Bernard Devlin

Bernard Devlin (1923–1983) was a Canadian film director, producer and writer who played an important role in the development of French-language film production at the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). Devlin was born and raised in Quebec City. After attending Loyola College, he joined the Royal Canadian Navy and saw action in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and North Africa. After the war, he moved to Ottawa and joined the NFB. He was one of the few French-Canadians there; he joined Vincent Paquette and Jean Palardy and, after the war, the NFB hired Roger Blais and Raymond Garceau, among others.

This group made French films, but it also continued to make English films, and dub them for Quebec. In 1951, the NFB created a studio for the creation of French-language films. Devlin wasn't given a title, but he was put in charge of the unit and spent the next two years producing films about French-Canadian culture. While he was reportedly an anti-nationalist, he did a great deal to further French-Canadian film production at the NFB.In 1953, the NFB produced its first television series, which ran for two years on the CBC. It was called On the Spot and it was a series of short documentaries, 39 of which were directed and/or produced by Devlin.

In 1954, Devlin was seconded by Radio-Canada to help establish French-language television programming and spent the next five years creating Sur le vif (On the Spot). These were NFB-produced films for the CBC; the difference was that there were no dubbed versions of English films and no duplications of subject matter. They were original films, in French, for French-Canadians.Devlin returned to the National Film Board in 1959, directing French-language television programs, and was director of French production again from 1960 to 1961. In 1971, he was given the one-year appointment of Director of English Production. He spent the latter years of his career creating English-language films and retired in 1977. He died in Montreal in 1983, at age 59.