"This picture, we predict, will be both widely acclaimed and widely criticized for, in each case, that quality which people call "professional." If this prediction proves true, then the producer's purpose in making Invitation to Hawaii will have been conclusively achieved. For of the film Harold L. Thompson has written us at ACL as follows: "I made the picture largely as an experiment to see whether an amateur with sufficient enthusiasm could produce a 16mm. documentary which approached professional standards." The impression here is that on the case book of this experiment Dr. Thompson may now write: "Q.E.D." For Invitation to Hawaii has in every foot of it the polish and pace which one associates with professional standards. It was clearly planned, ably photographed and concisely edited. All in all, a brilliant piece of work." Movie Makers, Dec. 1951, 410.
"Films about national parks and monuments fall into the traps of banality with greater ease than almost any other variety of footage. It was. therefore, with great delight that the judges reviewed Timothy and Delores Lawler's Isle of the Dead. For, using the famed Boecklin painting and the equally known Rachmaninoff music as theme and atmosphere, the Lawlers have produced a cinematic tone poem from the materials offered by Yellowstone and the Badlands. Their efforts completely dominate both music and painting, which become effective substrata of the esthetic whole. The film's great virtue and its slight defects spring from the same source — the single mood that the Lawlers have worked for and have achieved." Movie Makers, Dec. 1950, 464-465.
"An eye for topical touches and a persistence that would shame the most aggressive news cameraman are responsible for Terry Manos's success in recording the V-E Day activities in New York City. Without the aid of a telephoto lens and balked at every turn by finicking guards, Mr. Manos's camera nevertheless caught the full flavor of the celebration in Times Square as well as some amazingly sharp studies of the personalities who participated in the program at Central Park. For ignoring the theoretical limitations often ascribed to the 8mm. camera and producing a well knit movie of a great historical event, praise is due to an enterprising amateur." Movie Makers, Dec. 1946, 488.
"Jamie which won the PSA-MPD Gold Medal for the best film in the Festival, the MPD Scenario Film Award, and the MPD Golden Scissors Award (for the best film editing) is an 18-minute black-and-white 16mm film with sound on magnetic stripe. It is a Civil War drama of a young Union bugler's act of kindness toward a wounded Confederate and the tragic consequences. Approximately 1500 feet of film were exposed, this being boiled down to the final 630 feet. Klobukowski spent a year on the picture, from its original concept through the writing, scripting, obtaining uniforms, shooting, editing, and finally adding the sound. The latter is all original, the music being especially composed for the film by Paul Bentzen and played by students and staff of Wisconsin State University at Stevens Point. Location areas were wooded sections around Stevens Point, Custer, and West Best, Wisconsin. Participants in the battle scenes were members of the North-South Skirmish Association, and the costumes were either originals or exact replicas furnished by members of that organization" PSA Journal, Sept. 1966, 34.
"You may have wandered idly along the seashore and picked up an attractive seashell, but, unless you are a conchologist, you will never know how far an interest in shells will carry you, until you have seen Jewels of the Sea, by W. W. Vincent, jr. This film is a story of collecting seashells. It tells, with freshness and enthusiasm, how shells are discovered on the shore, how they are cleaned and prepared for preservation and how they are studied. On the west coast of Florida, we see hunters searching for specimens ; we visit a shell shop and the home of a collector. The camera, plus color film, reveals the beauty of the specimens and presents intriguing mysteries, for some of the shells were built by mollusks that have never been seen alive. The source of their irridescent beauty is entirely unknown. Jewels of the Sea does not pretend to be an educational film about zoology, but it is informative as well as entertaining, and it is distinguished by flawless camera work." Movie Makers, Dec. 1943, 457, 474.
"By a facile blending of warm hearted humor and a keen perception of human interest values, George Mesaros has created a film study of a famous beach in New York's metropolitan area that is replete with interest, information and entertainment. His technical skill and knowledge of what makes a motion picture move prevent this from being the dull collection of random shots all too frequently characteristic of this genre subject. Employing himself as a frenzied and frustrated shutterbug and a filming friend as plain Joe Doakes at the beach with his wife, a lunch and box camera, Mr. Mesaros proceeds to examine with interest and obvious affection the thousand and one attractions of the Long Island resort. An excellent musical score and a brief commentary help to integrate the compact 700 feet of the film's lively length." Movie Makers, Dec. 1949, 454.
"Joniko and the Kush-Ta-Ka, the PSA Film of the Year, is a story of Alaska by a native, Charles Keen of Juneau. In 45 minutes of color and spectaculars, Mr. Keen shows us an Alaska that is beautiful throughout the seasons of the year. The law of nature is never questioned and only strength and courage survive. As if all this as not enough in the way of survival difficulties, there is added the threat of the Kush-Ta-Ka. You struggle, struggle some more and pray with young Joniko in his adventuresome trip to get help. It is truly a film of the year" PSA Journal, Nov. 1969, 56.
"A diesel followed by yesterday's steam locomotives lay the contrasts for this journey to yesterday. Rio Grande's old seam locomotive 473 takes us from Durango to Silverton, Colorado, through the wild country where enroute we see things today as they were yesterday. Throughout this trip we feel the realism of the sound accompaniment, so tastefully a part of the picture. The maker of this film was well aware of the need to include people and human interest, and it did it well" PSA Journal, Nov. 1959, 48-49.
"Joyous Noel by Gilbert B. Jansen Jr. is the sort of color motion picture record of an American family's Christmas that so many home-loving cameramen dream of producing - but seldom do. Undoubtedly the producer and all members of his family will treasure this film immediately. Not a great work, Joyous Noel is nevertheless an unusually good Christmas film in which all of the preparations and celebrations found in graceful family living are depicted through the activities of a young couple and their two children. Well lighted scenes, technically proficient camera work, pleasant acting by all concerned, and a background of Christmas carol music all contribute to make this a thoroughly pleasant production" PSA Journal, Jan. 1955, 50.
Total Pages: 22
Amateur Cinema