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La volta al món = Around the world

Date produced: 1935

Filmmaker(s):

Francesc Argemí Solà

Description:

(Catalan): Un explorador vestit de safari recorre el món fent escala a ciutats com Roma, El Caire, Bombai, Nova York i Tànger, fins al seu retorn a Barcelona. En el seu periple entra a un bar de Nova York, visita una barberia i veu com un pidolaire té una màquina registradora. A Camerún veu un mico, un senglar, beu aigua d'un coco, es topa amb un hipopòtam. A Tànger visita la ciutat i els seus habitants, entra a una mesquita i coincideix amb un grup de música i ball. Finalment, a la seva arribada a Barcelona és rebut amb els més grans honors.

Mockumentary that depicts a fictional trip around the world. An explorer travels the world, stopping in cities such as Rome, Cairo, Mumbai, New York and Tangier. During the journey we see him entering a bar in New York, visiting a barber shop and seeing how a beggar has a cash register. In Cameroon, he sees a monkey, a wild boar, and runs into a hippopotamus. He also drinks water from a coconut. In Tangier, he enters a mosque and meets a music and dance group. Finally, upon his arrival to Barcelona, he is received with the greatest honors. All the locations were recreated by the director.


Labours of Hercules Smith, The

Date produced: 1936

Filmmaker(s):

Henry Bulleid

Description:

"Having slept the night beside a haystack, hapless travelling salesman Hercules Smith (Elmer Quane) awakes with his trusty canine companion Snapjack (Clovis Bige). Approaching a nearby house, past a man affixing a 'No Hawkers' sign to the gate, Hercules unsuccessfully attempts to sell a vacuum cleaner to the lady of the house, but manages to secure a position as a general hand. But each of his tasks end miserably with a series of unfortunate incidents involving cars, bees and unruly children. To make matters worse, Hercules is mocked at every turn by an elderly lady, who hands him instruction booklets and pamphlets for every occasion, from a copy of the highway code to a beekeeping manual and a guide to playing checkers. Fed up, Hercules retires to the back of the house for tea, but is constantly interrupted by the family's petulant cook, who deals out a similarly rough treatment to a prospective kitchenhand, Krimhild Colquhoun (Joan Bulleid). Setting a booby trap for the cook, the pair run off arm in arm, collecting their paycheques at the front door. Sitting in a field, a series of gags leads to an embrace, as the elderly lady delivers a final pamphlet: 'Advice for Young Mothers'" (EAFA Database).


Laderas de Izkiz [Hillsides of Izkiz]

Date produced:

Filmmaker(s):

Eloy González Gavilán

Description:

Corto documental sobre el pueblo de Izkiz , en el que el narrador describe de forma poética el pueblo entre planos de paisaje y arquitectura de este mismo. Mientras se recitan varias poesías aparecen imágenes de casas, tejados, laderas, ventanas, calles, la iglesia, casas abandonadas, animales, personas, niños –jugando o andando en bicicleta –, personas mayores, escenas de campo y vida campesina, escenas vacacionales, invernaderos, flores, insectos, el río, etc.

Documentary short about the town of Izkiz, in which the narrator describes the town in a poetic way while the film shows shots of landscapes and architecture. While several poetries are recited, we see images of houses, roofs, hillsides, windows, streets, the church, abandoned houses, animals, persons, children –either playing or riding bikes–, elderly people, countryside and country life scenes, vacation moments, greenhouses, flowers, insects, the river, etc.


Lady on June Street

Date produced: 1939

Filmmaker(s):

Leo Caloia

Description:

"Within the brief confines of Lady on June Street, Leo Caloia presents a satisfying example of the personality film worked out in story form. Faced with the common problem of family filming, he has resolved the riddle with imagination, humor and marked cinematic ability. The "lady" in question is pictured as a lazy, luxury loving wife, spiritually eager to be the best of helpmates, but physically enslaved to satins and sweetmeats. Dozing, as she regards with languorous ambition an advertisement for homemade shortcake, she dreams vividly of a sweet but unaccustomed success with pot and pan. Crash! In her dream, the lady slips, and her magnificent shortcake slithers across the kitchen linoleum. Bump! In reality, she has rolled sleepily from her couch, to awake with a thud on the living room floor. The film fades swiftly as she hurries the tops off canned beans and sauerkraut." Movie Makers, Dec. 1939, 632.


Lady Says Rain, The

Date produced: 1970

Filmmaker(s):

Bernhard Krimphove

Description:

"The Lady Says Rain by Bernhard Krimphove of Bronx, N.Y. Bernhard has defied the old belief of keeping your camera indoors when it rains - he has produced a fine film of the wet moods of a city. This 6-minute 8mm film awarded an Honorable Mention" PSA Journal, Nov. 1970, 38.


Ladybird, The

Date produced: 1953

Filmmaker(s):

William G. Nicholls

Description:

"In The Ladybird, W. G. Nicholls has told the story of the life of the common ladybug — remember "Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home . . ."? — in a film that is entertainingly instructive as well as distinguished by excellent photography, composition and editing. Many of the extreme closeups of the tiny ladybird as it goes through the various stages of its insect life-cycle are indeed remarkable. Mr. Nicholls's skill in closeup cinematography is particularly well demonstrated in the series of scenes featuring the ladybird's value as a devourer of the aphids that so bother rose growers. A narrative that is educative and well written creates a feeling of respect for the ladybird as a friend to man in his constant struggle against destructive insects. Here is a nature study which is first class in every way." Movie Makers, Dec. 1953, 334.


Laguna [Lagoon]

Date produced: 1934

Filmmaker(s):

Ubaldo Magnaghi

Francesco Pasinetti


Lake District Windermere, The

Date produced: 1933

Filmmaker(s):

Harold Preston

Sidney Preston

Description:

"Members of the Preston Family on holiday in the Lake District. The film includes various landscape shots of Lake Windermere and the boating activities that take place around the pier and lakeside. Concludes with footage of farm workers stacking hay on to a horse-drawn cart; farm animals grazing in the fields and a man and woman playing with some puppies in a garden." (NWFA Online Database)


Lake Louise: Cloud-Land

Date produced: 1964

Filmmaker(s):

William M. Harlow

Description:

"Focusing in on Lake Louise, this film presents the viewer with an in depth look at the diverse and majestic landscape of the Banff National Park region. Using time-lapse photography, we can see the movement of not only the plant life in the mountains, but also the movement of the clouds, and weather patterns of the area," via SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.


Lake Mohawk, Preferred

Date produced: 1940

Filmmaker(s):

Leo J. Heffernan

Description:

"Lake Mohawk, Preferred, made by Leo J. Heffernan, is a picture of the attractions, residences, entertainments, dog shows, yachting regattas and water sports of Lake Mohawk in New Jersey. But Lake Mohawk, Preferred is also a film with a continuity idea utterly new to amateur movies, for the not unusual subject matter of the picture is held together with a "screwball" theme and "gags" that keep you wondering what is going to happen next and entertained in the meantime. A handsome couple have a movie camera. "Concentrate to make good movies," says their instruction book. This they do in a very pleasant way (see the frame enlargement on page 577), and the results are surprising. Their mental efforts transport them and the camera bodily about the lake, at just the right time and place to film whatever is going on. They have some astonishing experiences, too. Sometimes they can't seem to materialize, and they pick up odd characters in their voyages through ether. But their method works and they get beautiful and lively sequences of life at Lake Mohawk." Movie Maker, Dec. 1940, 603.


Total Pages: 299