Whistling Smith is a 1975 short documentary film directed by Marrin Canell and Michael J. F. Scott for the National Film Board of Canada.[1] It was produced for the NFB's Pacificanada series, which aired on CBC-TV in early 1975.[2]

Whistling Smith
Directed byMarrin Canell
Michael J. F. Scott
Written byDonald Brittain
Produced byBarrie Howells
Michael J. F. Scott
Ian McLaren (exec.)
StarringBernie Smith
Narrated byDonald Brittain
CinematographyHenri Fiks
Edited byMarrin Canell
Michael J. F. Scott
John Knight (sound)
Music byLarry Crosley
Production
company
Distributed byNational Film Board of Canada
Release date
  • 1975 (1975)
Running time
27 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

The film is a revealing portrait of a tough cop with a big heart. Vancouver Police Department Sergeant Bernie "Whistling" Smith walks the beat on the city's Downtown Eastside, the hang-out of petty criminals and down-and-outers. His policing style is unorthodox; to many drug users and prostitutes, he's more than a cop—he's a counsellor and a friend. In the year that he's been in charge of this beat, crime has dropped by over forty per cent.

Accolades

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Whistling Smith was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short at the 48th Academy Awards.[3][4][5] It also won the Canadian Film Award for Sound Re-Recording.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Whistling Smith". nfb.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  2. ^ Ohayon, Albert. "Pacificanada: British Columbia Seen through the NFB Lens". NFB.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  3. ^ "The 48th Academy Awards (1976) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  4. ^ Whistling Smith (1975)-MUBI
  5. ^ The End of the Game Wins Documentary Short: 1976 Oscars
  6. ^ "Whistling Smith". Canadian Film Encyclopedia. Film Reference Library. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
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