"documentario"/documentary
"Title onscreen indicates that the footage shows an outing of the Munich amateur film club to Dachau, 1942. . . . They arrive at the station and begin filming in the residential/commercial areas of the town (NOT the camp)." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
"Russian Easter is a reverent and impressive film of the celebration of Easter in the Russian Orthodox Church and in the homes of Russians living in this country, all presented against the background of the birth of spring. Easter in the Russian Church is more closely associated with the coming of spring than it is in some other faiths, and the antiphonal cry, "Truly Christ is risen!" finds its response in leafing trees, budding flowers and virescent hillsides. Accordingly, this is a joyful film, filled with the gladness of Easter and of spring. The rich liturgy of the Easter season in the Russian Church is presented with intelligently planned sequences that span the time from the beginning of Lent to three days after Easter. Interwoven are sequences of home life, as the household prepares for the celebration and the feast at Easter. So, the picture actually consists of three themes — Easter in the church, Easter in a private home and the coming of spring, all interrelated by a masterly handling of film planning and editing. Outstanding scenes in this picture are the shots of Church of Alexander Nevsky in the winter snow, looking like a color print of old Russia, and the shots of the dinner, after Easter services, when family and guests eat the traditional Easter dishes. This latter sequence has particular grace and charm. Mr. Serebrykoff has made a sincere and delightful film that bolsters one's faith in the future of amateur movie making, for he has produced a brilliant picture that could be made only by an amateur in the full and accurate sense of the word — a film that would have been profaned by professionalism." Movie Makers, Dec. 1942, 489.
"Autumn, by Robert P. Kehoe, now takes the lead in an ever lengthening series of exquisite natural miniatures, recorded by this engineer with art at his finger tips. Having reported earlier on the bluster of a late, unfriendly fall, Mr. Kehoe turns in this film to the warm beauty and haunting sadness of autumn's Indian summer. Life is drifting toward death, to be sure, yet it moves in peace down the placid stream, with loveliness through the golden air. But one cannot describe the incredible imagery of a Kehoe study. As well put under the intellectual microscope a Wordsworth sonnet or a Keatsian ode. Autumn, as brief as it is poignant, is his best work to date. As long as color film can still be had, we see no reason why the good Lord's handiwork should go unsung." Movie Makers, Dec. 1942, 489.
"Most movie makers look about for suitable music for a picture, only after it has been completed. Herman Bartel, who produced Awakening, scores his films just the other way around. He listens to a composition that he likes until he thinks of picture material that will express its mood. Since Mr. Barters appreciation and selection of music are above reproach and since his ability to take a camera and a roll of film and make them sing is well known, we can only add that this is his finest film to date. It is very difficult to explain a Bartel picture. You can say that the subjects are flowers, trees, animals and the other common manifestations of nature, but what you must see to believe is that they have never been filmed in quite his way before. Mr. Bartel does not use parts of records and change from one to another with abrupt shifts in themes. Instead, he uses each record in full. In this film, the blend of picture and music is so matched that, in some scenes, reeds and bushes sway to the rhythm of the music. Needless to say, the camera work in this picture is superb. Other color films may be exposed as well, but they will never be exposed better because here is more than perfect exposure and lighting. Mr. Bartel has taken what existed and has made it say what he wanted it to say through skillful control of the devices at hand." Movie Makers, Dec. 1942, 489, 506.
"With his victory garden as an incentive, George Mesaros has made Back to the Soil a record of his garden's progress that does credit to his movie making ability and to the quality of the vegetables produced. This genre little picture strikes a happy balance between the action scenes of planting, hoeing and harvesting and the magnificent shots of the opulent, colorful red tomatoes, green peppers, yellow corn and the beans, lettuce, cucumbers and other vegetables. Mr. Mesaros has a natural sense of pattern and design which he gives full play in the excellent arrangements in this film. Noteworthy, too, is the feeling of space and distance achieved in a small plot of ground. It is surprising to learn that the garden which seems so extensive in the picture is in reality only a small backyard plot." Movie Makers, Dec. 1942, 506.
"Fire from the Skies should be a ringing challenge to amateur movie clubs and individual personal filmers across the country. For it is a competent, compelling and altogether mature contribution to the cause of civilian defense. It was produced by the Long Beach Cinema Club with no more facilities than are available to all of us. The added ingredient which put the production over was interest; they wanted to do it — and did ! The dynamic leadership of Mrs. Mildred J. Caldwell, ACL, former club president and coordinator of the present film, is felt throughout its footage. Telling a story of incendiary bomb protection, the picture tells it from the woman's angle, that of the housewife who, before all others, must fight to protect her home. The film employs shrewdly every artifice of the motion picture craft — color, sound, music, narrative and special effects. All are handled crisply and with confidence. The continuity is dramatic but informative, the camera work effective and the sound track exciting in its contribution to the visual message. Fire from the Skies need offer no apologies amid the too small company of America's civilian defense motion pictures." Movie Makers, Dec. 1942, 506.
"In the Beginning is a title that appears for the second time in these lists, for this film is a new version of a picture by the same name that was produced in 1935 by Fred C. Ells. The first picture was filmed in black and white when Mr. Ells was working in Japan, and the second picture was made in color in this country. In the Beginning tells, with extraordinary beauty, the story of Creation in the Book of Genesis, and it is climaxed by the creation of man and his works. It is a symphonic film of water, earth and of nature, graced by the cinematic skill and artistry familiar to all who have seen Mr. Ells's work. He has the gift of exquisite motion picture composition and distinctive choice of precise subject matter to which, in this picture, is added a unique control of color. Some of the scenes of birds forming moving patterns on the sand are astonishing, both in composition and in color effect. Back lighting, slow motion and the telephoto lens are tools that Mr. Ells uses frequently, but never for their obvious effect. They are but part of the magic by which he takes his audience back to the days of Creation." Movie Makers, Dec. 1942, 506.
"Kendall T. Greenwood, who has proved his competence in a number of detailed industrial records, turns with Incident from Life to the ways of a growing lad and achieves a clear and carefully observed record of his own youngster that will, in years to come, testify to the fact that his father took the boy seriously. Mr. Greenwood's picture is a compliment to his son and, as we think it over, an unintentional compliment to an understanding father as well. Young Greenwood is a reader. In the course of his reading, he comes upon the subject of diving, but he does not let the matter rest there. Paralleling the "spool and old coal hod" of another inventor, he contrives, out of the detritus of a trash heap and a cautious borrowing from Dad's camping outfit, a diving bell that works so successfully that he goes down with it into a lake near the family home. Father maintains an almost incredible calm and communicates some of it to his wife, although Mrs. Greenwood's face is a study, when the boy's young helper fouls the airline and has to be assisted by Mr. Greenwood. But all ends well, as an absorbing and well made picture comes to a close. Director, actor and cameraman (although Mrs. Greenwood must have lent needed aid), Mr. Greenwood has made a family film that is dignified and interesting and, above all, is one that Junior need not shrink from, as it is shown in later years." Movie Makers, Dec. 1942, 506.
Total Pages: 299
Amateur Cinema