses supérieurs l’argent nécessaire pour se procurer une ciné-caméra. À l’automne 1934 et jusqu’en 1937, il accompagne des groupes de colons qui vont défricher les terres en Abitibi et filme leurs faits et gestes : ses images sonorisées à New York compléteront le premier long métrage documentaire québécois : En pays neufs. En 1938 et 1939, il réalise En pays pittoresque, documentaire sonore de 125 minutes sur la colonisation et les attraits touristiques de la Gaspésie. Jusqu’en 1968, il réalisera et produira pour le gouvernement du Québec et pour quelques autres commanditaires, plus de 50 documentaires sonorisés et au-delà d’une centaine d’autres documents d’actualité.
De 1953 à 1966, il est fort actif dans le secteur social s’occupant en particulier d’adoption. En 1977 et 1985, il remet au gouvernement du Québec la quasi totalité de son oeuvre cinématographique. Il décède à la Pocatière le 7 juin 1988

7.7C. Custodial history.

Give the custodial history as instructed in 1.7C.

Les originaux et les copies des films produits, et les copies des films acquis avant 1941 par les divers services gouvernementaux ont été confiés, après sa création en 1941, au Service de ciné-photographie qui deviendra, en 1961, l’Office du film du Québec. Les originaux et éléments de tirage des films produits tant par l’équipe interne que par les compagnies et réalisateurs privés (qui avaient le choix de leur laboratoire lors de la production) étaient habituellement laissés dans les laboratoires.
À partir de 1975, une équipe d’employés de l’Office du film du Québec amorce la récupération de tous les originaux et éléments de tirage conservés en divers endroits : quatre laboratoires à Montréal, un à Toronto, un à New York, la Cinémathèque québécoise, les Archives nationales du Canada et les Archives provinciales de l’Ontario. Cette opération a été complétée en 1989, soit dix ans après le versement de ces films aux Archives nationales du Québec

7.7D. Scope and content.

Give the scope and content of the unit being described as instructed in 1.7D.

This fonds contains films created by Lawrence W. and Evelyn Cherry during their careers. It contains the bulk of the films produced by their company (1961-1989), as well as representative works from earlier periods, such as Evelyn Cherry’s independent filmmaking in the 1930s, their joint productions in the 1940s at the National Film Board of Canada and Lawrence Cherry’s work for the Saskatchewan government in the 1950s. Over the years, the Cherrys’ films have focused largely, though not exclusively, on Saskatchewan - its history, geography, development and culture
(Scope and content for the Lawrence W. and Evelyn Cherry fonds)

The Saskatchewan Diamond Jubilee series includes material for 16 1- minute spots celebrating the 50th anniversary of Saskatchewan’s entry into Confederation (1905-1965). Subjects include sites of historic interest (Saskatchewan Legislature Building, a church in Dilke, the Museum of Natural History), tourist areas (the Qu’Appelle Valley), industries (potash mining, steam-powered threshing equipment), two versions of O Canada and one of God Save the Queen. Four Jubilee Minutes were never finished; holdings are limited to unedited or partially edited footage
(Scope and content for a series in the Lawrence W. and Evelyn Cherry fonds)

Item is a film illustrating the many hardships of life on the prairies. Structured as a day in the life of a farm family, Prairie Winter is a departure from earlier films shot in western Canada. Footage shows the wind and blowing snow, horse-drawn carriages moving through deep drifts as children travel to and from school, laundry hanging frozen on the clothes line, deliveries to the Wheat Pool elevators, etc.
(Scope and content for a item in the Lawrence W. and Evelyn Cherry fonds)