A Little Fellow from Gambo: The Joey Smallwood Story is a 1970 documentary film directed by Julian Biggs for the National Film Board of Canada in 1970.[1]
| A Little Fellow from Gambo: The Joey Smallwood Story | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Julian Biggs |
| Written by | Julian Biggs |
| Produced by | Julian Biggs |
| Starring | Joey Smallwood |
| Narrated by | Budd Knapp |
| Cinematography | Paul Leach |
| Edited by | Bud Neate Ken Page (sound) |
| Music by | Eldon Rathburn |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 56 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
The film is a lively portrait of Joey Smallwood, the first premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, a controversial and powerful politician who became known as the "Father of Confederation" for his role in negotiating the admission of Newfoundland and Labrador as a Canadian province in 1949.[2] Following Smallwood during a two-and-a-half-month period that included a stormy Liberal leadership convention, the film reveals a man misunderstood even by his close associates.[3]
The film, which was screened at the 1971 Stratford Film Festival,[4] won three Canadian Film Awards at the 22nd Canadian Film Awards, for Best Public Affairs Film, Best Direction in a Non-Feature (Biggs) and Best Actor in a Non-Feature (Smallwood).[5]
The choice of Smallwood, who was simply being himself in a documentary film, as the recipient of an acting award was justified by the award organizers on the grounds that Smallwood's flamboyant and charismatic personality made him a "distinguished natural actor".[5]
References edit
- ^ Chris R. Morgan, "The best streaming service is the National Film Board of Canada". The Outline, June 4, 2019.
- ^ "NFB film director Julian Biggs dies". Cinema Canada, Vol. 6 (February/March 1973). p. 16.
- ^ "A Little Fellow from Gambo - The Joey Smallwood Story". nfb.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
- ^ Martin Knelman, "20 films to be shown af Stratford film festival". The Globe and Mail, September 4, 1971.
- ^ a b Martin Knelman, "Goin Down the Road best movie: Film awards plagued by unscripted hilarity". The Globe and Mail, October 5, 1970.
External links edit
- A Little Fellow from Gambo at IMDb
- Watch A Little Fellow from Gambo on the NFB website
