Gordon Sparling (1900-1994) was a pioneering Canadian film maker. He was educated at Trinity College in the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institu ...

. He directed such early Canadian films as '' The Tidy House (La maison en ordre)'' in 1936 and ''

The Kinsmen ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

'' in 1938. Along with such films, Sparling directed film shorts as ''Pleasure Island (''1936) that promoted Canada's largest and most luxurious summer resort, Bigwin Inn, on Bigwin Island, Ontario. Gordon Sparling's start with the

Ontario Motion Picture Bureau The Ontario Motion Picture Bureau was established by the Government of Ontario in 1917 and was the first state-founded film organization in the world, preceding the Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau by a year. Its mandate was to carry out "e ...

in 1924, led to a 40-year career with the Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau and Associated Screen News of Canada (ASN). He worked as an assistant director on Carry on, Sergeant! in 1928 and during the 1930s was virtually the only creative filmmaker in the Canadian commercial film industry.Morris, Peter (2015
Gordon Sparling
''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' Historica Canada He launched the Canadian Cameo series of theatrical shorts at ASN in 1932 and continued to direct and produce the series until 1955. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he was the head of the Canadian Army Film and Photo Unit, producing and directing propaganda films. He returned to ASN and remained with the studio until the production department was closed down in 1957.

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Film Reference Library
1900 births 1994 deaths Canadian film directors University of Toronto alumni Trinity College (Canada) alumni {{Canada-film-director-stub

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