'The Way We Were': Nova Scotia in Film, 1917-1950

Porpoise Oil

A re-creation of the porpoise hunt enacted by the Digby County Micmacs (Bear River) and the subsequent rendering of the carcasses into oil. The oil was sold by the Micmacs to various local businesses for a time; but the practice died out when there was not longer any market for the product.

Date: 1936

Format: 1 film reel (00:23:40 hrs.) : silent, b&w

Filmmaker: Dr. Alexander Leighton

Reference Dr. Alexander Leighton Nova Scotia Archives 1989-01 film no. Fb 2378