Seriously Moving Images

National Film Board of Canada

Directed by Julian Biggs from a script by Leslie McFarlane, Herring Hunt is a tight little documentary vignette about the daily routine of the BC herring fishery in the early 1950s.  It’s also notable as the moving image debut of Vancouver actor Bruno Gerussi; he plays Matt Johnson, an impetuous crewman on the herring boat at the story’s centre.  As most viewers will remember, Gerussi would later pursue another sea-going livelihood on television — as Nick Adonidas, skipper of the Persephone, in the long-running series The Beachcombers (CBC Vancouver, 1972-1990).

Gerussi apparently earned his role in Herring Hunt after being “discovered” by Leslie McFarlane in a 1952 production of A Streetcar Named Desire, staged by Vancouver’s Totem Theatre; he starred as Stanley Kowalski.  In his film debut, Gerussi seems to be recalling some of Stanley’s confrontational mannerisms.

Here’s the NFB description:  “This short sea-faring documentary follows the operations of a herring boat and her crew in the coastal waters of British Columbia. The Western Girl trawler, her skipper, and his men race to get their catch before the quota is taken and the fishing area closed. Teamwork is paramount in an enterprise that has a great element of risk; competition is keen and one man’s mistake may mean severe loss, so that a year of plenty may be followed by a year of famine.”

In the 26th Academy Awards, Herring Hunt was honoured with an Oscar® nomination in the category “Best Live Action Short Film, One-Reel”.