"Kenneth L. Lockwood is a newcomer to the tourney of Ten Best competition, but with Monterey Peninsula he seems to serve notice that his is a name with which to reckon. There is, throughout his immaculate 8mm. Kodachrome, a feeling of craftsmanship and care. Add to these fundamentals an unerring sense of composition and a nice eye for the importance of human interest — and you have an award winner in the making. Mr. Lockwood brings to the screen not only the windblown cedars and sun drenched missions, familiar symbols of the Monterey foreshore, but the life of its waterfront as well, redolent of fish, tarred nets and crabs steaming in a deep bellied kettle. One looks forward with interest to further work from this talented initiate." Movie Makers, Dec. 1942, 508.
"Moroccan Cities, by Gwladys Sills, stands out among amateur travel studies for its very real achievement of that intangible something — glamor. The mystery of shrouded Arabs, the glare of white buildings in the sunlight and the fascinating pulsation of life in the native markets, all these have been captured with marked success in this one reel record. To accomplish this, Mrs. Sills has brought into play a fine feeling for human interest and a genuine flair for the dramatic in photographic, treatment. Her material has been critically edited and sensitively titled, with that selectivity which is an artistic necessity in all real creative work." Movie Makers, Dec. 1936, 542.
"Morocco on my Mind by Maurice Krakower, a PSA member of Glen Head, N.Y. Maurice has taken the subject of a little visited area and made a winning film with a most unusual narrative treatment. This 16-minute 16mm film was awarded the PSA-MPD Gold Medal and the Travel Film Award" PSA Journal, Nov. 1970, 38.
"With a thorough understanding of what constitutes human interest, L. Gordon Darby has produced in Mountain Playground an attractive record of the Banff-Jasper National Park area. Present, to be sure, are the majestic peaks, the Banff Springs Hotel with its surrounding flower gardens, Lake Louise and a picturesque river trip. But there are presented also the darting antics of a chipmunk, the dainty distrust of a cautious deer and the hungry bear within arm's reach of the camera. If camera steadiness had not been sacrificed for the ease of the hand-held camera, this attractive travelog might well have contended for higher honors." Movie Makers, Dec. 1952, 340.
"'Navajoland' entered by Richard V. Thiriot, of Salt Lake City, is a travelogue on that part of the great Southwest where dwell the dwindling and not-to-well-off Navajos. Thiriot has caught the beauty of this colorful country with his camera and Kodachrome film, and concludes the picture with intimate shots of some of the Indians who inhabit Navajoland. Had Thiriot been able to schedule his filming during the stormy weather season and thus been able to capture the colorful skies abounding in Navajoland at that time of the year, his photography would have greater pictorial interest, highly neccesary where subject material is predominantly static. Thiriot used a Filmo 70-DA and Kodachrome film." American Cinematographer, Apr. 1950, 145.
"In this film record set in the beautiful Cumbrian countryside, sheep shearing and other farming activities take second place to fun. Whether swimming and splashing in a stream, feeding lambs, or taking a rowing boat out on the lake, there is plenty to keep children - and adults - busy. And of course we mustn't forget that essential outdoor activity - a picnic in the sunshine and fresh air." (BFI Player)
"New England Holiday is the kind of travel film any movie maker should be proud to produce. Replete with human interest and a warm feeling of good fun, this two reel record is distinguished by a wealth of splendid compositions and natural camera treatment. Albert F. Watts has lavished on such typically New England subjects as Gloucester harbor, the fishing fleet or a clam bake the sensitive feeling of an artist for line and mass and the alert understanding of cinematics of a genuine movie maker. Smoothly integrated sequences have been edited with unerring suavity and liveliness, comprising a whole which is both vital and lovely to look at. The production is fundamentally weakened only by a selection of title wordings considerably less spirited and effective than the films which they accompany." Movie Makers, Dec. 1938, 620.
"New Zealand by Charles J. Ross, FPSA, of Los Angeles, Calif. Charlie does his usual thorough and past prize-winning best on this fine example of the travel film that few people are capable of doing so well. This 30-minute 16mm film won for him an Honorable Mention" PSA Journal, Nov. 1970, 38.
"New Zealand's South Island is the one treated in this production, one of two which Ernest H. Scott made during a prolonged visit Down Under. The awe inspiring Southern Alps have been recorded here with expert camera work and pleasant composition, and the whole impressive terrain of this part of New Zealand is appealingly set forth. The musical scoring, while standard, is adequate to the purpose. The narration is capably written and professionally delivered. If a need for more closeups is felt occasionally, it should be remembered that the large land itself is the star in New Zealand Holiday." Movie Makers, Dec. 1951, 412.
"Edited film by Floyd Henry Wells, a retired salesman and a member of the Wally Byam Caravan Club of Airstream trailers, chronicling travel through New Zealand including scenic views, urban scenes, beaches, Puhoi Hotel, Lyltelton and Diamond Harbors, marina, fishing, Wairakei Geyser Valley, geysers, Tehokowhitu-atu archway, Maori Reserve and indigenous peoples, and motor camping (Rainbow Springs Motor Camp)," Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Museum.
Total Pages: 43
Amateur Cinema