"Amateur filmmaker, cinema historian and railway engineer H.A.V. Bulleid presents a tale of brotherly rivalry. When Smith Minor - 'so little, he was lost in an Austin Seven' - is bullied by his older brother, Smith Major - 'so tough he slept on tin-tacks' - he is resolved to get revenge, once and for all. Employing the help of a friend and mutual enemy, he hatches a plan of vengeance, plotting to 'heave him over the quarry'. An altercation between two boys is followed by the introduction of Studious Stevens, 'so classical he couldn't fathom science'’ (EAFA Database)" [NOTE – EAFA database suggests this is an incomplete film].
"The film-maker's three children - John, Mary and Anne Arundel, in a story of seaside treasure-hunting, with the familiar plot devices of an old map, inn, sea cave and rising water threatening to cut off escape" (EAFA Database).
"Not content with the typical family holiday bucket and spade film, Herbert Arundel from Longsdon in Staffordshire recorded his three children in a tense drama during a pre-war holiday in Cornwall. Its youthful protagonists and smugglers' treasure plot pre-dates the Famous Five by a good few years and culminates in a splendidly tense finale. Will the Arundel children return from the adventure victorious or will the evil local put a stop to their ways?" (BFI Player)
"Margaret Conneely's film So Long Ago (c. 1950s) intercuts footage of children reading about dinosaurs with special-effects shots of dinosaurs, borrowed from a commercial film (perhaps The Lost World, 1925)" (Tepperman 335).
"All of the players in this picture were boys in a summer camp who upon discovering that one of their members has a movie camera decide to make a motion picture. Like all youth they decide to imitate and based their story on Tarzan. The producers of this worked up a splendid bit of comedy, interjected a fine piece of melodrama with an Alger Jr. finish that rounded it out into a production that many of the judges felt would have been worthy of showing in any theatre. The acting, direction, story and handling as a whole was considered equal to many a professional comedy." American Cinematographer, Dec. 1932, 7.
"Vida Pacoima, a two reel study of Mexican life in the southern California village of Pacoima, by Randolph B. Clardy, represents a near miracle in portraying a mood in motion pictures. Whether one likes (i.e., is entertained by) the film or not, there is no gainsaying the amazing emotional effect of its intelligent and beautiful cinematography. Here, in easy going and seemingly unstudied sequence, is the utter aimlessness of the slatternly village and its defeated people. Chickens and children, billy goats and black gowned old women, these are the life of Pacoima. Mr. Clardy has caught them all—either dreaming or drowsy in the sunshine—and presents them with a telling reiteration against the background of their broken homes and through the slats of their sagging fences. A sensuous delight, the photography is as nearly perfect as circumstances would permit, outstripped only by an unerring and often ineffable sense of motion picture continuity. In Vida Pacoima, Mr. Clardy is an artist to his finger tips and a movie maker down to the ground." Movie Makers, Dec. 1938, 617.
A film capturing slices of everyday life, narrativizing Mori’s small children playing with each other.
"Myron F. Pettengill was awarded the trophy for Scenario pictures. This is a 16mm film of about 400 ft. It is a story of the Northwest Mounted. Pettingill is to be commended for his direction, his types, and the way in which he costumed his people. He injected little touches in his characters that left no doubt as to what they represented. He costumed them convincingly. It had many indoor scenes and of course a large amount of outdoor snow scenes. There was a fine handling of the camera." American Cinematographer, Jan. 1937, 25.
"Whither Flowing," depicts the nervous evils caused by parents in the thoughtless upbringing of children. The drama was compactly told, well acted and directed, and was marked by unusual photography." Photoplay, Nov. 1929, 67. "...Whither Flowing is a psychological study of hysteria.... Dr. Heise's Whither Flowing won second award in the dramatic division of the recent Photoplay Magazine contest...” Movie Makers, Feb. 1930, 104.
"With the vitality of youth, the wonder of the woods and adolescent hunger for adventure, you have the ingredients for an excellent movie. Al Morton accepted the challenge offered by them, and turned out an interesting and competent film. Worth Scouting For has the indefinable quality that comes from fine filming, innate good taste and an understanding of boys' ways in the woods. Taking two independent youngsters and a large Boy Scout troop, Mr. Morton skillfully weaves a good story, based on the scorn of the two boys for the "sissy stuff" of Scouting. Both the troop and the boys go camping in the same area. The untrained campers make the mistakes avoided by the Scouts. They eat cold food because of their inability to build a fire; they become ill from smoking cigarettes which they have stolen; one almost drowns and is rescued by a Scout. They learn their lesson and decide that to "know how" is intelligent, not "sissy." A fine ability to film and direct youngsters with success makes Worth Scouting For an excellent picture which will be a delight to the actors in years to come. That, in itself, is a high accomplishment." Movie Makers, Dec. 1945, 495.
"This film seems to pick up the same couple from “I’ve Got This Problem” (played by Don Klugman and Judy Harris) a few years later, as they attend a swinging bohemian party where they pilfer personal objects from the unsuspecting guests." Chicago Film Archives.
Total Pages: 11
Amateur Cinema