Social Issues and the Economy
National Film Board documentaries reflect upon incidents from Canada’s past and show political history as it happens.
Excerpts
The Back-breaking Leaf
1
Billy Crane Moves Away
1
2
Camera On Labour no. 4
1
Citizen Discussions
1
Home Front
1
2
Newfoundland Sentinel of the Atlantic
1
Strike in Town
1
2. How does the camera technique contribute to the film's treatment of transient labour and the hard work of tobacco picking?
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Synopsis/Credits
Smokers say it's relaxing, but tobacco harvesters call it "the back-breaking leaf." Here is a graphic picture of the tobacco harvest in southwestern Ontario, presented from the points of view of the transient field workers who move in for a brief bonanza when the leaves are ripe, and of the farmers who depend solely on this crop. A 1959 black and white production.
Running Time: 27 min 36 s
Director Terence Macartney-Filgate
Producer Wolf Koenig, Roman Kroitor
Script and Text Stanley Jackson
Images Terence Macartney-Filgate, Gilles Gascon
Editor John Spotton
Music Eldon Rathburn
Sound Terence Macartney-Filgate, George Croll, Victor Merrill
Producers National Film Board of Canada