Here Will I Nest
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1938 play
by Hilda Mary Hooke
| Here Will I Nest | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Melburn Turner |
| Written by | Hilda Mary Hooke |
| Based on | Here Will I Nest 1938 play by Hilda Mary Hooke |
| Produced by | Melburn Turner |
| Starring | John Burton |
| Cinematography | Melburn Turner |
| Edited by | Melburn Turner |
Release date |
|
Running time | 130 minutes[1] |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $5,000 |
Here Will I Nest or Talbot of Canada is a 1942 Canadian film directed by Melburn Turner based on the 1938 play by Hilda Mary Hooke. It was the first dramatic Canadian feature-length film made in colour and the first film to adapt a Canadian play. The film is mostly lost with the exception of 15 minutes.
The film follows the life of Thomas Talbot and his colonization of Canada. Hooke and Turner were members of the same dramatic societies. Turner directed, shot, and edited the film with a $5,000 budget. It was shown at private screenings, including at Mitchell Hepburn's house, but was not commercially released.
Thomas Talbot, at age 22, is in a romance with Susanne Johnson, the niece of Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant. However, racism leads to the end of their relationship. Talbot enters a relationship with Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom, but breaks up with her. Talbot, now 39, greets the first settlers from Europe after spending six years on the shores of Lake Erie.[2]
Cast
- John Burton as Thomas Talbot
- Robina Richardson as Susanne Johnson
- George Simpson as George Crane
- Campbell Calder as Mahlon Burwell
- 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
Hilda Mary Hooke wrote a screenplay based on her 1938 play Here Will I Nest.[1][3] It was the first film to adapt a Canadian play and was the only English-language film adaptation of a Canadian play until Fortune and Men's Eyes (1971).[4][5] Peter Morris described the film as being an amateur production.[6] Melburn Turner stated that the original title was Talbot of Canada and that it premiered under that name. However, The London Free Press' review of the film did not mention this title.[1]
Turner was a member of the same dramatical societies as Hooke.[6] He directed, shot, and edited the film. Filming was done in Byron and London, Ontario, during the summer of 1941 on a budget of $5,000 (equivalent to $96,588 in 2025). It was shot using 16 mm Kodachrome film[1] and was the first dramatic feature-length film in Canada to be shot in colour.[5][7][8] Turner later made The Immortal Scoundrel, the first Canadian feature-length colour film in French.[7]