Dating to 1937, “The Dionne Quintuplets in A Day at Home” presents a day in the life of the world-famous Dionne Quintuplets, who at the time had just turned three years old. This silent version of the film was released as a 16mm home movie by the Pathé Film Corporation. The Dionne quintuplets were born May 28, 1934, and were the first quintuplets known to have survived their infancy. The identical girls were born just outside Callander, Ontario, near the village of Corbeil. All five survived to adulthood although they were born premature. Later genetic testing showed that the girls were identical, meaning they were created from a single egg cell. After four months with their family, custody was signed over to the Red Cross, which paid for their care and oversaw the building of a hospital for the sisters. Less than a year after this agreement was signed, the Ontario government stepped in and passed the Dionne Quintuplets’ Guardianship Act, 1935, which made them wards of the Crown until the age of 18.The Ontario provincial government and those around them began to profit by making them a significant tourist attraction. The identical quintuplet girls were, in order of birth: Yvonne Édouilda Marie Dionne, Annette Lillianne Marie Allard, Cécile Marie Émilda Langlois, Émilie Marie Jeanne Dionne and Marie Reine Alma Houle.

Oliva Dionne was approached by fair exhibitors for Chicago’s Century of Progress exhibition within days of the girls’ birth, seeking to put the quintuplets on display and show them to the world. At the time it was not unusual for so-called “incubator babies” to be displayed at fairs and other exhibitions. On approximately July 27, 1934, the first guardianship bill was signed. Oliva and Elzire Dionne signed custody of the quintuplets over to the Red Cross for a period of two years to protect them from this contract and in return the Red Cross would cover all medical costs. This included the nurses’ wages, supplies, and ensuring that enough breast milk was shipped to the hospital. They oversaw the building of a hospital built specifically for the Dionne quintuplets. In February 1935 the Dionnes travelled to Chicago as “Parents of the World Famous Babies”, and made stage appearances. The Premier of Ontario at the time, Mitchell Hepburn, used the Dionne vaudeville trip as an excuse to extend the guardianship. He claimed that they must save the babies from further exploitation and, in March 1935, pushed the Dionne Quintuplets Act through government, that officially made the girls wards of the Crown and extended guardianship to the age of eighteen. The government realized there was enormous public interest in the sisters and proceeded to engender a tourist industry around them. The girls were made wards of the provincial Crown, planned until they reached the age of 18. By 1939 Dr. Dafoe had resigned as guardian and Oliva Dionne was gaining more support to have his family reunited. The family was reunited because their parents made efforts to regain custody of their children. Also, the Catholic Church and French-speaking communities in both Quebec and Ontario pressured the government to give Oliva Dionne custody. These efforts and pressure stemmed from the fact that the Dionnes had never agreed to the removal of the quintuplets from their custody. The quintuplets left the family home upon turning 18 years old in 1952 and had little contact with their parents afterwards. Three went on to marry and have children.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com