"Item is a film of Dr. Willinsky's trip to the Canary Islands with his wife, Sadie. In the form of a travelogue, music and Dr. Willinsky's commentary accompanies footage of the landscape, architecture, and local population. Included are shots of the local population carrying out their daily activities, children dressed in costume for Ash Wednesday festivities, markets, and traditional dances. Sadie is occassionally spotted sight-seeing and visiting with locals." Ontario Jewish Archives.
"Item is a film of a trip to Spain taken by Dr. Willinsky, his wife, Sadie, and some of their friends. Despite its title, the film does not contain footage of France. In the form of a travelogue, footage of landmarks, the local population, and the Willinsky's activities are accompanied by music and Dr. Willinsky's commentary. Footage includes shots of the Square of Spain, Sadie walking along the streets of a shopping district, churches and monasteries, a boat cruise from Palma to Figuera, a spring festival procession and dancing in Majorca. Most of the scenes were taken in Palma and Majorca." Ontario Jewish Archives.
"In the Certificate Awards group, Ralph E. Gray, a consistent winner in national film competitions and recently honored with the title of Leading Amateur Movie Maker of the nation by the Movie Makers Club of Oklahoma and associated cine clubs, has turned in another of his superb filming jobs in 'Glamorous Guatemala.' A highlight is the excellent titling job, a department of movie making in which Gray excels. Gray opens his picture with scenes of modern day Guatemala, then gradually leads us into more remote areas of the country where he shows the native Guatemalan at work and at play, harvesting coffee, weaving, and trucking his wares to market, or indulging the religious ceremonials and market day festivities, which comprise his chief diversions. Gray filmed his picture using a Cine Special and Kodachrome film." American Cinematographer, April 1950, 134-135.
"“Wooden Face of Totonicapan” is a [1942] color film covering the art of making wooden masks in Totonicapan, Guatemala. The film was made under the auspices of the "Good Neighbor" film project, run by the Office of the Co-Ordinator of Inter-American Affairs in New York as part of the WWII war effort. It was produced by Ralph E. Gray." Periscope Film.
"A clever, artfully-shot, and carefully-edited amateur film of the 1939 New York World's Fair." oldfilm.org
"Objectif Festival is a story based - on truth or not, we don't know - of an old photographer who decides to bring his camera, tripod and all, the to the Cannes Film Festival to get a few still shots. He is not prepared for the fast shooting shutterbugs of today, nor the Bikini clad French dolls that litter the beaches. Time has passed him by in more ways than one. The film has been cleverly cut to fit its musical score, and this unusual editing has earned for the film the MPD Golden Scissors Award for the best film editing in the contest" PSA Journal, Sept. 1964, 50-51.
"Esther Cooke presents an outstanding motion picture. This colorful pageant, filmed against a background of majestic Austrian Alps satisfies in every respect. A masterful eye for beautifully composed scenes is evident throughout the film. The pageant is covered from such a variety of angles, one marvels at Esther Cooke's ability to record the vent single handed. The accompanying musical background and very informative narration are obviously the result of careful research and planning. Leo J. Heffernan narrates the film - truly a masterpiece among travelogues." PSA Journal, Dec. 1955, 34.
"In Festival Michigan, Cornelius Vanden Broek undertook to record all of the fairs and community festivals that occur in the State of Michigan throughout the year. He was prompted to make this record for the benefit of many friends who were not able to attend them and thus to provide them with a vicarious participation. The usual parades, crowning a queen of this or that, live stock, home preserves, midway attractions and various contests for young folks are all here, done with pleasantly brief sequencing. A lively commentary accompanies the film. On the whole, this rather formidable undertaking results in a pleasant and completely honest endeavor. Mr. Vanden Broek achieved his goal with fine spirit." Movie Makers, Dec. 1953, 334.
Total Pages: 2
Amateur Cinema