| 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 | National Film Board of Canada |
| Release date |
|
| Running time | 56 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
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.
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 "last living Father of Confederation" for his role in negotiating the admission of Newfoundland and Labrador as a Canadian province in 1949. 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.
The film, which was screened at the 1971 Stratford Film Festival, 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).
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".
References
- 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.
- ^ Martin Knelman, "Goin Down the Road best movie: Film awards plagued by unscripted hilarity". The Globe and Mail, October 5, 1970.
External links
- A Little Fellow from Gambo at IMDb
- Watch A Little Fellow from Gambo on the NFB website
- 1970 films
- 1970 documentary films
- Canadian documentary films
- Documentary films about Canadian politicians
- National Film Board of Canada documentaries
- Films shot in Newfoundland and Labrador
- 1970s English-language films
- Films set in Newfoundland and Labrador
- English-language Canadian films
- Quebec films
- 1970s Canadian films
- English-language documentary films