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Farewell Oak Street

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Farewell Oak Street
Directed byGrant McLean
Written byGordon Burwash
Produced byGordon Burwash
Guy Glover (exec.)
Narrated byLorne Greene
CinematographyRobert Humble
Edited byFergus McDonell
Music byEldon Rathburn
Production
company
Release date
  • 1953 (1953)
Running time
17 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

Farewell Oak Street is a 1953 Canadian docudrama short film, directed by Grant McLean for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).[1]

The film, which is part of the NFB's Canada Carries On series, is about the late-1940s demolition of the run-down Oak Street homes in Toronto's Cabbagetown neighbourhood, in favour of the new Regent Park housing development.[2] The story is told through narration by Lorne Greene, the use of documentary footage, and a dramatization of the story of a family whose lives are transformed for the better by the project.[2]

Farewell Oak Street was controversial with residents of the Oak Street/Regent Park area, several of whom filed complaints objecting to being characterized as slum dwellers, and alleged that the film vastly overstated the dangers of life in the old neighbourhood prior to the redevelopment.[2] Charles Henry, the area's Member of Parliament, spoke against the film in the Canadian House of Commons, calling it offensive to the dignity of the residents and demanding that citizenship minister Walter Edward Harris restrict the film's distribution.[3] Harris declined to restrict the film.[4]

The film received renewed attention in the early 2010s when Regent Park was again redeveloped, as the continued social problems in the community were contrasted against the film's overly optimistic thesis that the original post-war redevelopment was certain to solve them.[5]

Cast

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Awards

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  • 6th Canadian Film Awards, Montreal: Canadian Film Award for Best Theatrical Short, 1954 [6]
  • Golden Reel Film Festival, Film Council of America, New York: Recognition of Merit, 1955
  • International Congress of Housing and Town Planning, Vienna: First Prize, 1956[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Farewell Oak Street". onf-nfb.gc.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Film Tells Story of Housing Project". The Globe and Mail, February 19, 1954.
  3. ^ "Offends Human Dignity: Toronto MP Raps Regent Park Film". The Globe and Mail, February 19, 1954.
  4. ^ "Government Plans No Curb On Farewell Oak Street". The Globe and Mail, February 23, 1954.
  5. ^ "50 Reasons to Love Toronto". Toronto Life, June 16, 2010.
  6. ^ Maria Topalovich, And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-7737-3238-1. pp. 25-28.
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