Stars Of The Town
(Rev. Roy Massecar - A man and his movie camera)
Approximately 10 years before Wolf Dog was filmed, Markdale was one
subject in a series of small-town Ontario films by the Rev. Roy
Massecar. The Markdale film was made in the summer of 1949. Unlike Wolf
Dog (yet), DVDs of "Stars Of The Town" are available for sale by the
University of Western Ontario, in London Ontario.
Its
possible people mixed up WOLF DOG with the Markdale STARS OF THE TOWN
film. In fact, who knows how many enterprising others had the same idea
as Rev. Massecar: to make "community home movies", then show them in
town for a small admission fee?
From my school days of the late-1960s, I recall Freda Hunt, our library teacher at Beavercrest Public School in Markdale, talking about appearing in a film with her son. Like others, I misunderstood her role to have been as an extra in the film WOLF DOG.
In fact, the production she related was STARS
OF THE TOWN. A youthful Mrs. Hunt is seen pushing her infant son in a
stroller, while another scene features Walt Playter and his truck. Yet
another scene has F. T. Hill shown in conversation with someone on a
street corner, while elsewhere W. W. Alcox cuts hair in his barber
shop. A plethora of other Markdale folk are also prominent.
From dancing to a 3-piece jazz combo at the bygone Armory, to slow-motion
diving at the Markdale Pond, to a man delivering milk with a horse-drawn
cart, to farmers about town buying dry goods, fifteen dollars buys a
fun, educational...AND CHEAP time warp, back to Markdale's bustling
post-war era.
To order the Markdale DVD, or browse the other
great videos in the Massecar family collection, click the link in the
words "Stars Of The Town" below...
STARS OF THE TOWN, or just Google "Stars Of The Town" and you'll be taken to their fascinating website.