Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Ontario Motion Picture Bureau
Other form(s) of name
Ontario. Provincial Motion Picture Bureau
Ontario. Provincial Moving Picture Bureau
Ontario. Provincial Picture Bureau
Province of Ontario Picture Bureau
Ontario Government Motion Picture Bureau
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
The Ontario Motion Picture Bureau was founded in 1917 within the Treasury Department.
From 1917 to 1923, the Bureau was responsible for determining its own motion picture film content, but private companies were contracted to produce and distribute the Bureau's films.
In 1920, under the new United Farmers of Ontario government, several of the province's film activities including the Ontario Motion Picture Bureau, were centralized under the Amusements Branch in the Treasury Department. In 1922, an administrative change resulted in a new Bureau director and a separation of the Bureau from the Amusements Branch.
In 1923, under the new Conservative government, the Bureau began to produce its own films.
In 1934, under the new Liberal government's platform to reduce government expenses, the Ontario Motion Picture Bureau was disbanded.
From 1917 to 1921, Pathescope of Canada produced the Ontario Motion Picture Bureau's films using 28 mm safety film. From 1919 to 1923, the Canadian Aero Film Company (later Filmcraft Industries) produced Bureau films. Regal Films and then Canadian Universal were contracted to distribute the films to theatres. In 1923, the Bureau began producing its own films instead of contracting out to private companies.
Film production facilities were initially established in the Bureau's Toronto offices before being moved to Adanac Films' former studio in Trenton.
Places
Legal status
Functions, occupations and activities
The principal purpose of the Ontario Motion Picture Bureau was to carry out educational work, particularly for farmers, school children, and factory workers. The Bureau maintained a library of motion picture films and lantern slides, which were used to advertise Ontario, to encourage the building of highways and other public works, and to supplement lectures on agricultural topics.
Address
The Ontario Motion Picture Bureau was established in 1917 as part of the provincial Treasury Department. Two Orders in Council dated May 15, 1917 and approved and ordered May 17, 1917 resulted in S.C. Johnston being appointed temporary Director of the Provincial Moving Picture Bureau and a special warrant being issued for the payment of salaries and expenses for the Bureau. In 1934, the Bureau closed down. Order in Council 211/472 (October 23, 1934) dispensed with the services of the Motion Picture Bureau employees.
Internal structures/genealogy
General context
Relationships area
Related entity
Identifier of related entity
Category of relationship
Type of relationship
Dates of relationship
Description of relationship
Access points area
Subject access points
Place access points
Epithet
Control area
Authority record identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
RAD: Rules for Archival Description, 2nd edn (2008)
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Archives of Ontario. RG 75-57. Orders in Council. 20 Oct.-30 Oct. 1934. B265030.
Archives of Ontario. RG 75-58-0-82. Executive Council Office Journal [Orders-In-Council book copies]. Volume 82. 10 May 1917-3 Aug. 1917. D300294.
Mick Mitchell. The films of the Ontario Motion Picture Bureau : a preliminary catalogue. 1993.
Peter Morris. Embattled shadows : a history of Canadian cinema 1895-1939. 1992.
Hazel I. MacTaggart. Publications of the Government of Ontario 1901-1955 : a checklist compliled for the Ontario Library Association. 1964.
Maintenance notes
Archivist(s):
Hopp