"Subtitled 'A Journey Through the Scrapbook and the Memories of Sid Laverents,' Saga is an oddball epic of amateur filmmaking — an oral history of one man's 20th century illustrated with family photos, various drawings and clippings and 16mm footage. Laverents recounts his past as if enthusiastically telling a tall tale to a child: Digressions and exaggerations pile on until they accrue into moments of acutely honest reflection on personal relations and historical events." LA Weekly.
Subtitled: a story of happy days in Kings Canyon National Park.
"To film the story made famous by Walt Disney is a major assignment. Snow White, a pretty young miss, did her part exceedingly well. This is very important- she is with us for fifty-two minutes, and we are happy for our visit with her. The Seven Dwarfs are a collection of small fry and here the film had some of the problems of amateur actors. The picture is done to the sound track of Disney's Snow White. A story for young and old and, if we will look beyond some of the little things that could be better, a delightful bit of entertainment for all of us" PSA Journal, Nov. 1960, 40.
"Amateur travelogue of an extensive trip to Australia photographed and produced by "The Traveling Sebrings," Lewis B. Sebring, Jr. and Alice P. Sebring. Lewis B. Sebring, Jr. was a journalist and war correspondent for the New York Herald-Tribune, who reported on combat in the Southwest Pacific Area theater during World War II. The trip documented in this film, which they referred to also as "An Odyssey to Australia" covers the entire continent of Australia, from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie, Perth, and Brisbane, and everything in between, usually documented via passenger train. In each city, the film expertly documents landscape, architecture, and people, as well as rural areas and animals." Wisconsin Historical Society.
"Edited film by Floyd Henry Wells, a retired salesman and a member of the Wally Byam Caravan Club of Airstream trailers, chronicling travels through Tahiti, Fiji and Samoa including scenic views, dance and martial arts displays, cruise ship Mariposa, shipboard activities, underwater photography, collecting sponge or coral, lagoon, market, harbor scenes, outriggers and urban scenes," Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Museum.
"Item is a production of Dr. Willinsky's trip to Spain with his wife, Sadie. In the form of a travelogue, footage of landmarks, historic sites, and the local population is interspersed with captions and maps that were added in by Dr. Willinsky to denote locations and provide context. The production includes footage from Madrid, Cordoba, Segovia and Valencia. Sadie is occassionally spotted exploring sites and interacting with locals and travel companions who are probably family friends or relatives." Ontario Jewish Archives.
"The Story of Bamba is a drama filmed in Africa by Ray L. Garner for the Harmon Foundation in New York. This reviewer calls the production a film drama advisedly, for, although it is made as a report of the medical work of a missionary group in Africa, the picture is, in itself, an entertaining photoplay. The boy, Bamba, is the nephew of the tribal witch doctor who cures sickness with his fetishes. Bamba is to become the medicine man's successor, but he falls ill with the fever and is deserted by the tribe when they hurriedly flee their village to rid themselves of a plague. Rescued and cured by the native representative of the missionary medical center, Bamba is sent to school so that he too, can cure in the white man's way. An adult, he returns to his own tribe, where he meets and finally overcomes the resistance of his uncle. Thus, the plot unfolds clearly and entertainingly, yet the story does not interfere with a complete exposition of the medical work of missionaries. Skillful handling of native actors is apparent in every scene, for there is scarcely an unconvincing piece of business in the whole film. Camera treatment is matter of fact but adequate." Movie Makers, Dec. 1939, 637.
"In this feature length publicity picture, Mr. Judson has portrayed, with unfailing technical excellence and a genuine feeling for smooth cinematic design, the birth and growth to maturity of the famous Adohr Guernsey, Linetta, judged grand champion of her breed at the California State Fairs of 1935 and 1936. Save for the fact that practically all the scenes take place on Adohr farms and ranches, the film is devoid of advertising as it tells a simple and satisfying story, replete with human interest." Movie Makers, Jan. 1937, 24.
"In Streets of Peace, Lewis B. Sebring, jr., presents a manifold accomplishment in film. Here is a record of the New York World's Fair 1939, but a record which, because of its selectivity, gives the impression of completeness in setting forth a single theme, although the material is both voluminous and varied. Here, also, is an interpretation of the epic idea behind the foreign participation in this great American exposition, the vision of peace, which has since been so rudely interrupted. Mr. Sebring takes his camera through the streets of peace, literally, and we see one after another of the foreign buildings and exhibits at the Fair; we also look at the different national celebrations in the Court of Peace. The visit of the King and Queen of England is recorded in considerable detail. After a scene of children of many lands uniting in a gathering in the Children's World, we find the pointed query as to what these youngsters will make of the "world of tomorrow," and the picture closes with distinguished shots of the United States Building, with its flag and the word "Peace," which appears on its façade. Mr. Sebring's titling is admirable, both in wording and in execution. His Kodachrome exposures have less good moments, but his camera handling is otherwise pleasing. Here is a workmanlike and finished recording of a great international event." Movie Makers, Dec. 1939, 635-636.
Total Pages: 15
Amateur Cinema