Chittock, John, editor, and Julian Petley, researcher and compiler, For terms and use, please refer to our Terms and Conditions are currently supervised by The Grierson Trust. In Night Mail, Audens words appear to be running alongside the mail train steaming across the British countryside Past cotton grass and moorland boulders / shoveling white steam over her shoulder. 1977 University of Illinois Press Grierson assisted in the formation of the National Film Board of Canada (1939), and during World War II he supervised information films for the Canadian government. John Grierson was born in Deanston (near Stirling), Scotland, on April 26, 1898. [2] The BBC expressed their wishes to make a programme about Grierson in the year of his seventieth birthday, which he turned down three times[2] In the year of his seventieth birthday, Grierson received many tributes from across the globe. to the better functioning of the whole. [1] Early life [ edit] (exec pr); He was previously married to Margaret Grierson. Grierson grieved the death of his sister Ruby in 1940; she was on the SS City of Benares while it was evacuating one hundred children to Canada. Sight and Sound [2] At the start of 1948 he resigned from his position as director for Mass Communications and Public Information, he left in April to return to Britain. Thanks for contributing to The Canadian Encyclopedia. Children at School , London, 1995. "The Golden Years of Grierson," interview with Elizabeth Journal of Film and Video Grierson's idea was to mobilize the cinema in the service of communication, in the service of building bridges between masses of people and their government, between the masses of people and democratic institutions. By 1945 the NFB He was asked to write criticism for the New York Sun. In this regard, Grierson's views align with the Soviet filmmaker Dziga Vertov's contempt for dramatic fiction as "bourgeois excess", though with considerably more subtlety. Grierson made it his lifes ambition to put film to a social purpose. Served in Royal Navy, World War I. . (London), October 1980. Night Mail. This answer has been confirmed as correct and helpful. The University of Illinois Press is one of the leading publishers of humanities and social sciences journals in the country. Grierson also respected the sweeping epics Hollywood was making and he dreamed about the possibilities of harnessing the power and emotion of screen drama for the public good. He was at the same time general manager of Canada's Wartime Information Board and thus had extraordinary control over how Canadians perceived the war. [4] John was enrolled in the High School at Stirling in September 1908, and he played football and rugby for the school. (Wright) (pr); , Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1989. [2], In 1923, Grierson received a Rockefeller Research Fellowship to study in the United States at the University of Chicago, and later at Columbia and the University of WisconsinMadison. The audience were members of the London Film Society, 1970 Michigan Publishing its ethic. According to popular myth, in the course of this writing stint, Grierson coined the term "documentary" in writing about Robert J. Flaherty's film Moana (1926): "Of course Moana, being a visual account of events in the daily life of a Polynesian youth and his family, has documentary value."[7]. Canadian and British filmmaker John Grierson (1898-1972) used documentaries to build the National Film Board of Canada into one of the world's largest studios. Quarterly of Film, Radio, Television The movement began at the Film Unit of the Empire Marketing Board in 1930. , Toronto, 1984. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). for other countries. Grierson decided to devote his energies to the building of a movement dedicated to the documentary aesthetic and directed only one more film. A "Professional Notes" section informs Society for Cinema and Media Studies members about upcoming events, research opportunities, and the latest published research. 1, 1990. , Berkeley, 1975. [2] Due to the rumours, the projects that Grierson had been trying to put together were not commissioned and he was barred from taking an important position at the United Nations. Pioneering Scottish filmmaker John Grierson (1898-1972) is often considered the father of documentary film and credited with coining the very term "documentary" in his review of Robert Flaherty's film Moana in the February 8, 1926, issue of the New York Sun. Request Permissions. education of citizens required in a world at war, and a new world to Alberto Cavalcanti, 1935). (pr); Lovell, Alan, and Jim Hillier, Cinema Quarterly In 1938, Grierson was invited by the Canadian government to study the country's film production. (London), Spring 1972. public relations agency intended to promote the marketing of the products [2] Grierson returned to Britain but was invited back to Canada on 14 October 1938; he returned in November.[2]. Line to Tschierva Hut (New York), January/February 1977. John Grierson, film producer (born 26 April 1898 in Deanston, Scotland; died 19 February 1972 in Bath, England). [2] On 23 June 1948, he accepted an honorary degree, an LL.D from the University of Glasgow. interview, with slum dwellers in In his review of Robert Flaherty's film Moana (1926) in the New York Sun (8 February 1926), Grierson wrote that it had 'documentary' value. His sister Margaret died in 1906; however, the family continued to grow as John gained three younger sisters, Dorothy, Ruby, and finally Marion in 1907. was the first to use the word Film Board," in John Grierson CBE (26 April 1898 - 19 February 1972) was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. As a producer he was responsible to one extent or Cargo from Jamaica (exec pr); Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Journal in relation to film, applying it to Robert Flaherty's In 1927, Grierson was made Films Officer to the Empire Marketing Board, a position he shared for a time with Walter Creighton. There was talk that a quota system could . During Grierson's administration, the GPO Film Unit produced a series of groundbreaking films, including Night Mail (dir. Introducing the Dial (pr), Night Mail His ancestors were lighthouse keepers and his father was a school teacher. It premiered in a private film club in London in November 1929 on a double-bill with Eisenstein's -then controversial- film The Battleship Potemkin (which was banned from general release in Britain until 1954) and received high praise from both its sponsors and the press. The film revolutionized the way working people were represented in films. (Berkeley), Fall 1972. James, R., "Le Rve de Grierson," in [1], Grierson was born in the old schoolhouse in Deanston, near Doune, Scotland, to schoolmaster Robert Morrison Grierson from Boddam, near Peterhead, and Jane Anthony, a teacher from Ayrshire. documentary John Grierson came to Canada in May 1938 with the mandate to write a report on the Canadian government's film activities. (treatment), Heart of Scotland (co-pr); Cinema Canada [2], Grierson concentrated on documentary film production in New York after resigning his post following in August 1945; his resignation was to take effect in November 1945. His Arthur Elton, Edgar Anstey, John Taylor, and Grierson's sister Ruby Grierson, 1935). He then solicited financial support from business and industry and enlisted the participation of artists interested in realistic filmmaking. [2] The head of the Motion Picture Bureau for Canada, Frank Bagdley, did not appreciate Grierson's assessment and criticism of the films made by the Bureau which was that they focused too much on Canada as a place to holiday. [2], In December 1943 Grierson was elected by the Permanent Film Committee of the National Council for Canadian-Soviet Friendship to become honorary chairman. [2], During this time Grierson had been diagnosed with tuberculosis in May 1953, he spent a fortnight in hospital and then had a year of convalescing at his home, Tog Hill in Calstone. (Paris), no. read them. Our publication program covers a wide range of disciplines including psychology, philosophy, Black studies, women's studies, cultural studies, music, immigration, and more. Nelson, Joyce, As a teacher he trained and, through his writing and speaking, On February 26, 1942, National Film Board of Canada Commissioner John Grierson accepted the Academy Award for documentary short for the film Churchill's Island.Originally produced for a Canadian audience as part of the Canada Carries On series of newsreels, the film would make a huge splash in the USA and help launch a new series produced specifically for our American neighbours. [2] Granton Trawler was a favourite film of Grierson's, he saw it as a homage to the Isabella Greig that was sunk in 1941 by German bombs when it went out to fish and was never seen again. , 4th Edition, London, 1964. nontheatrical distribution and exhibition: going outside the movie Grierson associates, it made films for the government as a whole. States in 1937, and film people from America and other countries visited (exec pr), The Brave Don't Cry [2][10], Grierson was appointed as a foreign adviser to the Commission on Freedom of the Press in December 1943, which had been set up by the University of Chicago. (pr); Film Quarterly This is reflected in his first documentary, Drifters., In a talk show interview decades later, Grierson told the host, Let it be noted that it took this long to get a working man on the screen other than as a comic figure.. Cinmaction [2], This Wonderful World began to be aired in England in February 1959, it ran for a further eight years and was in the Top Ten programmes for the week for the UK in 1960. Phase two, which began in the mid-1930s, consisted of calling public Budgets and staff were reduced and the NFB came under attack for allegedly harbouring left-wing subversives and as holding a monopoly that threatened the livelihoods of commercial producers. Cox, K., "The Grierson Files," in The next day he joined H.M.S Rightwhale, where he was promoted to leading telegraphist on 2 June 1918 and remained on the vessel until he was demobilised[2] with a British War Medal and the Victory Medal. [2] In 1962, he was a member of the jury for the Vancouver Film Festival, during his visit to Canada he also received the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Medal for his contribution to the visual arts. (Wright) (pr), The Londoners How much is a steak that is 3 pounds at $3.85 per pound. ("In the profounder kind of way", wrote Grierson of Flaherty, "we live and prosper each of us by denouncing the other"). another for thousands of films, and he played a decisive creative role in Scottish. In 1939, Canada created the National Film Commission, which would later become the National Film Board of Canada. Spring on the Farm Grierson on Documentary [2] His brother Anthony, who had trained to be a doctor was called and diagnosed Grierson with emphysema, his coughing fits were a cause for concern, and he was admitted to Manor Hospital. In Drifters Griersons probing lens captures the stoic endurance of herring fishermen going about their work in harsh conditions on dangerous high seas. lovely, and lasting of the British documentaries: [2], Grierson was appointed to the position of executive producer of Group 3 at the end of 1950; it was a film production enterprise that received loans of government money through the National Film Finance Corporation. He was a producer and writer, known for Drifters (1929), Child's Play (1954) and Brandy for the Parson (1952). 3, 1989. Between 1946 and 1948 he was director of mass communications for UNESCO and from 1948 to 1950 film controller for Britain's Central Office of Information. From a talented collective of socially conscious filmmakers, artists, composers and writers Grierson built and nurtured the British documentary movement from deep within the bureaucracy of government film units. Film Comment Film (Flaherty) (pr, co-ed), King Log Grierson, meanwhile, carried his ideas Later he was an executive producer in Britain for television and motion pictures and acted as an adviser to makers of informational films. University). [2] The footage from his voyage was handed over to Edgar Anstey, who pulled footage of when the camera had fallen over on the deck of the boat to create a storm scene. Grierson Movement," in [2] This Wonderful World was shown weekly, other topics for episodes included Leonardo da Vinci, ballet, King Penguins and Norman McLaren's Boogie Doodle. [2] He had the idea for the Unesco Courier which was published in several languages across the world, first as a tabloid and later as a magazine. "Grierson Issue" of The unit was headed by John Grierson, who appointed apprentices such as Basil Wright, Arthur Elton, Edgar Anstey, Stuart Legg, Paul Rotha and Harry Watt. impressive monument to Grierson's concepts and actions relating to EMB dissolved and its Film unit transferred to GPO, 1933; resigned from Most notable among these was the direct on Scotland Committee, 1954; produced and presented documentary film as it has developed in the English-speaking countries. Military Service: Film Festival, 1968. Collections, Data Click here to contact a sales representative and request a media kit. His final feature, Louisiana Story (1948), is beautifully photographed, but its message about the harmlessness of oil-drilling has been somewhat undermined by, among other disasters, the recent BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Its also one early example of sound accompanying actuallity footage. Evans, Gary, This is reflected in his first documentary, Drifters.[/caption]. [2] In 1961, Grierson was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours. Grierson's boss at the EMB moved to the General Post Office (GPO) as its first public relations officer, with the stipulation that he could bring the EMB film unit with him. Grierson made his first film, Drifters (1929), out of his one-bedroom apartment using the kitchen table as an editing bench and the bathroom as a projection booth.He directed, shot and edited the silent short about Britains North Sea herring industry. Ham Wright directed the film showing the German sailors that had been captured; playing football, enjoying meals and looking healthy. More than any one other person, John Grierson was responsible for the documentary film as it has developed in the English-speaking countries. (co-pr); [2] In his wishes for his funeral he had detailed his desire to be cremated. Canada = 2 1/4. MacGann, R.D., "Subsidy for the Screen: Grierson and Group 30, no. [2] Grierson wanted to join the navy; his family on his father's side had long been lighthouse keepers, and John had many memories of visiting lighthouses and being beside the sea. [2] Grierson was invited to open the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 1947, from 31 August to 7 September. Shadow on the Mountain (Wright) (pr); Education: The investigators then threw doubt on Grierson himself for his alleged "communist" sympathies. , London, 1958. Sight and Sound , January 1946. that Grierson is most to be valued. (Evanston, Illinois), Fall 1970. Uncharted Waters And looking healthy to Margaret Grierson, this is reflected in his documentary! 1961, Grierson was invited to open the Edinburgh International film Festival in 1947, 31... His funeral he had detailed his desire to be cremated of films, Night... Londoners How much is a steak that is 3 pounds at $ 3.85 per pound working people represented! First documentary, Drifters. [ /caption ] 23 June 1948, he accepted an honorary,! 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