"The Mannequin is another interesting bit of cinema which calls to our attention an inebriated fellow who, partly in his cups and partly in his imagination, sees beauty in a department store mannequin and tries to strike up an acquaintance" PSA Journal, Sept. 1966, 34.
"We had thought satire, especially in films, was a lamented art of the past. Thus it is a pleasure to report that it is back again with a vengeance in March of TV. Following both the visual and narrative patterns originated by the now-familiar March of Time series, Charles E. Coleman has created an uproarious satire on television and the inroads it has made into the American home. Both subtle and devastating by turns, the film leaves no aspect of this electronic marvel unscathed. On the technical side, all departments have been capably handled, with the crisp direction and portentous narration being, perhaps, the most notable. The acting is assured and natural, remaining always within the farcical framework of the satire. Whether you like, dislike or simply ignore the subject which this shortie so sparklingly derides, March of TV is unreservedly guaranteed to keep you in stitches." Movie Makers, Dec. 1953, 332.
"Avant-garde surreal film investigating pessimism (embodied by a grey man who tries to commit suicide) and optimism (represented by a joyful young woman and her two children)." (EAFA Database).
"It takes Cal Duncan 1300 feet of 16mm. color film to tell a pair of politely uninterested guests how he caught a sailfish off Acapulco — but the effort, as exemplified in Mexican Malarkey, is decidedly worth it. Mr. Duncan's running gag, climaxed by a truly comic finish right out of the funny papers, is the flashback technique developed to a high and satisfying order. His Mexican footage itself is no less effective. The robust and hearty producer has an artist's eye for fresh viewpoints, a dramatist's instinct for revealing action. His sequence on Mexico's traditional Sunday bullfight, always a difficult assignment, is outstanding. Mexican Malarkey is a refreshing variation on an increasing wellworn theme." Movie Makers, Dec. 1949, 454.
"A comic vignette starring Smith's son Dennis." Center for Home Movies.
"Teenagers...embark on a space mission to explore Alpha Centauri, the second closest star to Earth. The film follows the astronauts during the preparation for their mission, their journey through space, and finally, their encounters with life on Alpha Centauri. The end of the film portrays the astronauts and the Alpha Centaurians coming together in a utopian gathering, complete with cheerleaders, a pony, and an astral princess." Andrea McCarty, http://oldfilm.org/content/mission-alpha-centauri-0
"A domestic black comedy, MISTER E expresses some of the edgier mischief and discontent that women of mid-century America could rarely express openly. This short film narrates the revenge acted out by a young wife, left at home while her husband is at a card game; by staging a rendezvous with a mannequin, this woman provokes an eruption of jealousy and violence before bringing about the desired marital tenderness." Chicago Film Archives
"Amateur filmmaker and cinema historian H.A.V. Bulleid makes ample use of trick photography in this farcical science fiction comedy about a boy and his latest invention. After being knocked unconscious by his brother on a moonlit night, a boy sits in a barn surrounded by Heath Robinson-esque gadgets and working on his latest invention, a 'Molecular Condensation Apparatus' that will vapourise anything set before it. Testing the device on the family cook, who disappears before their very eyes, he continues to experiment on bushes, garden implements, a carload of cousins, a young lady named Kitty and even his own father, before broadening his scope to cinemas, milk bars and his whole family. But did they really disappear? And did it actually happen? Or was it all just a dream?" (EAFA Database).
A story of a man who dreams of a rogue lawn motor coming to wreak havoc in his house.
"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.
Total Pages: 23
Amateur Cinema