"The Making of Canadian Homespun, by Duncan Mac D. Little, ACL, is a distinctly novel cinematographic achievement because it is an al fresco industrial film depicting a process of manufacture that normally is largely performed indoors. In addition, it is a uniquely valuable contribution to folk way records, listing, as it does, in a lovingly made film inventory, the steps involved in the production of homespun cloth by a geographically sequestered population which maintains one of the last stands of homely folk craft on the North American continent. Mr. Little's picture was made in summer in a region lacking facilities for indoor lighting. It compresses seasonal activities into the space of a few days, showing sheep shearing, preparation of the wool and its spinning and weaving. For this purpose, a spinning wheel and loom were set up in the open by the country people of the locality, who cooperated happily with Mr. Little. Not only is this ancient process preserved in an exceptional film record but, at the same time, there are offered many character studies of exceedingly individual French Canadians." Movie Makers, Dec. 1935, 551, 553.
"Mexican Silhouette, conceived as a gamble, has grown up to glory. After but a few years of average movie making experience, Clement K. Chase — as with so many — felt an irresistible urge to attempt, in one film, a concentration of all his accumulated skill and experience. He turned to a subject he knew with intimacy and affection, and Mexican Silhouette was the result. It is a splendid educational and general interest study, divided flexibly into three main sections — Mexico, D. F., Mexican Agriculture and Mexican Cities. To these subjects, Mr. Chase has brought a mature photographic skill, marked by tripod steadiness, stimulating compositions and a dramatic feeling for the use of filters. Well titled in the original silent version, the film is now being distributed commercially in both sound and silent editions." Movie Makers, Dec. 1939, 633.
"Having forsaken the good land of tequila for the gypsy life of a trailerite, Ralph E. Gray presents what may be the last in a long line of distinguished human record films on America's southern neighbor. Mexico At Work And At Play displays recurrently in its many and varied sequences the opulent camera work and warm eye for color which have marked all of Mr. Gray's award winners. Mirrored in the present movie are such native occupations as sugar cane farming and mescal distilling, such handicrafts as glass blowing and opal polishing, such diversions as cock fighting and an Easter Passion Play. Mr. Gray's treatment of these and other colorful subjects is leisurely, loving and methodical." Movie Makers, Dec. 1948, 494.
"A very brief view of Conway Castle is followed by scenes from the Middlewich Show - the different stalls are seen, as well as some of the prize winning flowers and vegetables. There are shots of the smaller livestock at the show, such as rabbits, chickens and budgerigars. There is a dog show, and the Dairy Queen of Cheshire arrives with her entourage. She presents trophies to the winners of the large livestock competitions, and the film ends with a show-jumping competition." (NWFA Online Archive)
"doc. a fantasia"/avant-garde documentary
"On the Baptist Kimpese Mission Station, Republic of the Congo." National Archives.
"Charles A. Ferrie, jr., an urban movie maker, has gone back to the land for the beauty and charm of Mother Earth. Here, in carefully filtered and unfailingly well composed shots, he has caught the moist freshness of newly turned soil, the delicate loveliness of waving grain, the quiet dignity of men going about the homely tasks of the farm. His method of subject matter treatment has been to study these things from the outside, as a sensitive spectator, rather than to involve them (and the spectator) in a story told against such backgrounds. Mr. Ferrie's photography is consistently good and often striking, while his sequencing adds much of interest and inspiration to an essentially pastoral subject." Movie Makers, Dec. 1938, 620.
"The subject of 'Nation Builders'—the history of Australia—is without doubt the most ambitious ever undertaken by any amateur filmer. The fact that the project was successful is in itself a tribute to Sherlock's skill. Granted that in connection with the 150th anniversary of his nation's founding there were pageants re-enacting historic events and an opportunity for an alter filmster to photograph them: but how many times have not other amateurs scored dismal failures trying the same thing? Filming such a pageant, it is all too easy to capture only the impression of history actually happening. The twentieth century background which must so often have been just beyond the camera-lines was never permitted to intrude upon his eighteenth and nineteenth century action." American Cinematographer, Feb. 1939, 61.
"Un-staged documentary footage shot and edited by Sallie Wagner. Sallie's description of the film: 'Wide Ruins and area, farming Navajos, Black Rock - Medicine Man, Cut Hair plowing, Joe Toddy following Cut Hair, planting, Patsy Martin standing on Cultivator, Jim House's wife husking corn, Paul Jones helping husk corn, sheep dipping at Ganado, Dwight Wagner viewing sheep dipping, wool shearing at Wide Ruins, loading sheep at Chambers, tall man in tan outfit Bill Cousins, Bent Knee sitting on fence, Crip Chee's grandson in closing scene'." New Mexico States Archives.
"In this film record set in the beautiful Cumbrian countryside, sheep shearing and other farming activities take second place to fun. Whether swimming and splashing in a stream, feeding lambs, or taking a rowing boat out on the lake, there is plenty to keep children - and adults - busy. And of course we mustn't forget that essential outdoor activity - a picnic in the sunshine and fresh air." (BFI Player)
Total Pages: 8
Amateur Cinema