"This all-too-brief film, discovered at a flea market, depicts patrons of a lesbian bar (probably in San Francisco circa 1950) and performances by drag king Jimmy Reynard and singer Jan Jensen, singing American standards, including “I’ll Remember April” and “Tenderly.” A deceptively simple document, it presents exceedingly rare images of queer life on its own turf, and on its own terms, before gay liberation." UCLA Film & Television Archive.
"Monarch Butterfly Story: This film, with its carefully written and recorded narration, is equally meticulous in its photography which chronicles the life-cycle of the Monarch butterfly from egg to adult. Major Anderson and his wife Claire Louise have collaborated in producing one of the finest studies of insect life ever produced by a non-professional film maker, and already one large educational film distributor is negotiating for its purchase. Employing two Bolex H-16 cameras, the Andersons have produced several excellent sequences in time-lapse photography aided by equipment home-made for the purpose by Mr. Anderson. The picture opens with scenes showing adult Monarchs in natual habitat. Interesting facts regarding the butterfly are told in the narration. Then the egg-laying period is shown, followed by closeups of the egg, hatching of the pupa, and it ultimate growth to an adult through the various stages of metamorphosis natural to the Monarch. It is the meticulous ultra-closeup photography and the perfectly executed time-lapse camera work that gives this production its class, and easily makes it one of the best 16mm color films of the year." American Cinematographer, May. 1951, 190.
"The Monarch Butterfly, winner of the MPD Nature Film Trophy, depicts the life cycle of this well known butterfly and shows the various stages through which it must pass" PSA Journal, Sept. 1966, 35.
"Ralph O. Lund, whether he knows it or not, has adopted the same narrative technique used earlier in a nature film (The Gannets) whereby one of the wild creatures being pictured becomes the narrator. In Monarchs of the Mountain Tops, Mr. Lund's "Pete Smith" is an agile and bewhiskered mountain goat. His recurring comments enliven considerably the producer's study of the flora and fauna of Glacier National Park." Movie Makers, Dec. 1953, 334.
"Money to Burn, believe it or not, comes from Scotland, where, if you can believe it, they burn money. But not until it is worn out and counted by a series of bank tellers. Then it goes up in smoke in this well-put together documentary" PSA Journal, Aug. 1967, 37.
"Monkey's of the Snow Mountain is a touching film of northern Japan produced by Masatoshi Okochi of Japan. You will never believe how sorry you can feel for a tribe of monkeys in 15 minutes of snow, snow and more snow. The film is in color, mostly white. It took four years to film the seasonal cycle in its fullest. Here we have suffering not only by the subjects of the film but by the film maker as well. In spite of that, you'll enjoy it" PSA Journal, Nov. 1969, 57.
"doc. turistico"/touristic documentary
"Kenneth L. Lockwood is a newcomer to the tourney of Ten Best competition, but with Monterey Peninsula he seems to serve notice that his is a name with which to reckon. There is, throughout his immaculate 8mm. Kodachrome, a feeling of craftsmanship and care. Add to these fundamentals an unerring sense of composition and a nice eye for the importance of human interest — and you have an award winner in the making. Mr. Lockwood brings to the screen not only the windblown cedars and sun drenched missions, familiar symbols of the Monterey foreshore, but the life of its waterfront as well, redolent of fish, tarred nets and crabs steaming in a deep bellied kettle. One looks forward with interest to further work from this talented initiate." Movie Makers, Dec. 1942, 508.
(Catalan): Film a mig camí entre el film d'argument (un pelegrí cec marxa amb els peus descalços fins a Montserrat, acompanyat d´un nen, i quan hi arriba es produeix un miracle i recupera la vista) i el film documental (escenes diverses de Montserrat i els diferents mitjans de transport per arribar-hi: cotxe, carrilet, cremallera i funicular, etc.).
Film devoted to the famous Montserrat mountain in Catalonia that blends fiction (a blind pilgrim walks barefoot to Montserrat, accompanied by a child, and when he arrives a miracle occurs, and he regains his sight) and documentary styles (various scenes from Montserrat and the different means of transport to get there: car, rail, rack and funicular, etc.). [Description from the Filmoteca de Catalunya catalog]
Total Pages: 295
Amateur Cinema