Cinema
Here Will I Nest
Melburn E. Turner · 1942
Synopsis
The film, based on a play by Hilda Mary Hooke, traces the life of Colonel Thomas Talbot. An Irish officer born in Malahide in 1771, Talbot sold his commission in 1800 and settled on the north shore of Lake Erie. In 1803, he obtained a grant at Port Talbot, chose the settlers he established there himself, had the road that bears his name laid out and governed the region largely outside the control of the province. The story celebrates this life as a founder.
Context
The play by the dramatist was premiered by the London Little Theatre on 14 November 1938, at the Grand Theatre in London. The film was shot in the summer of 1941, largely at Poplar Hill, and shown for the first time on 31 March 1942, by invitation, at the central library in London; it was never distributed in the commercial circuit. It ran about an hour and a half; only the first reel survives, silent, of about fifteen minutes, restored and shown at Museum London in 2003.
Who it is for
Only a silent fragment of a quarter of an hour survives; it is a milestone in the history of Canadian cinema rather than a work to watch.
Prizes and reception
The first Canadian colour feature-length fiction film and the first Canadian play brought to the screen, according to Peter Morris.
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