Bernard Devlin

Joseph Bernard Devlin (2 September 1923 – 1 January 1983) was a French-Canadian film director, producer, and writer who played an important role in the development of French-language film production at the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).

Biography Devlin was born and raised in Quebec City. After attending Loyola College, he joined the Royal Canadian Navy and saw action in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and North Africa. After the war, he moved to Ottawa and joined the NFB. He was one of the few French-Canadians there; he joined Vincent Paquette and Jean Palardy and, after the war, the NFB hired Roger Blais and Raymond Garceau, among others.

This group made French films, but it also continued to make English films, and dub them for Quebec. In 1951, the NFB created a studio for the creation of French-language films. Devlin wasn't given a title, but he was put in charge of the unit and spent the next two years producing films about French-Canadian culture. While he was reportedly an anti-nationalist, he did a great deal to further French-Canadian film production at the NFB.

In 1953, the NFB produced its first television series, which ran for two years on the CBC. It was called On the Spot and it was a series of short documentaries, 39 of which were directed and/or produced by Devlin.

In 1954, Devlin was seconded by Radio-Canada to help establish French-language television programming and spent the next five years creating Sur le vif (On the Spot). These were NFB-produced films for the CBC; the difference was that there were no dubbed versions of English films and no duplications of subject matter. They were original films, in French, for French-Canadians.

Devlin returned to the National Film Board in 1959, directing French-language television programs, and was director of French production again from 1960 to 1961. In 1971, he was given the one-year appointment of Director of English Production. He spent the latter years of his career creating English-language films and retired in 1977. He died in Montreal in 1983, at age 59.

Filmography

Ski Skill - documentary short, 1946 - co-writer with Sydney Newman, co-director with Roger Blais Vive le ski! - documentary short, 1946 - co-writer with Roger Blais and Georges Ayotte, co-director with Roger Blais Ici...Ottawa - documentary short, 1946 - writer, director Vers l'avenir - documentary short, 1947 - director Horizons de Québec - documentary short, 1948 - writer, director Double Heritage - documentary short, 1948 - director Abitibi - documentary short, David Bairstow 1949 - writer A Capital Plan - documentary short, 1949 - director French Canada: 1534-1848 - documentary short, 1950 - director Local 100 - short film, 1950 - writer, director St. Lawrence Coaster - documentary short, Denys Gagnon 1951 - editor Ottawa: Today and Tomorrow - documentary short, 1951 - director The Sexton - documentary short, Raymond Garceau 1952 - producer Seven Islands - documentary short, Gil LaRoche 1952 - producer The Puppeteers - documentary short, Jacques Giraldeau 1952 - producer The Bird Fancier - short film, 1952 - co-director with Jean Palardy The Settler (L'Abatis) - documentary short, 1952 - writer, co-director with Raymond Garceau Winter Week-end - short film, 1952 - director Backstage - documentary short, 1953 - producer Tempest in Town - short film, Raymond Garceau 1953 - producer The Motorman - documentary short, Gil LaRoche 1953 - producer Music Professor - documentary short, Gil LaRoche 1953 - producer The Village Notary - short film, Pierre Arbour 1953 - producer The Wind-Swept Isles - documentary short, Jean Palardy 1953 - producer Ti-Jean Goes Lumbering - short film, Jean Palardy 1953 - executive producer On the Spot: Transpacific Flight - documentary short, 1953 - producer On the Spot: Football Story - documentary short, 1953 - producer, director On the Spot: Hotel Story - documentary short, 1953 - producer, director On the Spot: Winnipeg Ballet - documentary short, 1953 - producer On the Spot: The Winnipeg Story - documentary short, 1953 - producer On the Spot: Oil - documentary short, 1953 - producer, director On the Spot: Saskatchewan Farm Museum Story - documentary short, 1953 - producer, director On the Spot: It's Raining Soldiers! - documentary short, 1953 - producer, director On the Spot: The Mounties' Crime Lab - documentary short, 1953 - editor, producer, director On the Spot: The Zoo in Stanley Park- documentary short, 1953 - producer, director On the Spot: School for Charm - documentary short, 1954 - writer, director On the Spot: Aviation Medicine - documentary short, 1954 - producer On the Spot: The Strong Man - documentary short, Julian Biggs 1954 - producer On the Spot: Story of a Newspaper - documentary short, Julian Biggs 1954 - producer On the Spot: The Doll Factory - documentary short, Julian Biggs 1954 - producer On the Spot: Better Business Bureau - documentary short, 1954 - producer, director On the Spot: Bureau of Missing Persons - documentary short, 1954 -director On the Spot: Chosen Children - documentary short, 1954 -producer, director On the Spot: Curtain Time in Ottawa - documentary short, 1954 - producer, director On the Spot: French Cuisine - documentary short, 1954 -producer, director On the Spot: Harness Racing - documentary short, 1954 - producer, director On the Spot: Javanese Dancing - documentary short, 1954 - director On the Spot: Judo - Jinks - documentary short, 1954 - editor, producer, director On the Spot: Korea, After the War - documentary short, 1954 - producer, director On the Spot: Movies in the Mill - documentary short, Allen Stark 1954 - producer On the Spot: Cancer Clinic - documentary short, Allen Stark 1954 - producer On the Spot: The Magic Men - documentary short, Jack Olsen 1954 - producer On the Spot: End of Tour - documentary short, 1954 - producer On the Spot: Camera Men - documentary short, Allen Stark 1954 - producer On the Spot: Police Club for Boys - documentary short, Allen Stark 1954 - producer On the Spot: Test Pilot - documentary short, Allen Stark 1954 - producer On the Spot: Deep Sleep - documentary short, Jack Olsen 1954 - producer On the Spot: The Traffic Cop - documentary short, Jack Olsen 1954 - producer On the Spot: Micro Movies - documentary short, 1954 - producer, director On the Spot: On Leave in Tokyo - documentary short, 1954 - producer, director On the Spot: Survival in the Bush - documentary short, 1954 - director On the Spot: The Car Mart - documentary short, Walford Hewitson 1954 - producer On the Spot: Laurentian Skiing - documentary short, Allen Stark 1954 - producer On the Spot: Vancouver's Chinatown - documentary short, 1954 - producer, director Men at Work - short film, Donald Peters, 1954 - producer Window on Canada No. 26 - documentary short, 1954 - producer Saint-Jean - documentary short, Gil LaRoche 1954 - producer L'abbé Pierre - documentary short, 1954 - director, co-producer with Robert Anderson L'or de l'Abitibi - documentary short, 1954 - producer, director Le prospecteur - documentary short, 1954 - producer, director Les Polonais du Canada - documentary short, 1954 - director, co-producer with Robert Anderson La Coupe du bois en Colombie-Britannique - short film, Gil LaRoche 1954 - producer Dorval et Gander - short film, Gil LaRoche 1954 - producer La Fabrication du papier - short film, Gil LaRoche 1954 - producer Regards sur le Canada Numbers 1-39 - documentary shorts, 1954 - producer, co-director with Robert Anderson Reliques indiennes - documentary short, Gil LaRoche 1954 - producer Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon - short film, Gil LaRoche 1954 - producer Trappeur indien - documentary short, 1955 - writer, producer, director Pour survivre en forêt - documentary short, 1955 - director L'Alpinisme - short film, Rollo Gamble 1955 - writer Le 22e régiment en Allemagne - documentary short, 1955 - writer, director Boîte de nuit - documentary short, 1955 - producer, director Le chauffard - documentary short, 1955 - director Circulation à Montréal - documentary short, 1955 - writer, director L'élevage dans l'Ouest - short film, Rollo Gamble 1955 - writer La crèche d'Youville - documentary short, 1955 - producer, director New Hearts for Old - documentary short, 1955 - co-director with Jean Lenauer Le Colon - documentary short, 1955 - producer, director Les canadiens français dans l'Ouest - documentary short, 1955 - director Nos aviateurs outre-mer - documentary short, 1955 - director Quartier chinois - documentary short, 1955 - director Radio Police - documentary short, 1955 - director Retour à Dieppe - documentary short, 1955 - producer, director Aéro-Club - documentary short, 1956 - director Raw Material - documentary short, 1956 - director Alfred J. - documentary, 1956 - director Case of Conscience - short film, 1956 - director D'homme à homme - short film, 1956 - director Il s'enfla si bien - short film, 1956 - director Le cas Labrecque - short film, 1956 - director Le vieux bien - short film, 1956 - director Night Children - documentary short, Perspective series 1956 - director L'Homme à l'âge de la machine - short film, Donald Peters 1956 - producer Que Dieu vous soit en aide - short film, 1956 - director The Visit - short film, 1956 - director Tu enfanteras dans la joie - short film, 1956 - director Les nouveaux venus - short film, 1957 - director The Suspects - short film, Perspective series 1957 - director Les Brûlés, 1-8 - short films, 1957 - writer, director (released as The Promised Land in 1962) Rendezvous - documentary short, 1958 - director Age of Dissent: Young Men with Opinions - documentary, 1959 - director, co-producer with Ian MacNeill Britain and Canada Debate Britain's World Leadership - documentary, 1959 - co-producer with Ian MacNeill, co-director with Richard Gilbert L'immigré - short film, 1959 - director L'Héritage - short film, 1960 - director, co-writer with Léonard Forest Walk Down Any Street - short film, 1960 - writer, director Dubois et fils - short film, 1961 - co-director with Raymond Leboursier Alexis Ladoceur, Métis - documentary short, Raymond Garceau 1961 - co-producer with Victor Jobin The Niger, Young Republic - documentary, Claude Jutra 1961 - producer The Promised Land - feature, 1962 - writer, director Les Bacheliers de la cinquième - documentary short, Clément Perron and François Séguillon 1962 - co-producer with Victor Jobin The Gold Seekers - documentary short, Robert Russell 1962 - co-producer with Victor Jobin The Lake Man - documentary short, Raymond Garceau 1962 - co-producer with Victor Jobin Loisirs - documentary short, Clément Perron and Pierre Patry 1962 - co-producer with Victor Jobin Adultes avec réserve (Boulevard Saint-Laurent) - documentary short, Jack Zolov and Marc Beaudet 1962 - co-producer with Victor Jobin September Five at Saint-Henri - documentary short, Hubert Aquin 1962 - cinematographer Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine - short film, Pierre Patry 1962 - producer David Thompson: The Great Mapmaker - short film, 1964 - director The Voyageurs - documentary short 1964 - producer, director The Correctional Process - documentary, 1964 - writer, director Blindness - short film, Morten Parker 1964 - co-writer with Edmund Reid and Wilson Southam The Visit - documentary short, John Kemeny 1964 - producer Octopus Hunt - documentary short, 1965 - director Once Upon a Prime Time - short film, 1966 - director Pre-Release - documentary short, 1966 - writer, director A Question of Identity: War of 1812 - short film, 1966 - producer, director Judoka - documentary short, Josef Reeve 1967 - co-producer with David Bairstow Seniority Versus Ability - documentary short, 1968 - director A Matter of Survival - documentary short, 1969 - editor, director Below Zero - documentary short, Michel Régnier 1970 - co-writer with William Weintraub The End of the Nancy J - short film, 1970 - writer, producer, director A Case of Eggs, Episodes 1-4 - short films, 1974 - writer, director Striker - short film, Robert Nichol 1976 - co-producer with Israel Hicks Nature's Food Chain - documentary short, 1977 - editor, co-producer and -director with André Petrowski

Awards

Ski Skill (1946) Ski Club Festival, Sestriere, Italy: First Place, Ski Club Cup, 1951 International Sports Film Festival, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy: Bronze Medal, 1951

The Settler (1952) International Festival of the Agricultural Film, Rome: Second Prize, Education for Farmers, 1953 6th Canadian Film Awards, Montreal: Honourable Mention - Theatrical Short, 1954 Golden Reel International Film Festival, Film Council of America, Chicago: Recognition of Merit, 1954

The Bird Fancier (1952) 5th Canadian Film Awards, Montreal: Best Theatrical Short, 1953

Ti-Jean Goes Lumbering (1953) Yorkton Film Festival, Yorkton, Saskatchewan: Honourable Mention, 1954 Okanagan Film Festival, Kelowna, British Columbia: First Prize, Children’s Films, 1958

Alfred J. (1956) International Labour Film Festival, Vienna: Second Prize, 1957

Walk Down Any Street (1960) Philippines Film Festival on Mental Health, Manila: Plaque of Merit, 1965

The Niger, Young Republic (1961) Festival dei Popoli, Florence, Italy: Special Jury Prize, 1961

Octopus Hunt (1965) Electronic, Nuclear and Teleradio Cinematographic Review, Rome: Gold Rocket, Sports Films 1968

A Matter of Survival (1969) American Film and Video Festival, New York: Blue Ribbon, 1970 International Labour and Industrial Film Festival, Antwerp: Selection Committee Award, 1971 International Labour and Industrial Film Festival, Antwerp: Director's Award, 1971 International Labour and Industrial Film Festival, Antwerp: Award of Excellence, 1971 Industrial Film Awards, New York: Best in Category: Industrial Photography, 1971

Nature's Food Chain (1977) American Film and Video Festival, New York: Red Ribbon, Nature and Wildlife, 1979