"The vivid pageantry and somnolent landscapes of Mexico assume a new grandeur as filmed by Ralph E. Gray, a cinematographer who has long been recognized as one of the most accomplished amateurs on the continent. The land of contrasts and contradictions is beautifully presented in Typical Times in the Tropics, for here is one of the few travel films that ignore the tourist penchant for flashy trivia, to reveal the spirit of a people and the pictorial splendor in terms of lasting values. Mr. Gray has lived in Mexico long enough to recognize what is really significant; consequently, his film — for all its 1400 feet — seems to be a distillation of the unique charm which continues to attract Americans on vacation. The Mexican's strange blend of religious sincerity and garish ceremony is evidenced in a ritual filmed in Cholula, in which the local livestock — besmeared with gaudy paints and dyes — are presented for the blessing of the village priest — to insure the animals' fertility. The bouganvillea and hibiscus that frame the vistas of sleepy Fortin are contrasted with a boisterous Cuernavaca carnival and the hard riding charros of Mexico City. The latter scenes give Mr. Gray an opportunity to display his technical prowess at its best, for his handling of exposure problems in filming sombrero shadowed faces, his revealing closeups of spectators and skillful following of the wild horses and steer roping are proof of his stature as one of our finest amateur filmers. One of Mr. Gray's most valuable assets is a keen eye for detail, whether it be in the embroidery of a shawl or the weird sculpture left in the path of a lava flow. Intelligent use of a polarizing filter heightens the tawny stuccos of the cathedrals and intensifies the architectural detail of the facades and bell towers; and a fine feeling for human interest gives his shots of a Tehuantepec celebration, the Tirada de Frutas, an added opulence. The cliff divers of Acapulco staged some hairbreadth scenes for Mr. Gray, and he has made the sequence even more breathtaking by cutting in shots of the rocky hazards which had to be cleared by these young daredevils. Saving his trump for a fiery finale, this second time Maxim Award winner winds up with a series of frames of Paricutin, smouldering under her own gray vapors. Sustaining interest throughout 1400 feet of film is no mean task, even when abetted by the natural resources of Mexico; but Mr. Gray has met his challenge with a maximum of taste, discrimination and a completely craftsmanlike approach to a subject that has seldom been presented with such polish and vitality." Movie Makers, Dec. 1946, 470-471.
"In spite of the almost insurmountable difficulties in using feet to portray much of the action and most of the emotion in a movie, E. H. Sparks has managed to make Doghouse Blues completely comprehensible. A delightful farce of a bibulous fisherman, the story makes judicious use of the angler's big toe to denote thirst, hunger and any other emotion which might master a man on a solo weekend. Colorful scenes of inlets and bays, as well as attractive sequences of fishing craft, imbue the film with a flavor of authenticity. In satiric repetition, his indignant wife trails the tippling angler to the secluded spot where his boat rides at anchor, there to find him "taking the long count." A rude awakening for the errant husband and an eminently suitable final scene close the picture." Movie Makers, Dec. 1946, 471.
"Kaleidoscopio, by Dr. Roberto Machado, is a brilliant and provocative study in abstractions, filmed in its entirety through a kaleidoscope. Dr. Machado's cinematic extension tube, however, is quite obviously not the familiar small toy of one's childhood: in one sequence, delicate human fingers are deployed before the device, while in another a set of colored, kitchen measuring spoons do a gay dance in multiple. The lighting — which traditionally was transmitted only through the base — ranges from that type (through gleaming balls of crushed cellophane) to reflected illumination on an assortment of children's marbles. Billed by its producer as a "film musical," Kaleidoscopio is indeed instinct with strong rhythmic patterns and pulsations. The picture is an exciting and imaginative advance along the ever widening frontiers of personal motion pictures." Movie Makers, Dec. 1946, 471.
"Henry E. Hird, whose suavity and expertness as a movie maker increase each year, has chosen in his present offering to illustrate one of the cine film's most interesting capacities — its power to analyze motion. Introducing his footage with a lead title assembly finely accomplished with double exposure on moving backgrounds, Mr. Hird has observed and recorded with cinematic sureness such things as what happens when cream is poured into a cup of coffee and is filmed in such manner that the action is greatly slowed down for careful analysis. We watch the mechanics of flying seagulls, in landings and takeoffs. We look at the manner in which crystals are formed from chemical combinations, as well as at opening flowers, by time lapse filming. Smoke rings are shown and there are fine examples of the familiar dives caught in slow motion. Mr. Hird's picture compares favorably with the best slow motion studies of the professional screen, and it presents a number of fresh subjects." Movie Makers, Dec. 1946, 471, 486.
"To those filmers who have had the dubious honor of trying to direct a group of young, obstreperous children who somehow seem to persist in shyly gazing into the camera lens, Harlan M. Webber should be able to give some sound advice. Charming, but not cunning, Pinocchio's Jack-O'-Lantern seems to solve all the usual deficiencies which attend a film starring children. With a sure camera sense, Mr. Webber uses sparkling lighting and imaginative camera viewpoints to bring out the Peter Pan quality which pervades the Halloween party given by his son. The picture opens with startlingly clear shots of the small boy reading a Halloween book and continues with him helping his mother prepare the refreshments for the coming party. In a spirit of understanding and finesse, the filmer follows the antics of the disguised children through the party itself and on to the usual doorbell ringing, where they heinously blackmail the neighbors for candy, cookies and cake. Nostalgically provocative, the film exhibits a buoyant naturalness which would delight any audience." Movie Makers, Dec. 1946, 486.
"Last year's Honorable Mention Squeaky has grown up into a Ten Best and has had kittens to boot. In Squeaky's Kittens, Walter Bergmann presents the mother cat rearing her four lively offspring with the help of the Bergmann household. With what must have taken a great deal of patience and dexterity, the kittens are shown being fed and playing and sparring in typical fashion. Their inevitable disposal among the neighbors constitutes a delightful sequence in which the children and grownups of a suburban community are depicted in wholly natural and pleasing manner. Mr. Bergmann's manipulation of lighting, both interior and exterior, is warm and skillful, and he has supplemented the story with titles in light vein that are inserted with restraint." Movie Makers, Dec. 1946, 486.
"Staria Zimmerman, that charming Milwaukee minx who made her big time bow in The Boss Comes to Dinner, a 1944 Ten Best winner, has done it again in The Dizzy Top. As the impish daughter of a winsome but widowed mother, she pulls the strings in this "merryonette" show which maneuver her pretty parent into the arms of a new and handsome husband. The quite willing victim of these arch designs is, in the film, the proprietor of a swank hat shop, and it is in this bright locale that the majority of the action takes place. Patricia and Ryne Zimmerman — the producers and supporting players — have a sharp and genuine sense of farce comedy. Their lighthearted plot dances forward as gaily as the suave settings they have contrived for it. Their incidents are antic in their absurdity, their timing crisp and delicately controlled. These qualities are, to be sure, aided immeasurably by Mistress Staria, who carries off each new comic conceit with impudent but charming assurance. Mr. Zimmerman's technical execution in their latest film leaves little to be desired in competence and imagination. There is, to a heightened degree, the same warmth and brilliance in his lighting which marked The Boss. His camera viewpoints are effective and varied, cutting one into the next with precision and pace. Show pieces of cinematic imagination enrich the production, like sugar plums in a Christmas pudding. The Dizzy Top, the Zimmerman's first 16mm. effort, is a handsome step forward along their chosen course of lighthearted comedy." Movie Makers, Dec. 1946, 486.
"In a relatively short period of filming, Raymond J. Berger has mastered a type of photoplay which a great many persons have expressed a desire to make, the story film featuring a child and a pet. His script, a simple and unpretentious recounting of how an invalid child wills herself to walk again, to go to the aid of her injured dog, proves an ideal vehicle for Mr. Berger's young daughter and her handsome collie, Lassie. This 8mm. Kodachrome picture, scored with re-recorded music, is noteworthy for its excellent framing and splendid closeups. Particularly engaging is the sequence, after the accident, showing the mutual recovery of the two stars. Young Miss Berger, considering the limited histrionic ability of a natural child, plays her role with grace and assurance; her crying scenes and the ingenuous frolics with Lassie are unusually credible and well performed. Mr. Berger deserves credit for his planning and fulfillment of a screen play that revolves around two such charming personalities." Movie Makers, Dec. 1946, 486.
"The Texas Forest Service was faced with a grave problem. Large parts of Texas were being devastated and deforested by numerous fires. The fires were caused by the idle fancy and carelessness of backwoodsmen. Which He Hath Planted was produced for the Service by Larry J. Fisher, ACL, as part of the campaign to lead these woodsmen into more constructive paths. It is a striking example of how, with imagination, a motion picture can be constructed to fit the needs of a very special situation. Mr. Fisher and the Forest Service had to find a common ground on which to base their appeal against the pyromaniacal instinct. Realizing that, however uneducated, most people from the backwoods have both acquaintance with and veneration for the Bible, they decided to peg their entire film on quotations from the Scriptures. What they have produced is a beautiful welding of applicable Biblical passages, both spoken and sung, to forest scenes, the end result tending to promote the idea that trees are rich and wondrous manifestations of God and are not intended by Him to be destroyed by man's casual whim. The lesson is well taught. But the film imparts a sense of beauty and reverence that far outlives the immediate lesson. For that, Mr. Fisher's blending of music and word and image is responsible." Movie Makers, Dec. 1946, 486.
"John R. Kibar has taken the subject of recording the hues of a fall countryside and has lifted it above the familiar medley of garish color. With an interesting variety of viewpoints and an artist's eye for compositions, he has achieved the flowing, rhythmic mood of nature in her most popular season for color filmers. Particularly in shots of trees reflected in streams and the sprightly dancing of golden leaves in the wind has Mr. Kibar surpassed the usual run of nature studies. Autumn Glory is replete with movement, but closeups of a colorful branch of berries or stocks of thistle against the sky serve as punctuation for the longer sequences. A human touch is added by including an artist in occasional shots, as he sketches the scenes shown in the major part of the film." Movie Makers, Dec. 1946, 486.
Total Pages: 299
Amateur Cinema