Arthur Chetwynd (28 October 1913 – 11 July 2004) was a Canadian film producer and founder and president of the pioneering film production company Chetwynd Films. He was an early, prolific producer of high-quality sponsored short documentaries; it has been estimated that he produced as many as 3,000 films.
At the 12th Canadian Film Awards in 1960, Chetwynd was presented with a Special Award "for dedicated service in the interest of Canadian filmmakers as an executive officer of the Association of Motion Picture Producers and Laboratories of Canada". In 1981, the 2nd Genie Awards presented a one-time Chetwynd Award for Business Promotion.
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Early life
Arthur Ralph Talbot Chetwynd was born in the ghost town of Walhachin, a once-affluent hamlet in Thompson Country, in the British Columbia Interior. His father, Ralph Chetwynd was an Englishman who had moved to Canada to go into the cattle and fruit-growing business; he became one of the founders of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway as well as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the Cariboo, and British Columbia's Minister of Trade and Industry, Minister of Railways and Fisheries, and Minister of Agriculture. The city of Chetwynd, British Columbia is named after him.
He grew up in Vernon, in the British Columbia fruit-growing region of Okanagan. After graduating from Vernon Preparatory School, he attended the University of British Columbia. From 1943 to 1945, he was Chief Instructor for Medical Reconditioning for the Royal Canadian Air Force. After the war, he taught Physical and Health Education at the University of Toronto and became Publicity Officer for the University of Toronto Athletic Association, as well as Field Supervisor for the Canadian Red Cross Swimming and Water Safety program. In 1950, he founded Chetwynd Films and formally left the university in 1952.
Career
The first productions of Chetwynd Films' (a.k.a. Chetwynd Productions) were films on coaching, education, and the activities of the Red Cross. These were followed by children's shows for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Beginning in 1947, he produced shows about each Grey Cup championship, as well as shows for the Canadian Football League teams and the CFL's annual Schenley Awards. Beginning in 1952, he produced shows about each Calgary Stampede.
Sports films would account for 30% of Chetwynd's work; the rest was made up by films about accident prevention, medicine and travel. Films were often for, or in co-production with, CTV, the CBC and the National Film Board of Canada, which distributed many of his films. Some of his films were dramatizations (e.g. The Anderson File, 1977); others featured the client—in 1969, hockey great Jean Béliveau paid Chetwynd to make The Jean Béliveau Story, a one-hour special which aired on CTV.
Chetwynd also directed films (Calgary Stampede : Banff Indian Days, 1957) and worked on films for other producers, e.g. he was one of the cinematographers on the 1963 Crawley Films production Repeat Performance.
Chetwynd's award-winning film Jamboree, about the 8th World Scout Jamboree in Niagara-on-the-Lake, was selected for "Significance" by the Canadian government and became one of six films shown at the Canadian Pavilion at Expo 58 in Brussels.
In 1972, Chetwynd succeeded his uncle as 8th Baronet Chetwynd, of Brocton Hall, Staffordshire. In 1977, his son Robin, who had been directing films for the company since the mid-1960s, took over as president of Chetwynd Films. He carried on making promotional films until he closed the company c. 1980.
Personal life and death
Chetwynd was a member, director, president, chair and/or patron of the Empire Club of Canada, the Monarchist League of Canada, the Saint Lazarus Society, Grenville Christian College, the Barbados National Trust. name="legacy_41763553"/>
He died in Cobourg, Ontario in 2004, at age 94,
Honours
Victory Medal (1945)
Canadian Volunteer Service Medal (1945)
Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (1977)
Order of Barbados Silver Crown of Merit (1984)
Freedom of the City of London (1989)
Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2003)
Knight Commander, Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem
Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, Life Member
Filmography (partial)
Below is a sampling of the films produced by Arthur Chetwynd. Records of approximately 300 can be found at CESIF, Concordia University's Canadian Educational, Sponsored and Industrial Film Project. Records of another 1,300 are in the collection of the Canadian Government.
Jamboree, for Eaton's 1955
No Time to Spare (Pas de temps à perdre), for Les Compagnies d'assurance-vie du Canada 1955
Kinai Chieftainship, for Calgary Brewing and Malting Co., dir. Robert Barclay 1957
Re-Creation of Art, for the Spanish Consul and Francisco Franco National Foundation, dir. Eric Hagen 1958
Castle of Learning, for the Spanish Consul and CBC, dir. Eric Hagen 1958
Football Fever, for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, dir. Robert Barclay 1958
Pursuit of Wisdom, for the University of Toronto, dir. John Rooke 1959
This is Husky, for Husky Oil, dir. Robert Brooks 1959
Scotch Cup 1961, for the Scotch Whisky Association, dir. Ross McConnell 1961
A Look Behind the Big B.A., for British American Oil Company of Canada 1962
Land of the Blue Tartan, Canadian National Railway 1963
The Little Grey Cup Game, for Molson Brewery 1963
Calgary Stampede 1964, for Calgary Exhibition and Stampede, dir. Arthur Chetwynd, 1964
Awards
Calgary Stampede, Honourable Mention, 5th Canadian Film Awards 1953
No Time to Spare, Special Mention, 7th Canadian Film Awards, 1955
Jamboree, Special Mention, 8th Canadian Film Awards, 1956
Grey Cup Festival '58, Best Film, Travel and Recreation, 11th Canadian Film Awards, 1959
Man of Kintail, Best Film, TV Information (tied), 12th Canadian Film Awards, 1960
Grey Cup Festival '60, Best Film, Travel and Recreation (Recreation), 13th Canadian Film Awards, 1961
Epidural Anaesthesia for Vaginal Delivery in Obstetrics, Best Film, Training and Instruction, 13th Canadian Film Awards, 1961
Grey Cup Festival '62, Best Film, Travel and Recreation (Recreation), 15th Canadian Film Awards, 1963
Stanley Cup Finals 1963, Best Film, Travel and Recreation (Recreation), 16th Canadian Film Awards, 1964
Some Are Sunfishers, Best Film, General Information (tied), 17th Canadian Film Awards, 1965
Light for the Mind , Best Film, Public Relations, 18th Canadian Film Awards, 1966
Driver Training: Life Is Worth the Living, Best Film, Sales Promotion, 20th Canadian Film Awards, 1968
It Starts at the Top, Best Film, Training and Instruction, 23rd Canadian Film Awards, 1971