"Mr. Waymeyer's film was a scenic of Kentucky bridges and dams. His film was hand tinted by himself. "Many hours of labor with a fine brush and pen and a magnifying glass were the chief tools," he says, not mentioning the required perseverance" Photoplay, June 1928, 137.
"Terry Manos is one New Yorker who has outdone himself (and all other native or visiting filmers) in recording on film the glittering surface of the world's greatest metropolis and America's premier tourist attraction. For The $24 Purchase is authoritatively stamped with the unfailing precision of the Manos technique, the perfection of his lighting and exposures, the beauty and balance of his compositions. Accompanying it is a musical score (admirably recorded) that is generally fresh and germane to the subject, a narrative that (although burdened unduly by the factual trivia of the tourist barker) is delivered with professional skill. In other words, here is a superb visual document. But a document only. For The $24 Purchase records only that surface city which the eye may see. Missing from its makeup are the searching, individual comments on that city of one human mind. Missing also — and perhaps more importantly — are the evocative emotions of one human heart, a heart reacting freely and unafraid of emotion to Manhattan's towers and tenements, to her opulent splendor and her economic ghettos. The film — tragically, if you will — has omitted any message. And, perhaps only by the margin of this omission, it has missed greatness as well." Movie Makers, Dec. 1952, 340.
"The 104 is a serious, factual recount of the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, Mass., early in the 17th Century in terms of what one sees and finds in the vicinity of Plymouth Rock today. The rock itself is the legendary start of it all, followed by glimpses of wax figures that have been created to resemble some of the monuments and other scenes in the area" PSA Journal, Sept. 1965, 51.
"201-203 tells the simple story of man and woman, the alienated anti-heroes from two civilizations at the opposite ends of the spectrum, Asian and America. They try to make contact, through reality as well as fantasy, against a backdrop of technology and pop theology. Well acted and well photographed" PSA Journal, Aug. 1967, 36.
"An eight week Western camping trip in the summer of 1936 by seven boys from the Hartford, Connecticut area, under the leadership of Ken Strong, a Hartford Seminary graduate. Filmed by then teenage amateur movie maker Robbins Barstow (1919-2010)." Center for Home Movies.
"Adventure on the Colorado, by Al Morton, comprises 1,600 feet of film and (at twenty four frames a second) forty eight minutes of screen time. In it, six men in two boats travel down the Colorado River from Moab, in southeastern Utah, to Lee's Ferry, in northern Arizona. Taking fifteen days, the trip covered some 300 miles, forty of which were through cataracts already claiming twenty nine lives. These are the bare and simple facts of the case. But these facts cannot begin to tell the story of Mr. Mortons epic adventure. And mind you, we are not concerned here with the breath taking dangers of the trip itself — although these alone were awesome and challenging. We are concerned only with Mr. Morton's filming adventures and the bright, indomitable story of them as recorded so stirringly in his film. That story is one of inflexible resolve against all compromise, even in the face of well nigh impossible circumstance. At one point in the picture, Mr. Morton shows us a rugged and precipitous approach to the river known as "Hole in the Rock." It was through this narrow passage that, years ago, a little band of Mormons, sent to colonize the San Juan country, brought their wagons and their belongings. In laces where the chasm had narrowed so sharply as to block the cavalcade, they dismantled the wagons and packed them through on their backs. For they had set out to cross the river — and cross it they did. Mr. Morton's filming resolve must have been of that same high order — almost religious in its intensity. As the down-river journey grew ever more arduous, you waited with sympathetic understanding for those not quite perfect scenes which the incredible conditions must surely dictate. You were ready to make allowances, to accept the imperfect as relative perfection --under the circumstances. Not so with Mr. Morion. There was no compromise with quality in the Morton picture plan. He set out to film the river, and film it he did. Adventure on, the Colorado is a moving and splendid epic, recording both a gallant adventure and a glowing achievement." Movie Makers, Dec. 1947, 513.
"Ahead, Inc. depicts the movement in Flint, Michigan, to assist the handicapped in earning their own way in the world" PSA Journal, Sept. 1966, 34.
"Sid and Charlotte take a trip to Prudhoe Bay, the Alaskan pipe-line, and other points of interest in Alaska." UCLA Film & Television Archive.
"It is only natural that a picture that has to do with a trip to Alaska would have a great deal of scenic footage. How to make that scenic footage, in which there is no action, interesting and seem to have action was the thing that Denny accomplished." Home Movies, June 1939, 227.
"With the help of almost unbelievable luck from the weather man, Helen C. Welsh has achieved a high level of what is essentially newsreel filming. Her subject matter is in itself appealing — displays of tulips in a public park, children wearing amazing holiday headgear, dancers performing Old World figures, all climaxed by the pageantry of the coronation of a new king and queen of the festival. But Miss Welsh handles it expertly. Her viewpoints are varied and her camera work accomplished, while a wisely sparse and well recorded narrative ties the whole presentation into an attractive package. Albany's Tulip Festival is colorful, entertaining and fulsome as a record of a city's spring holiday." Movie Makers, Dec. 1950, 464.
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