 |
Don Mulholland | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 January 1910 |
| Died | 22 August 1960 (aged 50) |
| Occupation(s) | Producer, director |
| Years active | 1946–1960 |
Don Mulholland (1910-1960) was a film producer and director with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). He was the NFB's first Director of Production, and the founding producer of the series Eye Witness. He was the first director to blend fiction and documentary, and is credited with shaping the course of Canadian film in the 1950s. [1]
Donald Colpitts Mulholland was born in Viola, Minnesota in 1910. It is unclear why or when he moved to Canada but, by 1936, he and his wife Ruth had built a house in Toronto's wealthy Forest Hill neighbourhood and he was working as an advertising executive. [2] With the outbreak of World War II, Mulholland joined the Royal Canadian Air Force; when the war ended, he joined the National Film Board of Canada. [3]
Mulholland was put to work making training films; these led him to make the award-winning short film Safe Clothing. [4] In 1948, he became the first director to blend fiction with documentary when, using non-professional actors and locations rather than sets, he made R.C.M.P. File 1365 - The Connors Case, a dramatization of a real-life murder which achieved theatrical success. [5] [6]
In 1940, the NFB had created the series Canada Carries On , a highly successful newsmagazine created by Stuart Legg. The board decided to produce a second, similar, series, Eye Witness , and Mulholland was given the job of producing it. Eye Witness was a monthly series distributed, by Columbia Pictures, to theatres nationwide. Each 9-15-minute episode covered 3-4 topics, pertaining to various points throughout the country. Perhaps as a result of his training in advertising and the military, Mulholland was known to be ultra-efficient and clear-headed; the right person to coordinate the logistical and creative challenges of the show. Mulholland was its producer from its inception in 1947 through 1949 (the show ran until 1957); he was also simultaneously producing films for Canada Carries On .
In 1950, the NFB underwent a restructuring, which included improved procedures in staffing, financing and accounting, centralization, and modernization of facilities. It was deemed necessary that there should be one executive to manage overall production. There were two candidates: Mulholland and James Beveridge. Beveridge was a mild-mannered, friendly fellow who had been trained by John Grierson; Mulholland was an elegant, aloof boss known for his sharp tongue. Mulholland was chosen and became the NFB's first Director of Production. [7] [8]
There was a storm of protest; some people preferred to work under Beveridge, others didn't want any hierarchy at all. [9] It was not long, however, before Mulholland won over his colleagues, particularly when the NFB announced that it would be moving its head office from Ottawa to Montreal. This was an unpopular decision and Mulholland led the fight against it. But when it became clear that the move would happen, he studied French and became the overall coordinator of the move. [10]
Mulholland was also publicly accused of being a ‘Franchophobe’ who ignored French-language film production. [11] The case actually appeared to be that, with limited budgets, he was following demand instead of trying to create it. [12] In fact, most programming was released in French and, under Mulholland, Francophone filmmakers were kept very busy, particularly Bernard Devlin, Roger Blais, Jean Palardy, Hector Lemieux and Jacques Bobet.
It was also under Mulholland's supervision that such films as Royal Journey (1951), Neighbours (1952), The Romance of Transportation in Canada (1952), City of Gold (1957), The Living Stone (1958), Universe (1960), and a A Chairy Tale (1957) were produced. At the 9th Canadian Film Awards in 1957, Mulholland was presented with a special Genie Award for his "notable encouragement of creative Canadian film production". In 1964, John Grierson stated that the previous decade was the board's “most creative and productive”. [13]
In 1958, Grant McLean became Head of Production. Mulholland was Director of Operations, Research, Planning, Industry Relations and Technical Services. His rise in the board has been called ‘meteoric’ and it was no secret that he hoped to become commissioner; he was deputy commissioner in all but name. [14] But his ambitions were not to come to fruition. In 1958, he was diagnosed with cancer; he continued working but died in August 1960, at age 50.
National Film Board of Canada [15] [16]
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