The Sceptre and the Mace

The Sceptre and the Mace
Directed byJohn Howe
Produced byNicholas Balla
Narrated byJohn Drainie (English)
Gérard Arthur (French)
CinematographyDenis Gillson
Edited byNicholas Balla
Brian Keene
Don Wellington (sound)
Production
company
Release date
  • 1957 (1957)
Running time
29:17 minutes
CountryCanada

The Sceptre and the Mace (Le sceptre et la masse) is a 1957 short documentary film, directed by John Howe for the National Film Board of Canada.[1][2]

The film uses the royal visit by Queen Elizabeth II to Canada in 1957 to explore and explain the role of The Crown in a constitutional monarchy,[3] focusing in particular on the opening of the 23rd Canadian Parliament, which remains to this day the only session of Parliament in Canadian history formally opened by the Queen herself rather than by the Governor General of Canada.[2] It also shows many informal scenes of the Queen and Prince Philip in residence at Rideau Hall.

The Sceptre and the Mace won the Canadian Film Award for Best Theatrical Short Film at the 10th Canadian Film Awards in 1958.[4] In 1970, it was broadcast by CBC Television as an episode of the documentary series History Makers.

References

  1. ^ "The Sceptre and the Mace". onf-nfb.gc.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Vanity, Centre Book Sceptre and the Mace". Windsor Star, November 16, 1957. p. 22.
  3. ^ Phillip Buckner, Canada and the End of Empire. UBC Press, 2007. ISBN 9780774850667. p. 83.
  4. ^ Maria Topalovich, And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-7737-3238-1. pp. 41-43.

The Sceptre and the Mace in the NFB collection catalog


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