"The Blue refers to a glacier of majestic proportions high in the Olympic Mountains of northern Washington. Solduc, a small station in the Hoh Valley, is the point from which Theodore H. Sarchin and his two companions set out with high hopes to conquer the formidable ascent to the famous ice fields. Although they reach the Blue, the sun has been there first, softening the ice, and they must turn back without having attained the summit. Inherent in the film is a deep reverence for the wild, inspiring beauty of the scene, which clearly communicates itself to the audience — no small achievement in an amateur travel study. This reverence never becomes mawkish, the pedestrian titles and homely incidents en route nicely counterbalancing it. Superior camera work makes the most of the setting, while skillful editing combined the best elements of story and scene to make a dramatic presentation. An expertly scored musical accompaniment adds impressively to enjoyment of Solduc To The Blue." Movie Makers, Dec. 1948, 492.
"Soli Deo Gloria illustrates the matter-of-fact life led by the inhabitants of a small farming village in Lower Saxony (West Germany) and centers, as their lives do, on the village church that dates back to the 14th Century. Inside are sculptured works of art, and it is these treasures that the film seeks to bring to the attention of the outside world, as well as the importance the church plays in the life of the local peasants" PSA Journal, Sept. 1966, 34.
"Dan Billman, jr., has told you in the September number of this magazine how he came to make South of Honolulu. What he could not possibly put into words is the outright and amazing entertainment value of this elaborate record. Hawaii, for the Billmans, meant far more than the Aloha Tower, Diamond Head and the Kodachrome set piece of weekly hula dancing. In their place this adventurous couple found — some 200 miles south of Honolulu — the calm beauty of native life, the exciting patterns of native fishing and feasting and the exotic loveliness of tropical blooms against their true backgrounds. For them, no filming task seemed impossible. Their achievements range from an amusing sequence of the "'sea going" cowboys of the Hawaiian coast, to a striking and incredible study of religious ceremonies within a Buddhist temple. Mr. Billman's beautifully filmed production, accompanied throughout with sound and music personally recorded in the Islands, has the full bodied stature of mature screen entertainment." Movie Makers, Dec. 1941, 564.
"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.
"In a film of a familiar subject — a vacation trip to Florida — Ernest Kremer has done an excellent task of compiling a movie of varied sequences into a unified whole. His camera handling is competent, there are interesting viewpoints and he uses nice transitions to a new sequence, to avoid leaving preceding views too long on the screen. The continuous narrative that is presented with Southern Exposures sometimes draws attention from the pictured scenes, but the commentary in jingle style that accompanies the underwater scenes of fish adds a delightful touch. Mr. Kremer is to be commended especially for the compact and smooth editing of his film." Movie Makers, Dec. 1945, 496.
"Nineteen thirties holiday film of the Harrison family at a number of Suffolk coastal holiday hotspots; including Southwold, Lowestoft, the Broads (Beccles), and Thorpeness. This reel, with scenes in both Dufaycolor and black and white, shows the family having a jolly old time bathing, picnicking at their beach hut, horse riding, and sailing. Intertitles include “Susan on the li-lo” and “tea with the mater” (BFI.org.uk)
"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.
"When you ramble about on a cinematic tour of old Quebec in Carl Nerish's St. Lawrence Sketches, you feel that here at last is a new and different theme for the travel film. The Old World atmosphere of that delightful city is shown with loving sympathy. One of the outstanding points is a clever and human continuity device employed to carry the story along during a tour of the city in a horse drawn carriage. Spoken titles are used with striking closeups of the quaint cab driver who is pointing out the sights to Mr. Nerish and his audience. By studying each shot of the driver, Mr. Nerish was able not only to present a varied series of shots of him, but also to show enough background material to add a good deal to the scenes presented in the regular course of the film. Equally effective are the shots of people in the market place, where a telephoto enables Mr. Nerish to get unposed views. A carefully chosen, but somewhat detailed, musical background was played throughout the film, and it served in no small measure to lend atmosphere to the production. Special credit is due the filmer for his precisely executed titles. Such painstaking work as that involved in centering and lining up movable title letters is seldom seen." Movie Makers, Dec. 1939, 632.
"This film captures (in excellent pre-war Kodachrome) a day in the life of Stanley Park. An early effort at independent documentary production by a group of Vancouver film enthusiasts, including amateur cinematographers Oscar Burritt and Don Lytle. The Coast Films group intended to produce a series of films that could be distributed by the fledgling National Film Board of Canada, but World War II intervened, and this was their sole group effort. Stanley Park was restored in 1987 by the British Columbia Archives." (BC 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.
Total Pages: 36
Amateur Cinema