Donald Alexander Haldane (December 3, 1914 – September 21, 2008) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

film and television director, most noted as the director of the films '' Nikki: Wild Dog of the North'' and '' Drylanders''. Tom McSorley
"Don Haldane"
'' Canadian Film Encyclopedia''.

Background

Born in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, and raised in the small town of

Olds Olds may refer to: People * The olds, a jocular and irreverent online nickname for old age, older adults * Olds (surname) Places * Olds, Alberta, Canada * Olds, Iowa, United States * Olds Peak, Antarctica Other uses * F. E. Olds, an American b ...

, he was raised principally by his mother after his father returned from military service in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

suffering from severe

shell shock Shell shock is a term that originated during World War I to describe symptoms similar to those of combat stress reaction and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which many soldiers suffered during the war. Before PTSD was officially recogni ...

.Sandra Martin, "Pioneer director made Drylanders, the NFB's first feature in English". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', November 8, 2008. After having acted in school drama productions in high school he trained as a teacher before going to

Yale Drama School The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in ...

in the late 1930s to study theatre direction.Hester Riches, "Director Haldane knows all about tough situations". ''

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'', July 4, 1988. After returning to Canada he began working as a theatre director in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, where after befriending Bill Trott, a

Black Canadian Black Canadians () are Canadians of full or partial Afro-Caribbean or sub-Saharan African descent. Black Canadian settlement and immigration patterns can be categorized into two distinct groups. The majority of Black Canadians are descendants ...

tailor, he helped Trott to establish the Negro Theatre Guild, the city's first Black theatre company. He enlisted in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

in 1942 to serve in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, but spent his entire military career posted to

CFB Borden Canadian Forces Base Borden (also CFB Borden, French: Base des Forces canadiennes Borden or BFC Borden), formerly RCAF Station Camp Borden, is a large Canadian Forces base located in Ontario. The historic birthplace of the Royal Canadian Air Forc ...

without ever being shipped overseas to fight. He then returned to the United States to study filmmaking in

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, and made a number of sponsored advertising films there before returning to Canada in 1954 to begin his long association with the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

Career

He directed a large number of films for the NFB, including the '' On the Spot'' and '' Perspective'' series, and established the Westminister Films studio with partners Lee Gordon (his wife) and Roy Krost. Associated primarily with documentary films in his early career, he got his first chance to direct a feature film when Westminister Films partnered with

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on ''Nikki: Wild Dog of the North'', and directed ''Drylanders'' for the NFB the following year. With both the NFB and Westminister, he continued throughout his career to work on documentaries, feature films and television productions. He was a five-time

Canadian Film Award The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...

winner for his work, receiving awards at the 8th Canadian Film Awards in 1956 for ''Saskatchewan Traveller'', at the

12th Canadian Film Awards The 12th Canadian Film Awards were held on June 3, 1960, to honour achievements in Canadian film. This year saw 115 films entered for consideration and the judging panel consisted of 55 people in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. The ceremony took th ...

in 1960 for ''Bad Medicine'', at the 16th Canadian Film Awards in 1964 for ''Land on the Move'', at the

21st Canadian Film Awards The 21st Canadian Film Awards were held on October 4, 1969 to honour achievements in Canadian film. The ceremony, attended by 1,200 people, was hosted by broadcaster Fred Davis (broadcaster), Fred Davis. As a result of 1968's selection process con ...

in 1969 for ''Rye on the Rocks'', and at the

23rd Canadian Film Awards The 23rd Canadian Film Awards were held on October 1, 1971 to honour achievements in Canadian film. The ceremony, which had been returned to banquet format, was hosted by actor Leslie Nielsen and broadcaster Charlotte Gobeil. For this year's compe ...

in 1971 for ''Shebandowan: A Summer Place''. In 2003 he was awarded the

Directors Guild of Canada The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC; ) is a Canadian labour union representing more than 5,500 professionals from 48 different occupations in the Canadian film and television industry. Founded in 1962, the DGC represents directors, editors, assist ...

's Distinguished Service Award for his lifetime contributions to Canadian filmmaking. The award was later renamed the Don Haldane Distinguished Service Award in his honour."Nominees announced for directors guild awards". ''

Guelph Mercury The ''Guelph Mercury'' was an English language daily newspaper published in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It published a mix of community, national and international news and is owned by the Torstar Corporation. The newspaper, in many incarnations, ...

'', August 18, 2007.

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haldane, Don 1914 births 2008 deaths Canadian documentary film directors Canadian television directors Film directors from Alberta Film producers from Alberta National Film Board of Canada people Canadian Screen Award winners Canadian film production company founders Canadian horror film directors