Film Record: Magic Stairway

Still image from Magic Stairway in Movie Makers, Dec. 1947, 512.

Date produced: 1947

Filmmaker(s):

Margaret Webber

Harlan M. Webber

Languages:

English

Length:

400 ft

Format:

8mm

Colour:

Kodachrome

Sound Notes:

Silent

Awards/Recognition:

ACL Ten Best 1947 - General Class

Description:

"Two children and a simple plot are ideal ingredients for a family film story. In Magic Stairway, Margaret and Harlan M. Webber have used this combination to develop a lively and natural movie of their son Roy and their daughter Janet. Roy longs for a punching bag for Christmas, but he feels that it is a too expensive gift to expect from his parents. He decides to earn the money for it with the help of his young sister. In beautifully filmed sequences, the children are shown melting castoff candles and remolding them into delicate shapes, to be sold to the neighbors. The profits mount slowly until the desired goal is reached. Then tragedy strikes when Janet accidentally breaks one of Mother's treasured teacups. The direction and cutting in this sequence are particularly skillful, as each person's reaction to the broken cup is registered. All is harmony on Christmas morning when Mother's gift from the children (bought with the punching bag money) is revealed as a replacement of the broken treasure. Needless to say, the children fare handsomely, with the punching bag starring as the climactic present. Faultless camera work and intelligent direction of the children contribute to make this film far above the average." Movie Makers, Dec. 1947, 514.

Resources:

Magic Stairway record on BFI.

The film was available in the ACL's Club Film Library.

Subjects:

• Ethnology
•      Manners and Customs
• Holidays
•      Christmas

Genre:

• Family

Form:

• Short

Tags:

Screenings:

• Screened by the Schenectady Photographic Society in 1947 and 1951: Schenectady, N.Y.
• Screened by the Metropolitan Motion Picture Club in 1948: New York City, N.Y.
• Screened by the Amateur Motion Picture Society of Albany in 1948: Albany, N.Y.
• Screened by the New York 8mm. Motion Picture Club in 1948: New York City, N.Y.
• Screened by the Brooklyn Amateur Cine Club in 1949 and 1953 : Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Screened by the Winnipeg Cine Club in 1949: Winnipeg, MB
• Screened by the Hutchinson Camera Club in 1949: Hutchinson, MN
• Screened by the Golden Gate Cinematographers in 1949: San Francisco, CA
• Screened by the Franklin County Camera Club in 1950: Greenfield, MA
• Screened by the 8mm. Club of Rochester in 1950: Rochester, N.Y.

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