Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story

One might expect a mini series over 3 hours about the father of Medicare would be full of fillers but they would be mistaken. The life of T.C. Douglas goes by very quickly in this movie yet manages to cover much of his major accomplishments, personal highlights, and famous speeches. Tommy Douglas was first and foremost a great orator. His experience as a Baptist pastor honed his public speaking skills and also his moral commitment to his promises. "PRAIRIE GIANT" shows the extent of his persecution both religious ("The trouble with you Baptists is they don't hold you under the water long enough") and political (his C.C.F. party is referred to as Communists and the Red Menace). His accomplishments can best be viewed on related web pages and publications. The biopic wisely focuses on his personal life which in large part shaped his social attitudes. The music and cinematography are a big part of this film but Canadian films about the Depression and mid 20th Century have always been of high quality. The acting is also as good as anticipated. Many famous faces have yet to be posted on the IMDb list. For example, Nicholas Campbell (the star reporter on Ron Howard's Cinderella MAN for those of you who haven't seen DAVINCI'S INQUEST)plays Liberal E.J.Young, CODCO's Andy Jones plays P.M. MacKenzie King, and Aidan Devine (Gordie Howe on NET WORTH) plays M.J. Colewell. Of course, it would not seem like a Canadian biopic without R.H.Thompson who's been in docu-dramas about other Canadian heroes like Ken Taylor, Terry Fox, Ted Lindsay, Frederick Banting, and Pierre Trudeau. The producers really pulled out all the stops to make a movie that will live as long as the memory of T.C. Douglas lives on.

This is a brilliant biop not only about medicare but about the whole career of a much loved politician. (That was not necessarily an oxymoron back then!) Michael Therriault has captured the essence of Tommy Douglas. Apparenly he studied many old TV clips and consulted Douglas' family. (Douglas had a Scots burr. Therriault does not use one. But nonetheless he has captured the man's peppery manner impressively.) Some of the other portrayals (MacKenzie King, John Diefenbaker, M.J.Coldwell) were not as effective. They've also captured the era with a stunning array of vintage cars, kitchen appliances, telephones, furniture and men and women's clothing. They have been interwoven effectively with old TV clips including one of Norman DePoe and David Lewis. (Remember them?) Let's hope this film doesn't end up in a basement at the CBC after its summer repeat. It's a legitimate Canadian story that should keep turning up on Canadian TV for several years and which, despite it's authentic Canadian character, would make good viewing almost anywhere in the English speaking world. Damn good stuff!

This film was OK, but took too many liberties for my liking. Parliamentary debates are not as they were portrayed in the first segment and one quotation attributed to Douglas was actually said by Ontario Premier Mitch Hepburn about a decade earlier.

I was disappointed that the second part glossed over Tommy's years as leader of the New Democratic Party. We see him defeated in 1962 and then suddenly it's 1983.

That being said, I was glad to see the emphasis on Irma Douglas's role behind the scenes. The NDP was in many ways a family affair, with wives just a vital an influence as their more famous husbands.

And anything would beat another show with Ben Mulroney or another episode of Falcon Beach!

I was upset to see that this movie did not give credit where credit is due. That is, Matthew Anderson was not named as co-creator of the health care system in Canada. Matt Anderson took a small step for his rural municipality of McKillop which became a giant leap for our nation.

In 1939, at the provocation of Matt Anderson of Regional Municipality McKillop, the Municipal and Medical Hospital Services Act was enacted, allowing municipalities to levy a personal tax to finance medical services. When the CCF government came to power in 1944, their platform called for comprehensive health insurance. The Hospital Insurance Act came into effect on January 1, 1947, ensuring every citizen of the province hospital care without a charge. Tommy Douglas insisted on a small annual premium to help finance this insurance. The introduction of hospital insurance in Saskatchewan paved the way for the introduction of medical insurance.

I encourage you to do an internet search for Matt Anderson of Bulyea, Saskatchewan to discover why he should be known as the "Grandfather of Medicare" in Canada.

Very interesting movie in 2-parts about Tommy Douglas. He's the father of medicare in Canada, but so much more. This mini-series (4 hours total) tells the story of a great Canadian. In fact, he was voted the greatest Canadian by the citizens of this country a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, his work and accomplishments are not well enough known by ordinary Canadians. That's why this mini-series is so important. It helps that Michael Therriault is doing a terrific job as T.C. Douglas. It helps also that the supporting cast is great. And the use of archives adds on to the story. Too bad though that the mini-series focuses almost entirely on the creation of medicare. A longer series was perhaps needed.

Seen at home, in Toronto, on March 12th and 13th, 2006.

81/100 (***)