"If you have never thought much about the communal effort that produces your breakfast honey, you will find a whole new world of careful organization set forth in William W. Vincent, jr.'s movie. If you have read about this world, you will realize the very great accomplishment of the filmer of Honey Harvest, as you see his picturization of the regimented and incredibly organized bee communities. By means of amazing closeups, Mr. Vincent identifies the various workers, shows them at their hard tasks and lets us see the queen bee, the drones, the nectar scouts, the farmers, the nurses and all the complex bee classes. Nectar is sipped and collected; it is used or stored until, finally, man takes the residual product for his own use. A breakfast sequence of great compositional charm begins and ends this highly unusual record." Movie Makers, Dec. 1945, 494.
"Albert D. Furnans has taken a group of charming people in a natural pursuit, truck gardening, and has developed a genuinely amusing "running gag"; the result is a delightful family film. Through an excellent sense of timing, he has sustained the "gag" with proper finesse until its final disclosure. The refreshing use of angles and the meaningful employment of lighting, together with good editing, bring balance and clarity. The entire picture shows the result of good planning and directing, and the filming keeps well abreast of these." Movie Makers, Dec. 1945, 496.
"Filmed in color during the war years of 1941-1944, this silent film shows the Vermont State Guard holding muster at the Tunbridge Fairgrounds and at Camp Wills, which later became Camp Johnson in Colchester, Vermont. The film also shows a bond rally on the steps of the Statehouse in Montpelier, and maneuvers at the airfield in Berlin, Vermont, and at a camp in Moscow, Vermont. The State Guard began as Company H, 1st Regiment, Infantry in 1941 and was re-organized in 1943 as Company H, 2d Battalion. This film is an important documentation of the State Guard's early history and Vermont's home front activities during World War II. Although silent, intertitles are inserted with an explanation of the scenes to follow, as well as scrolling text of explanation at the beginning and end of the film." Vermont Historical Society.
"Life-cycle phases and characteristics of frogs, toads and salamanders found in BC." (BC Archives)
"Amateur film footage shot by Dave M. Tatsuno while he was interned at the Topaz War Relocation Center, the Japanese-American internment camp located in Delta, Utah. The footage dates from 1942-1945, the years that Tatsuno was interned in the camp." Archives West.
"A short combat film documenting WWII allied forces "liberation over Europe." The film begins in Wesel, Germany March 24, 1945, followed by aerial shots of war-torn countries. The film ends with a non fatal crash landing followed by allied forces drinking coffee." Chicago Film Archives
A married couple is hosting another couple for dinner. Before the dinner, the husband gives his wife a container of "vanishing cream," which they both use believing it to be a skincare product. When the dinner guests arrive, people and pets that contact the cream vanish from sight.
"During the 1940s, Mrs. Gertrude McGill ran the Children's Garden Library in the garden of her home at 1170 Tattersall Drive in Victoria. Open to children aged 4 to 12, this program aimed to improve reading habits and instill citizenship. It is seen as the beginning of cooperative preschools on Vancouver Island.
"Amateur film. Part 1 shows a day's activities at the Children's Garden Library, including games, calisthenics, playground equipment, dancing, and reading and storytelling at the "Book House". Part 2 shows the children participating in May 24 celebrations at Beacon Hill Park, which includes a May Queen pageant, maypole dancing, and activities honouring the "Queen of Health", the "Queen of Music", the "Queen of Drama", the "Queen of Race Friendship" and the "Queen of Art". A mothers' study group, and the toymakers' group, are also shown." (BC Archives)
"With While the Earth Remaineth, Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award winner for 1945, Frank E. Gunnell crowns a long and distinguished career in the history of personal motion pictures. Beginning ten years ago with Adirondack Adventure, a Ten Best winner on 400 feet of black and white film, this career now embraces no less than ten award winners in nearly every category of amateur movies. Mr. Gunnell's chef d'oeuvre is a stirring and splendid climax to these efforts. The film is based upon the twenty second verse of the eighth chapter of Genesis, wherein the Lord pledges that He shall never again smite the earth, as He had done in the recent Deluge: For while the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heal, and summer and ivinter, and day and night. shall not cease. Beginning with this great and noble theme, Mr. Gunnell doubles back in his production to show the creation of this Earth which the Lord has blessed. Here, used interpretively rather than for itself alone, Mr. Gunnell's superb craftsmanship with the camera rises to new heights of power and dignity. His sequences suggesting the formation of the cosmos and the first coming of light to the new planet are among the most stirring and purely creative passages in the history of amateur movies. His use of already existing scenes — a geyser or boiling springs of mud — to suggest the primordial genesis are imaginative editing at its highest plane. Flowers, fruits and the fowls of the air take on new beauty in Mr. Gunnell's moving testament to God's handiwork. As befits such a splendid theme, While the Earth Remaineth is scored with music of great stature. Presented with the picture are passages from Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony; the Symphony in D Minor, by Cesar Franck; Robert Schumann's Third Symphony; Harold in Italy, by Berlioz; the Deems Taylor suite, Through the Looking Glass; Omphale's Spinning Wheel, by Saint-Saens. and the Symphony in D Major, by Haydn." Movie Makers, Dec. 1945, 477, 494.
Total Pages: 299
Amateur Cinema