"An outstanding example of industrial record filming is Mining Chrome Ore in New Caledonia, by Enoch Perkins, ACL. Probably no amateur film ever was made under more unfavorable conditions and with as little opportunity to secure special equipment to meet them. Yet the photographic quality of this film is very high and it stands as a tribute to Mr. Perkins's ability to overcome obstacles. A large part of the picture was made in a mine where the atmosphere was so charged with moisture that it was necessary to stop and wipe the lens dry every few minutes. Although lighting was a tremendous task and often cables over a thousand feet long were required, the mine scenes are accurately exposed and well photographed. The picture gives a complete record of mining ore from the solid wall of the tunnels to the loaded freighter. It was filmed from an engineer's point of view and for the specific purpose of record; however, smooth continuity and editing maintain audience interest." Movie Makers, Dec. 1933, 500, 522.
"Mr. Motorboat's Last Stand, written and produced by John A. Flory, who was assisted in photography by Theodore Huff, ACL, carries the subtitle, A Comedy of the Depression. It has, however, nothing in common with the typical motion picture comedy but is, instead, one of the very few films made each year that represent an intelligent attempt at experimentation with the motion picture medium. It is a story of Mr. Motorboat, an unemployed negro, who lives as elegantly as circumstances will permit in an automobile dump and who sells carefully washed and polished apples on a street corner. The picture turns into fantasy as Mr. Motorboat appears to ride to work in the morning in one of the cars of the dump that stands motionless without its wheels. Then the fantasy becomes more complete when he makes a bit of money and uses it as bait with which to fish in Wall Street. This he does literally and actually and with marvelous results until the crash of 1929. Simultaneously with the explosion of the prosperity bubble, Mr. Motorboat's competitor smashes his apple stand and the picture ends in a magnificent chase sequence, Mr. Motorboat after the competitor. This picture is photographed superbly well, and the editing is as smooth as that of the professional studio product. It is filled with remarkable directorial touches and cinematic symbolism and, although it suffers to some extent from the haphazard admixture of fantasy and realism, it is decidedly the best experimental film of the year." Movie Makers, Dec. 1933, 522.
"Design, by Walter Mills, ACL, is an expository film study on 8mm. and shows to fine advantages the possibilities of this medium for serious cinematic undertakings. In this 200 foot reel, the story of a day at the Kendall Art School, in Grand Rapids, Mich., has been told coherently and instructively. The picture represents real skill in planning, selection of viewpoint and photography. Naturally, most of the sequences in the film called for interior shots and the maker is to be commended highly for his lighting arrangements, which give perfectly normal effects in the film without the usual glare and unevenness. Angle shots and unusual camera positions are used with restraint but with most happy results when the situation calls for them. The technical quality is of uniform excellence and the cutting is done with particular care." Movie Makers, Dec. 1933, 522.
"Among the films awarded honorable mention is Remote Control, by Louis W. Bleser, ACL, which gives a fine cinematic exposition of the activities of a train despatcher, by means of an unusually well equipped miniature railway system. Here the technical problem is especially important, calling for closeup studies of the first quality, the aim being so to light and photograph the subject that there would be a semblance of realism. In effecting this result, the use of well chosen titles and fine editing played no small part. Such a film as this upholds the maxim that "cinematics begin at home." " Movie Makers, Dec. 1933, 522.
"An achieved simplicity in presenting a complex idea is the outstanding accomplishment that wins for the National Oil Products Company an honorable mention for its film. This picture presents the necessity for Vitamin "D" in the food of children and gives the highlights of preparing the Nopco product containing this essential food element. This picture, directed by Ralph Wechsler and photographed by Arnold M. Hill, ACL, follows the safely conventional presentation of industrial film messages in its continuity methods, its use of animated diagrams and its description of ultimate consumer usage. Working within this pattern, the makers of the picture have done extraordinarily well whatever they attempted. The continuity flows so smoothly as to be unperceived unless by a critically inclined observer; the animated diagrams are clear, well executed and strictly limited to the bare necessities of making the idea entirely evident; the photography is unexceptionable in nearly one hundred per cent of the film. This product of the joint efforts of an intelligent director, a very capable cinematographer and a fully cooperating industrial concern shows how perfect a practical film may be if real care is devoted to its making." Movie Makers, Dec. 1933, 522-523.
"Wonderland Trails is a triumph of treatment over the subject matter. K. G. Stephens, ACL, has used with sensitive artistry the space and time saving devices of closeup synecdoche, lap dissolve and the fade in, telling his charming tale of a mountain hike that went astray. On this simple framework he has presented a series of lovely scenic views, always well photographed and often superior in their crisp beauty. Smart editing serves throughout to reinforce the values of this film, which is distinguished by an imaginative and careful advance planning." Movie Makers, Dec. 1933, 523.
"Night Call, made by Elizabeth Sansom, ACL, and Kenneth V. Bloomer, ACL, is noteworthy for its attention to exact detail in the portrayal of an event in the daily (and nightly) routine in the lives of two physicians who receive a "hurry call" to perform an appendicitis operation. Miss Sansom, in the course of the story, films an operation sequence that seems letter perfect, both from the point of view of the operation itself and of the lighting, closeup and photographic technique employed." Movie Makers, Dec. 1933, 523.
"Under the Maple Leaf, by Hamilton H. Jones, ACL, is a partially refilmed and entirely reedited version of last year's award winner, Canadian Capers. A splendid picture a year ago, its new and additional sequences now bring to the film a photographic beauty plainly of the very first rank. A sequence of the morning mist rising from a lake deserves particular mention. Mr. Jones's considerable skill with his camera has increased in stature and may not yet have reached its full flowering. For this accomplishment his work has been given a place of honor in these selections. In the reluctant estimation of the judges, however, the editing and cutting of Under the Maple Leaf so far lagged behind its generally matchless beauty as to rob the film of its fullest emotional power. This factor only prevented Mr. Jones from repeating this year his full triumph of a year ago." Movie Makers, Dec. 1933, 523-524.
"In Surgical Eradication of Pyorrhea, Dr. S. H. McAfee, ACL, made use of a very fine closeup technique and, in presenting the preliminary clinical information, plaster models played an important part. The work was shown step by step so that certain points could be watched more closely later on. The very difficult problem of lighting oral surgery for good photography was well handled and the resulting exposure and definition were eminently satisfactory." Movie Makers, Dec. 1933, 524.
A short pan of downtown New York City.
Total Pages: 299
Amateur Cinema