Out Beyond Town

A film on soil conservation, showing problems facing farmers in different areas of Canada. Many scenes of soil eroded, gouged and leached out by water, and of soil blowing away, prove the ominous necessity of understanding and preserving the land if we are to continue to reap vital crops. The development of soil through the centuries, the particular conservation problems in eastern and western Canada, and how soil fertility may be restored and maintained are dealt with in detail.

A farming community organizes to obtain hydro power under Manitoba's rural electrification plan. Energetic canvassing wins over those hesitant to share, for the good of all, the initial expense. The abundant return in comfort, convenience, efficiency and financial advantage is described in concluding sequences.

A clip to discourage smoking.

From the ranchlands of Alberta, a picture of the cattle drive as it is today, when big cattle-liners truck the livestock to receiving stations on the summer range. But archival photographs tell how it was in the old days when the cowboy was king, driving his herd by easy stages to distant, greener pastures. Big sky, undulating hills and distant mountains still hold the spell and romance of the West that old-timers remember.

This newsreel includes the following sequences: 1. Black Watch Easter Service 2. Medical Inspection 3. Army Soccer Finals 4. Baseball Season Opens 5. The King's Farm 6. Tunnellers Receive Gibraltar Keys 7. Khaki Close-ups 8. Man of Vimy

This film examines the problem of children who won't eat, and what can be done about it. Tommy should be hungry, but he just picks at his food. Going back to early babyhood, the film traces in detail, how eating habits are formed, how individual likes and dislikes must be taken into consideration, and that the worst habit of all is the permanent battle over food. After this analysis, Tommy still sits by his well-filled plate. In despair his mother takes him to the doctor, who explains that she is really the problem. She realizes that she has been tense, impatient with Tommy from the start. Now it will take painstaking care to build a new atmosphere of cooperation and friendliness, to learn understanding of Tommy's personal requirements at mealtimes, and all the time.

In 1935 a herd of 2,700 reindeer completed a five-year journey from Alaska to north of the Arctic circle. They were imported and re-settled by the Canadian Government in an effort to improve the economic conditions of the Inuit. This film is the story of the trek, the raising of reindeer for saleable meat, its effects upon the people, and the transformation of herding from a primitive art to one using modern technology. The film shows how an ecologically sound, make-work project that started as a gamble ended up a success, generating jobs and money for the local people.

Julian Biggs interviews Dr. Don Fisher, head of pomology at the Summerland Experimental Farm in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia. Dr. Fisher describes the cultivation and maintenance of several strains of the dwarf apple tree.

Animated drawings illustrate how conception occurs and the way that various birth control devices, surgical methods, and the pill function in effecting contraception. The film is without spoken commentary and is designed to be used by professional personnel. Film without words.

This film estimates the tremendous value of the Blood Donor Clinic, organized in September, 1939, at the University of Toronto by Dr. C.H. Best. The serum is processed by the Connaught Laboratories in Toronto, under the authority of the Minister of Pensions and National Health, while the Red Cross maintains blood donor clinics across the country.

Women have always sought ways to terminate unwanted pregnancies, despite powerful patriarchal structures and systems working against them. This film provides a historical overview of how church, state and the medical establishment have determined policies concerning abortion. From this cross-cultural survey--filmed in Ireland, Japan, Thailand, Peru, Colombia, and Canada--emerges one reality: only a small percentage of the world's women has access to safe, legal operations.