"The Golden West, as this amateur movie was titled by its maker. whose identifty is lost, tours America's Riviera," as the film rather grandiosely labels the Los Angeles region.... It focuses on public places and seldom the filmmaker's family members, who are onscreen largely to illustrate local customs...." (Scott Simmon) During a ride on a blimp, the filmmaker shoots aerial footage of Los Angeles and area, including some of the local film studios. Other sequences include a visit with B-movie actor George O'Brien, on set at RKO, and a Shriners Parade at the Los Angeles Memorial Colosseum, where floodlights illuminate floats representing various Hollywood studios.
The filmmaker is not credited. In archivist Lynne Kirste's commentary for the excerpt in Treasures 5, he is described as an unidentified amateur filmmaker from Pennsylvania.
"Local sights and events in the White Rock area, such as parades, celebrations at the International Peace Arch, fashion show, recreational activities, etc." British Columbia Archives.
"Item is a film of a trip to Hawaii taken by Dr. Willinsky and his wife, Sadie. In the form of a travelogue, footage of Hawaii's landscape, vegetation, landmarks and local population is interspersed with captions that were added in by Dr. Willinsky to provide information about the country's culture. Footage includes shots of sites around Honolulu and Waikiki, surfers, Hawaiian flowers, churches and temples, sugar cane farming and singers performing outside a hotel. Sadie is occassionally spotted exploring the sites and interacting with locals."
"2 part travelogue film of Hawaii capturing the scenery, resources and people of the islands. Part 1 visits to a lava flow and other natural wonders such as Haleakala Creater and a black sand beach as well as numerous shores and valleys along the way. Stop motion animation of a toy car or ship tracks a change in location. Part 2 features footage of tropical flowers, picking coconuts, family picnic, farming and factory processing pineapple, Hula dance performances, surfing and canoeing competitions, and sunsets."
Edited film "chronicling an airstream caravan through Central America (Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, Costa Rica). Film includes many views of scenic landscapes, mountain roads, cities and villages, ruins (Kabah, Uxmal, Dzibichaltun, Chichen Itza) and historic landmarks and airstream trailers tavelling or in recreational vechicle parks. In Guatemala they visit the villages Solola and Panajachel near Lake Atitlan and and town of Antigua. Scenes also include marketplaces, churches and chuch-life, a woman weaving, local crafts, washing clothing at public fountains" Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Museum.
"A narrated travelogue addressed to viewers in the U.S. shows life in several small towns surrounding Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. Shows rope making from sisal hemp and traditional textile weaving. Concludes with a visits to the outdoor markets in Santiago Atitlan and Chichicastenango" Indiana University Libraries Moving Image Archive.
"Item is an audio-visual production of Dr. Willinsky's Hellenic cruise near Greece with his wife, Sadie. Production contains footage of the ancient ruins and other landmarks they visited, including sites in Mycenae, Pergamum, Athens, Troy and Gallipoli. In the form of a travelogue, music and Dr. Willinsky's commentary accompanies images for about the first 30 minutes. The remainder of the production is mute." Ontario Jewish Archives.
"Film is made up of a variety of short segments. Included is clip of a man fishing in an old mill stream, a New Year's Eve party, people toboganning and skiing, a time lapse of a cigarette burning, the Toronto skyline, and Niagara Falls" Archives of Ontario.
"doc. a fantasia"/avant-garde documentary
"An impressionistic portrait of city life during a day off in the summertime, with poetic narration set opposite some very observant and intimate views of Vancouver and its inhabitants. These include numerous street scenes; departure of the passenger ferry 'Hollyburn'; shots of and from Interurban railway and streetcars; sequences on Chinatown, Kitsilano Beach, Stanley Park, Victory Square, and the downtown waterfront; and a glimpse inside a typical beer parlour. The film received honourable mention in the amateur category at the 1950 Canadian Film Awards." (BC Archives)
Opening credit reads: "The Vancouver Branch of the National Film Society presents..."
Additional credits (on 1986 restored version): "Restored 1986 by Dennis J. Duffy for National Film Week '86 in co-operation with Canadian Filmmakers Distribution West and the Provincial Archives of British Columbia. Restoration funded by BC Heritage Trust."
Total Pages: 15
Amateur Cinema