Article

Joseph-Arthur Homier

Published Online February 5, 2008

Last Edited December 15, 2013

Joseph-Arthur Homier, photographer, pioneer filmmaker (b at Montréal 1875; d there 1934). A professional photographer and amateur playwright, Homier started a film career late in life. He was led into the world of cinema by the success of his first film, the farcical comedy Oh! Oh! Jean (1922).

Homier, Joseph-Arthur

Joseph-Arthur Homier, photographer, pioneer filmmaker (b at Montréal 1875; d there 1934). A professional photographer and amateur playwright, Homier started a film career late in life. He was led into the world of cinema by the success of his first film, the farcical comedy Oh! Oh! Jean (1922). With the help of a distributor, he founded a company, Le Bon cinéma national, in 1922, and directed a feature film, Madeleine de Verchères, with a screenplay written by journalist Emma Gendron. Filmed in Kahnawake, the film tells the story of the celebrated heroine, Madeleine de VERCHÈRES.

Homier changed the name of his company to Le Cinéma canadien, set up a studio in Montréal, and, working again with Gendron, made La drogue fatale (1923), a drama about the social harm caused by drugs. Although he made English and French versions of this film, he was not able to cover his expenses. With no outlets for Québec films beyond the province, he gave up film making. Homier deserves to be recognized as the first Québec director of feature films, even though all his films are lost.