"Elmer (Elmer Quane) is a hapless fool and a hopeless romantic, who has his heart set on Enid (Rita Lyons). But with Enid in the clutches of Arthur (Arthur Richardson), Elmer must go to extreme lengths to win her love. Left embarrassed by an encounter at the train station, and frustrated by his bullying boss, Elmer sits beside a secluded footpath. But when Enid's bag is snatched by a pair of thieves, and Arthur stands idly by, it is up to Elmer to save the day, apprehending the men and retrieving the bag. But has he won Enid's heart? Only his clumsiness, her ultimatum and a series of chocolate thefts will tell us" (EAFA Database).
"Amateur filmmaker, cinema historian and railway engineer H.A.V. Bulleid employs dry wit and sharp satire in this loose adaptation of the 'Saki' (aka Hector Hugo Munro) short story, 'Tobermory'. When Lord Bink - 'an extremely clever scientist' - creates a concoction which gives Clyde the Dog the gift of human speech, he gets a little more than he bargained for, as the dry wit and scathing tongue of Clyde wreaks havoc in the genteel world of Mrs Gatty's garden" (EAFA Database).
"Opens with footage of a man, two women and a girl in a garden. Some footage shot through a gap in a wall and some closer up. They are seen playing with a dog. The film continues with footage of the Tower Circus elephants being bathed in the sea at Blackpool. A crowd watches as the elephant's keeper controls them whilst riding one. Members of the crowd pet the elephants before they are seen leaving the beach. This is followed by footage from Stanley Park in Blackpool. Two girls are seen walking through the park and relaxing by a bowling green. The film ends with footage of Stanley Park lake, thick with boats, shot from a moving boat." (NWFA Online Database)
"The Forgotten Frontier, filmed by Miss Marvin Breckinridge, is the most ambitious amateur made welfare film yet recorded. To show the operation of the Kentucky Nursing Service, Miss Breckinridge spent several months filming in the mountain districts reached by that organization. With the cooperation of the mountain folk, she staged several short dramas, each demonstrating the usefulness of one of the centers or some phase of their work. The completed picture runs 6000 ft., 35mm., and, in spite of the numerous technical difficulties, it is excellently photographed." Movie Makers, Dec. 1930, 788.
"Galleon Gold, 1600 ft., 16 mm., produced by the San Jose Players under the leadership of John C. Waterhouse, strikes a more sober note. This entertaining drama of the youth of a venerable Spanish family, who discover the treasure trove of the Conquistadores in time to save the family hacienda from the encroachment of the lime quarries, contains much good photography, a smooth continuity, experienced acting and first rate direction." Movie Makers, Sept. 1930, 569.
"Galleon Gold, 1600 ft., 16mm., produced by the San Jose Players, deserves special mention for its smooth flowing continuity alone. Although the difficulty of securing a lucid continuity is greatly increased in a longer dramatic picture, the producers of this film have achieved perfect clarity. This film was made during a summer vacation at a mountain ranch and it seemed at first that the lack of electric current for lighting would be an insuperable obstacle since the script called for many interior scenes. The problem was finally solved by a portable motor generator driven by a gas engine which, with proper lighting equipment, made ample illumination possible." Movie Makers, Dec. 1930, 788.
"America, among the three films given special mention, is an ambitious scenic epic being compiled by William H. Barlow. The plan is to cover all of the prominent beauty spots of this country, building the sequences of them into a monumental film document. Yet each reel is so planned and titled that it can be separately screened. The reels that have already been completed present a combination of beautiful photography, intelligent planning and editing and skillful titling that has not been surpassed in similar professional work." Movie Makers, Dec. 1930, 788.
"Tying A Dry Salmon Fly, 300 ft., 16mm., was awarded special mention because of its unusual subject matter and because of the uniformly fine technique with which it is portrayed. Mr. Brock, both a fisherman and a firmer, has brought one hobby to the aid of another as he shows, with a straightforward continuity, the nice art of fly tying. Working almost entirely in extreme closeups, he overcame the serious problem of limited depth of focus by a canny concentration of his light sources on the tiny subject. In this manner, he was able so to stop down the lens as to achieve maximum definition and depth of field." Movie Makers, Dec. 1931, 685.
Total Pages: 299
Amateur Cinema