Eldon Davis Rathburn (21 April 1916 – 30 August 2008) was a composer from the community of Queenstown, in Queens County, New Brunswick, Canada.Called "the dean of Canadian film composers," Rathburn composed music for over 250 films during his 30-year tenure at the National Film Board of Canada. Rathburn was the subject of a 1995 NFB documentary Eldon Rathburn: They Shoot... He Scores. He died in Ottawa on 30 August 2008.
He composed music for about 250 short and feature-length films for the National Film Board of Canada. He wanted to be known for more than his movie scores, however, and composed chamber music later in life, working into his 90s.
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Early in his career, he played in fiddler Don Messer's band before Messer became a Canadian television folk icon.
Composer
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Sea
1972
Documentary short
Death of a Legend
1971
Documentary
In a Nutshell
1971
Short
Summer's Nearly Over
1971
Short
L'homme et le froid
1971
Documentary
A Little Fellow from Gambo: The Joey Smallwood Story
1970
Documentary
Ashes of Doom
1970
Short
Here's to Harry's Grandfather
1970
Documentary
Danny and Nicky
1969
Documentary
Fields of Space
1969
Short documentary
Waiting for Caroline
1969
Le grand rock
1969
Capital on the Ottawa
1968
Documentary short
Origami
1968
Documentary short
People of the Buffalo
1968
Short
Charlie's Day
1967
Short
Eskimo Artist: Kenojuak
1967
Documentary short
Work of Art
1965
Short documentary
The Railrodder
1965
Short
5,000 Miles
1964
Short documentary
Above the Horizon
1964
Short documentary
Age of the Buffalo
1964
Documentary short
Canon
1964
Short
Fields of Sacrifice
1964
Short documentary
Haida Carver
1964
Documentary short
Two-and-a-Half
1964
Short
Nobody Waved Good-bye
1964
Christmas Cracker
1964
Short
Sky
1963
Short documentary
The Enduring Wilderness
1963
Short documentary
The World of David Milne
1963
Short documentary
The Ride
1963
Short
Drylanders
1963
A Christmas Fantasy
1962
Short
À Saint-Henri le cinq septembre
1962
Documentary short
Blitzkrieg
1962
Documentary short
Days of Infamy
1962
Short documentary
Dusk
1962
Short documentary
Year of Siege
1962
Documentary short
Nahanni
1962
Documentary short music
Escale de verdure
1961
Short
Everybody's Prejudiced
1961
Documentary short
Manger
1961
Short documentary
Snow
1961
Documentary short
The Discovery of Insulin
1961
Short documentary
The Flower and the Hive
1961
Short documentary
Vote for Michalski
1961
Short
Yukon Old, Yukon New
1961
Short documentary
Circle of the Sun
1961
Short documentary
Morning on the Lièvre
1961
Short
A Is for Architecture
1960
Short documentary
Men Against the Ice
1960
Short documentary
Sunshine and Eclipse (1927-1934)
1960
Short documentary
The Good, Bright Days (1919-1927)
1960
Short documentary
Twilight of an Era: 1934-1939
1960
Short documentary
Universe
1960
Documentary short
Mail Early for Xmas
1959
Short
Pangnirtung
1959
Short documentary
Short and Suite
1959
Short
The Back-breaking Leaf
1959
Short documentary
The Canadians
1959
Short
Fire in Town
1958
Short
Mystery in the Kitchen
1958
Short
Songs of Nova Scotia
1958
Documentary short
Trans Canada Summer
1958
Police
1958/II
Documentary short
The Man on the Assembly Line
1958
Short
The Quest
1958
Short
Black and White in South Africa
1957
Short documentary
Can It Hold Together?
1957
Short
Colonialism: Ogre or Angel?
1957
Short
Crisis in Asia
1957
Short documentary
Four Centuries of Growing Pains
1957
Short
Honey Bees and Pollination
1957
Short
It's a Crime
1957
Short
Portrait of the Family
1957
Short
Storm Clouds Over the Colonies
1957
Short
Ten Days That Shook the Commonwealth
1957
Short
The Colonies Look Ahead
1957
Short
The Invisible Keystone
1957
Short
They Called It White Man's Burden
1957
Short
City of Gold
1957
Documentary short
Designed for Living
1956
Short
Fish Spoilage Control
1956
Short
Introducing Canada
1956
Short
The Shepherd
1956
Documentary short
Needles and Pins
1955
Documentary short
Prepare for Advancement
1955
Short
Road of Iron
1955
Short
The Pony
1955
Short
The Structure of Unions
1955
Short
To Serve the Mind
1955
Short
Gold
1955
Short
Bush Doctor
1955
Short
Corral
1954
Short
One Little Indian
1954
Short
Sorel
1954
Short
The Charwoman
1954
Short
The War on Want
1954
Short documentary
Country Magistrate
1953
Documentary short
Farewell Oak Street
1953
Short
The Wind-Swept Isles
1953
Documentary short
Canada's Atom Goes to Work
1952
Documentary short
The Romance of Transportation in Canada
1952
Short
Îles-de-la-Madeleine
1952
Short
Ottawa: Today and Tomorrow
1951
Short documentary
The Man in the Peace Tower
1951
Documentary short
Water for the Prairies
1951
Short documentary
Family Tree
1950
Short
From Tee to Green
1950
Short documentary
Local 100
1950
Short
Rhythm and Percussion
1950
Documentary short
The Gentle Art of Film Projection
1950
Documentary short
Trees Are a Crop
1950
Documentary short
French Canada: 1534-1848
1950
Documentary short
55,000 for Breakfast
1949
Short documentary
Children's Concert
1949
Short
Family Circles
1949
Short
Fibre Flax
1949
Documentary short
Fitness Is a Family Affair
1949
Documentary short
Land in Trust
1949
Short documentary
Science at Your Service
1949
Documentary
Teeth Are to Keep
1949
Short
Winter Carnival
1949
Documentary short
A Capital Plan
1949
Documentary short
Hog Family Supreme
1948
Short
When All the People Play
1948
Short
Film and You
1948
Documentary short
The Home Town Paper
1948
Documentary short
Johnny at the Fair
1947
Short
Safe Clothing
1946
Short documentary
Making Momentum
1996
Documentary short
Donald Brittain: Filmmaker
1995
Documentary
The Passerby
1995
The Rise and Fall of English Montreal
1993
Documentary
Creative Process: Norman McLaren
1993
Documentary
Door to Door
1992
Short
Momentum
1992
Documentary short
The Last Buffalo
1990
Short
The Defender
1990
Documentary
The First Emperor of China
1990
Documentary short
Anniversary Vignette
1989
Short
Beavers
1988
Documentary short
The King Chronicle, Part 1: Mackenzie King and the Unseen Hand
1988
The King Chronicle, Part 2: Mackenzie King and the Great Beyond
1988
The King Chronicle, Part 3: Mackenzie King and the Zombie Army
1988
Every Dog's Guide to Complete Home Safety
1987
Short
Acid Rain
1986
Short
Making Transitions
1986
Documentary short
Operation Egglift: To Save the Whooping Crane
1986
Documentary short
The Champions, Part 1: Unlikely Warriors
1986
Documentary
The Champions, Part 3: The Final Battle
1986
Documentary
J.W. Morrice
1985
Short documentary
Canada's Sweetheart: The Saga of Hal C. Banks
1985
Real Inside
1984
Short
The Awful Fate of Melpomenus Jones
1983
Short
Standing Alone
1982
Documentary
Baxter Earns His Wings
1981
Short
In the Labyrinth
1979
Short
Meditation in Motion
1978
Documentary short
The War Is Over
1978
Short
How They Saw Us: Needles and Pins
1977
Short
Who Has Seen the Wind
1977
Firelight
1976
Short
For Gentlemen Only
1976
Short
Lady Fishbourne's Complete Guide to Better Table Manners