''Here Will I Nest'' or ''Talbot of Canada'' is a 1942 Canadian film directed by Melburn Turner based on the 1938 play of the same name by

Hilda Mary Hooke Hilda Mary Hooke (after marriage, Smith; 3 October 1898 – 1978) was an English-born Canadian writer of dramas, poetry, and prose. Her 1938 play, ''Here Will I Nest'' was adapted into Canada's first colour feature-length motion picture, for whic ...

. It was the first dramatic Canadian feature-length film made in

colour Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorp ...

and the first film to adapt a Canadian play. The film is mostly lost with the exception of 15 minutes.

Synopsis

Thomas Talbot, at age 22, is in a romance with Susanne Johnson, the niece of

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people (Kanien’kehá:ka), an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language (Kanien’kéha), the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a ...

Chief

Joseph Brant Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York and, later, Brantford, in what is today Ontario, who was closely associated with Great Britain du ...

. However, racism leads to the end of their romance. Talbot enters a relationship with

Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom Princess Amelia (7 August 1783 – 2 November 1810) was the fifteenth and last child and sixth daughter of King George III the United Kingdom and his wife, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She was their third child to die before them. Early ...

, but breaks up with her. Talbot, now 39, greets the first settlers from Europe after spending six years on the shores of

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

Cast

*John Burton as Thomas Talbot *Robina Richardson as Susanne Johnson *George Simpson as George Crane *Campbell Calder as

Mahlon Burwell Mahlon Burwell (February 18, 1783 – January 25, 1846) was a surveyor and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in New Jersey in 1783 and came to Upper Canada with his family in 1796. He was largely self-schooled and was employed b ...

*William Hitchens as Jeffrey Hunter *Alex Burr as Jeremy Crandall *E.S. Detwiler as William Hatch *Earl Gray as Simon McAllister *Ralph Gray as Robert McAllister *John Sullivan as John Pearce *Bernice Harper as Fanny Pearce *Mary Ashwell as Isabella Pearce

Production

wrote a screenplay based on her 1938 play ''Here Will I Nest''. It was the first film to adapt a Canadian play and was the only English-language one until ''

Fortune and Men's Eyes ''Fortune and Men's Eyes'' is a 1967 play and 1971 film written by John Herbert about a young man's experience in prison, exploring themes of homosexuality and sexual slavery. Plot of the play The plot follows Smitty, a 17-year-old, after he is ...

'' (1971). Turner stated that the original title was ''Talbot of Canada'' and that it premiered under that name. However, ''

The London Free Press ''The London Free Press'' is a daily newspaper based in London, Ontario, Canada. It has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Southwestern Ontario. History ''The London Free Press'' began as the ''Canadian Free Press'', founded by Willi ...

'' review of the film did not mention this title. Melburn Turner directed, shot, and edited the film. Filming was done in

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

and

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

, during the summer of 1941 on a budget of $5,000 () It was shot using

16 mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical Film gauge, gauge of Photographic film, film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm film, 8 mm and 35mm movie film, 35 mm. It ...

Kodachrome Kodachrome is the brand name for a color reversal film introduced by Eastman Kodak in 1935. It was one of the first successful color materials and was used for both cinematography and still photography. For many years, Kodachrome was widely used ...

film and was the first dramatic feature-length film in Canada to be shot in

. Turner later made ''

The Immortal Scoundrel ''The Immortal Scoundrel'' () is a 1952 Canadian film directed by Melburn E. Turner.Gerald Pratley, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 105. Plot Étienne Brûlé arrives in New France with Samuel de Champlain in 1608. become ...

'', the first Canadian feature-length colour film in French.

Release

The film premiered on 31 March 1942, at a private showing at the Elsie Perrin Williams Memorial Library in London. Turner, who was the projectionist for the event, had to remove all of his clothing except for his underwear due to the heat in the room. The only other screening of the film was in the home of

Mitchell Hepburn Mitchell Frederick Hepburn (August 12, 1896 – January 5, 1953) was the 11th premier of Ontario, from 1934 to 1942. He was the youngest premier in Ontario history, becoming premier at age 37. He was the only Ontario Liberal Party leader in the ...

, who fell asleep halfway through the film. It was not commercially released. Most of the film was destroyed by a fire. The film was believed to be completely lost until 17 March 1998, when Chris Doty discovered 15–16 minutes of the film with no audio in the

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...

. His restoration, released in 2003, had lip readers determine what words were being said by the actors and then dubbed them. Only a few pages of the original script also survives.

References

Works cited

Books

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News

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Here Will I Nest 1942 films 1940s Canadian films 1940s English-language films 1940s lost films Lost Canadian films