Donald Alexander Haldane (December 3, 1914 – September 21, 2008) was a Canadian film and television director, most noted as the director of the films Nikki: Wild Dog of the North and Drylanders.[1]
Background
Born in Edmonton, Alberta, and raised in the small town of Olds, he was raised principally by his mother after his father returned from military service in the First World War suffering from severe shell shock.[2] After having acted in school drama productions in high school he trained as a teacher before going to Yale Drama School in the late 1930s to study theatre direction.[3] After returning to Canada he began working as a theatre director in Montreal, where after befriending Bill Trott, a Black Canadian tailor, he helped Trott to establish the Negro Theatre Guild, the city's first Black theatre company.[4]
He enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1942 to serve in World War II, but spent his entire military career posted to CFB Borden without ever being shipped overseas to fight.[2] He then returned to the United States to study filmmaking in New York City,[3] 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.[2]
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.[3] Associated primarily with documentary films in his early career, he got his first chance to direct a feature film when Westminister Films partnered with Disney on Nikki: Wild Dog of the North, and directed Drylanders for the NFB the following year.[2] With both the NFB and Westminister, he continued throughout his career to work on documentaries, feature films and television productions.[2]
In 2003 he was awarded the Directors Guild of Canada's Distinguished Service Award for his lifetime contributions to Canadian filmmaking.[6] The award was later renamed the Don Haldane Distinguished Service Award in his honour.[7]
Filmography
Films
Alcoholism – 1955
Backstage at Parliament – 1955
Child Guidance Clinic – 1955
Coal at the Crossroads – 1955
Canadians Abroad – 1956
Case of Conscience – 1956
Curtain at Noon – 1956
Elder Citizen – 1956
Embassy – 1956
Fighter Wing – 1956
Is It a Woman's World? – 1956
Night Shift – 1956
Railroad Town – 1956
Saskatchewan Traveller – 1956
Ship in Harbour – 1956
Win, Place or Show – 1956
Crossroads – 1957
Fires of Envy – 1957
The Ghost that Talked – 1957
Howard – 1957
Joe and Roxy – 1957
Who Is Sylvia? – 1957
The Whole World Over – 1957 (co-director with Léonard Forest)
^ abcdeSandra Martin, "Pioneer director made Drylanders, the NFB's first feature in English". The Globe and Mail, November 8, 2008.
^ abcHester Riches, "Director Haldane knows all about tough situations". Vancouver Sun, July 4, 1988.
^Sylvia Warner, "Black community provided fertile ground for Green Pastures". Montreal Gazette, February 29, 1992.
^Maria Topalovich, And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. ISBN0-7737-3238-1. pp. 49–51.
^"Time for directors to shine". Toronto Star, August 17, 2003.
^"Nominees announced for directors guild awards". Guelph Mercury, August 18, 2007.
