On the Spot was the first television series made specifically for TV by the National Film Board of Canada, and aired on CBC Television from 1953 to 1955.[1] Each episode reported on a different aspect of life in Canada and was introduced with the line "The National Film Board’s up-to-the-minute report of what’s happening somewhere in Canada”.[2] The series was originated by Bernard Devlin, with Robert Anderson as executive producer.[3]
| On the Spot | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Bernard Devlin |
| Presented by | Fred Davis Robert Anderson Lloyd Bochner Austin Willis |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 66 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Robert Anderson |
| Running time | 13-30 minutes |
| Production company | National Film Board of Canada |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBC |
| Release | October 6, 1953 – June 30, 1955 |
| Related | |
| Perspective | |
The series debuted on October 6, 1953, at 7:45 pm and ran until June 30, 1955, for a total of 66 episodes. Episodes were from 13 to 30 minutes, with the CBC running one or two in one time slot. The series changed time slots frequently, playing as late as 11:45 pm on Monday nights before going to Sundays at 4:30 pm. The second season aired on Sundays at 10 pm. Cancelled after the 15th episode of the third season, On the Spot was replaced by Perspective, a 30-minute show that mixed documentary reports and dramatizations on contemporary Canadian issues.[4]
Episodes included Survival in the Bush, with producer Robert Anderson, acting as host, apparently dropped off in northern Quebec armed with just an axe; The Dresden Story, looking at racism in a small Ontario town, where the town's white and black populations insisted on being filmed separately; and Artist in Montreal, written and directed by Jean Palardy, looking at the Automatistes movement.[4][5]
Transpacific Flight involved an account of a flight across the Pacific Ocean in 1953, based on first-person interviews of the flight crew by Fred Davis.[6] Another aviation-themed episode was Radar Station (1953). The documentary involved an account of a visit to a radar station while it was involved in a simulated air attack and was based on first-person interviews, by RCAF Squadron Leader Bill Lee, of the station's staff.[7]
One episode that was cancelled was Backstage at Parliament, on the workings of the Canadian Parliament, with a mock session with actual members of Parliament. When the film was shown to the Prime Minister's Office, there were complaints about showing a session of Parliament without including the PM and the NFB was forced to shelve the episode.[4]
The episode Alcoholism won the Frigon Trophy for Best Canadian Television Programme on Film at the 1957 Gala Radiomonde et Télémonde.[8]
Regards sur le Canada
editThree On the Spot episodes were produced in French: Alcoholism (L'alcoolisme, est-ce une maladie?), Artists in Montreal (Artiste à Montréal) and Better Business Bureau. Devlin and Anderson then produced a French series for Quebec, Regards sur le Canada.[9] Thirty-nine 30-minute episodes of Regards sur le Canada aired on Radio-Canada from late 1953 through 1955. It was not new programming; this series was a combination of previously-released, market-appropriate documentaries and episodes of Eye Witness.
Episodes
edit(Air dates are unavailable)[10]
1953
edit| Title | Director | Producer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Winnipeg Story | Bernard Devlin | Bernard Devlin | 14:34 min. |
| Winnipeg Ballet | Bernard Devlin | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| Oil | Bernard Devlin | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| Transpacific Flight | Bernard Devlin | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| It's Raining Soldiers! | Bernard Devlin | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| Football Story | Bernard Devlin | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| Hotel Story | Bernard Devlin | Bernard Devlin | 13 min. |
| The Zoo in Stanley Park | Bernard Devlin | Bernard Devlin | 14:47 min. |
| The Mounties' Crime Lab | Bernard Devlin | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| Saskatchewan Farm Museum | Bernard Devlin | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| Radar Station | Allen Stark | Allen Stark | 15 min. |
1954
edit| Title | Director | Producer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| School for Charm | Bernard Devlin | Allen Stark | 30 min. |
| Dresden Story | Julian Biggs | Grant McLean Julian Biggs Gordon Burwash |
30 min. |
| Story of a Newspaper | Julian Biggs | Bernard Devlin | 14:12 min. |
| Laurentian Skiing | Allen Stark | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| Test Pilot | Allen Stark | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| The Strong Man | Bernard Devlin | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| Threshermen’s Reunion | Rollo Gamble | Robert Anderson | 30 min. |
| Survival in the Bush | Bernard Devlin | Robert Anderson | 30 min. |
| The Traffic Cop | Jack Olsen | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| Javanese Dancing | Bernard Devlin | Julian Biggs | 15 min. |
| On Leave in Tokyo | Bernard Devlin | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| Police Club for Boys | Allen Stark | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| Artist in Montreal | Jean Palardy | Robert Anderson | 30 min. |
| Hidden Power | John Feeney | Allen Stark | 30 min. |
| Movies in the Mill | Allen Stark | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| Judo - Jinks | Bernard Devlin | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| Chinese Canadians | Allen Stark | Robert Anderson | 30 min. |
| Food and Drug Patrol | Allen Stark | Allen Stark | 30 min. |
| Korea, After the War | Bernard Devlin | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| Aviation Medicine | Julian Biggs | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| End of Tour | Bernard Devlin | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| Auto Production | John Spotton | Allen Stark | 15 min. |
| Chosen Children | Bernard Devlin | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| Workshop for Science | Gordon Burwash Grant McLean |
Gordon Burwash Grant McLean |
30 min. |
| Better Business Bureau | Bernard Devlin | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| Camera Men | Allen Stark | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| The Magnificent | Julian Biggs | Robert Anderson | 30 min. |
| How to Climb a Mountain | Walford Hewitson | Robert Anderson | 30 min. |
| The Doll Factory | Julian Biggs | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| Deep Sleep | Jack Olsen | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| The Car Mart | Walford Hewitson | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| Cancer Clinic | Allen Stark | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| Bureau of Missing Persons | Bernard Devlin | Allen Stark | 30 min. |
| Curtain Time in Ottawa | Bernard Devlin | Bernard Devlin | 14:21 min. |
| Harness Racing | Bernard Devlin | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| French Cuisine | Bernard Devlin | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| The Magic Men | Jack Olsen | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| Micro Movies | Bernard Devlin | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
| Montreal Fire Department | Allen Stark | Allen Stark | 15 min. |
| Vancouver's Chinatown | Bernard Devlin | Bernard Devlin | 15 min. |
1955
edit| Title | Director | Producer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christmas Comes Twice | Gordon Burwash Grant McLean |
Gordon Burwash Grant McLean |
30 min. |
| Routine Flight | Gordon Burwash Grant McLean |
Gordon Burwash Grant McLean |
30 min. |
| Trends in Textiles | Rollo Gamble | Allen Stark | 30 min. |
| Vertical Flight | Grant McLean | Grant McLean | 30 min. |
| Two Countries, One Street | Jean Palardy | Robert Anderson | 30 min. |
| Maritime Montage | Julian Biggs Rollo Gamble |
Robert Anderson | 30 min. |
| Lunenburg - Home of the Bluenose | Ernest Reid | Robert Anderson | 30 min. |
| Gold Rush Land | Allen Stark | Robert Anderson | 30 min. |
| Food Facts | John Feeney | Allen Stark | 30 min. |
| Prairie University | John Feeney | Robert Anderson | 30 min. |
| Forest Wardens | Allen Stark | Allen Stark | 30 min. |
| Backstage at Parliament | Don Haldane | Allen Stark | 30 min. |
| Child Guidance Clinic | Don Haldane | Allen Stark | 30 min. |
| Alcoholism | Don Haldane | Allen Stark | 30 min. |
| Career College | Rollo Gamble | Allen Stark | 30 min. |
References
edit- ^ "Series - On the Spot". onf-nfb.gc.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
- ^ "On the Spot". nfb.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
- ^ Allan, Blaine. "CBC Television Series, 1952-1982." Archived 2010-03-11 at the Wayback Machine Queen's Film and Media: Queen's University. Retrieved: January 21, 2016.
- ^ a b c Ohayon, Albert. "On the Spot: The NFB in the early days of television." National Film Board of Canada (NFB.ca), April 14, 2010. Retrieved: January 21, 2016.
- ^ Robertson, Clive (2006). Policy Matters: Administrations of Art and Culture. YYZ Books. p. 166. ISBN 9780920397367. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
- ^ Weldon, Carolyne. "Jets, Floatplanes and Bombers: 15 NFB Films about Planes." National Film Board of Canada, June 12, 2012. Retrieved: January 12, 2016.
- ^ Armbruster, Fred. "National Film Board Videos: Radar Station". Canadian Civil Defence Museum Association. 2012. Retrieved: January 20, 2016.
- ^ "Alcoholism". onf-nfb.gc.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
- ^ "Regards Sur le Canada". onf-nfb.gc.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
- ^ "On the Spot". onf-nfb.gc.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
External links
edit- Complete list of On the Spot episodes
- On The Spot - Canadian Communication Foundation