"When the schooner yacht Enchantress put out from San Pedro for a five weeks' marlin fishing cruise in the Gulf of Lower California, fortunately James H. McCarthy was on board with camera, Kodachrome and a filming plan. The result was Before the Wind, as happy a movie yarn of a pleasure cruise as we have ever seen. A spirit of jollity and a general good time pervade this chronicle, which is adequately strung on the thread of a series of entries in the ship's log of the Enchantress. This casual continuity is entirely sufficient, for each episode is beautifully sequenced, and the whole film reflects a consistent happy go lucky holiday spirit. Exquisite shots of the schooner in translucent California Gulf waters, numerous studies of ship life, handsomely lighted interior views in cabins and engine room are all technical accomplishments in this picture. The sequences of marlin fishing and of clam digging on the Mexican shore are gems of good film planning and good cutting. The movie is presented with an intelligently planned musical accompaniment that really fits the film, but it is the natural handling of sequences of people on a carefree sea vacation that makes this picture superb entertainment." Movie Makers, Dec. 1940, 577.
"Made to support a Community Chest campaign, Behind the Red Feather shows how various social welfare agencies in a community help to forestall juvenile delinquency, care for the aged, the sick and the poor and, in general, make a town a better place to live in. As a connecting link between a necessarily episodic series of sequences, a red feather, the Community Chest symbol, floats into the opening scene of the activities of each agency. Walter Bergmann has recorded this community project with understanding and warmth, and Ralph Bellamy contributed his services in recording on disc an excellently written narrative." Movie Makers, Dec. 1947, 536.
"Attempting to film a large city with its huge skyscrapers and teeming population through the lens of an 8mm. camera would seem to be an almost overwhelming task. However, boldly tackling such a gigantic project, Richard Guetl in his entry, The Big City, proves it can be done. This competent photographic work presents a good, clear coverage of Chicago, where Mr. Guetl resides. His angles are interesting and compositions pleasing. His street shots around the Loop and his camera treatment of the human derelicts on Skid Row are worthy of special commendation. While The Big City is not an epic, it is a capable, factual presentation with just enough skyscraper shots to make it authentic, enough stores and people to give it pulsating life, and enough pathos to arouse the emotion." Movie Makers, Dec. 1952, 340-341.
"You wouldn't think that just one movie maker could shoot all this footage (2400) on birds — no matter how interested and informed he was on the subject. And if that was the way you felt, you would be dead right. For Birds of Washington is the joint work of two men, J. Don Sutherland and Ralph E. Lawrence, who, because they customarily screen their films together, chose to submit them as one contest entry. Both, in any case, are highly competent movie makers and soundly informed students of bird life. For example, they preface briefly each new subject grouping with a pictorial survey of the type of terrain in which the birds will be found. Makes the film that much more informative. Outstanding, in our recollections, are their sequences on the American bald eagle and on an owl — whose family tree we regret we cannot recall." Movie Makers, Dec. 1952, 340.
"The Black Cat is a 25-minute version of Edgar Allen Poe's story by the same name and concerns a man who does away with his wife in what he believes to be the perfect crime, only to be outdone in the end by the family black cat. This low key, well dramatized version is the only 8mm film among the top ten and also received the MPD Scenario Film Award" PSA Journal, Sept. 1965, 50.
"It takes a true craftsman to catch all the intimate and informal scenes that make a first rate vacation film, particularly when his exposure problems are complicated by the sunlight and shadows of a thickly wooded lake shore. But George Mesaros has succeeded in producing the sort of vacation record that most filmers only dream about. Mr. Mesaros has mastered his technical problems with an expert's hand and has turned out a stunning, vital movie of a summer outing in the Saranac Lake region. Faced with non-cooperative fellow campers, he had to be prepared to set up his tripod at a moment's notice; but the candid air of the proceedings on the screen is ample recompense for his vigilance. Bluff Island Idyll is a vivid testament to the importance of human interest and to the appeal of simple, everyday activities when they are properly sequenced and edited." Movie Makers, Dec. 1947, 513.
"Donald Volkman's film, A Breath of Spring, is a montage study of the vernal season in a city — in this case, Boston. But shots of the blowing skirt of a girl, the wind-whipped awning of a department store and the clothesline ballet of the Monday wash are universal. Mr. Volkman has truly brought imagination to his pictorial progression of spring, from melting snows in a churchyard to the full flowering of the sun-warmed earth and its people. His choice of musical accompaniment is especially notable, particularly with shots of running water in gutters and the Boston Pop's rendition of The Wearing of the Green with the sequence of a St. Patrick's Day parade. A Breath of Spring was created as a thesis in a course on motion pictures at Boston University, where Mr. Volkman is a student." Movie Makers, Dec. 1951, 411.
"In a land that abounds in colorful formations, Frank Gunnell's discerning camera has recorded in appealing detail the less usual, as well as the familiar, views of Bryce Canyon. This thorough coverage of a popular national park is enhanced by pleasant scenes of a pack trip, closeups of the darting antics of a chipmunk and a "running gag" of the hungry cameraman, whose equipment .cases carry edibles with film and filters. Bryce Canyon Trails provides the audience with a wholly entertaining tour of this famous and awesome natural wonder. Mr. Gunnell, as always, presents breath taking camera work in his integrated and admirable reproduction of a vast canvas." Movie Makers, Dec. 1947, 514.
"Bulbs and Beauty reveals in painstaking detail the planting, cultivating and harvesting of gladioli in the vast fields surrounding the town of Momence in the state of Illinois. In this elaborate undertaking, Haven Trecker unfolds in well planned and profusely close-upped sequences the many colorful aspects of this popular plant in the life of flower-loving America. The harvesting sequence is followed by somewhat generous footage of a flower festival, the big annual affair in glad-minded Momence; and the festival in turn is followed by a seemingly endless parade in tribute to these bounteous blossoms. Bulbs and Beauty, accompanied agreeably by magnetic sound on film, appears to have been made for informative and record purposes. It fulfills these functions in a lively and competent manner." Movie Makers, Dec. 1952, 337, 339.
"By Sea To Florida, 400 ft., 16mm., made by Porter Varney of Bradenton, Fla., is a film record of a sea trip which derives its importance from the fact that the photography and choice of viewpoint are consistently exceptional. Parts of the ship, such as the rigging and cordage, the portholes, the lifeboat davits, etc., were used with rare artistry as aids to composition and effect. An expert use of filters produced exceptionally pleasing and truthful black and white rendition of the sea and the movement and sway of the ship. Continuity was effectually obtained by a shifting of the camera viewpoint, emphasizing the harbor, the high seas and the arrival in Florida. A startling climax to the film was given by a series of shots of an approaching hurricane captured by Mr. Varney 's intrepid camera." Movie Makers, Dec. 1931, 685.
Total Pages: 22
Amateur Cinema