Edited film "chronicling travel through Tahiti and Mo'orea including scenic landscapes, aerial views, harbor scenes, resorts, local flora, markets, underwater scenes, dance and storytelling," Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Museum.
"In the pond, many things are stirring - freshwater earthworms, and tiny aquatic creatures known as infusoria and daphnia. This remarkable amateur scientific documentary investigates microbes in a drop of pond water as seen through a microscope. The film was made by using a binocular eyepiece developed specifically for the purpose, and won many awards." (BFI Player)
"Porpoise Oil presents a cleverly planned and charming story that shows how the Indians of the upper St. Lawrence region live today and how their ancestors obtained oil from the porpoise of the neighboring bays. Dr. Leighton was fortunate enough to find an old Indian who, in his younger days, had been a champion porpoise hunter and the picture tells in Kodachrome how the fish was shot and the oil tried. This constitutes an important document of Indian craft that, otherwise, in time would be lost to the world. A touch of humor throughout and a surprise ending serve to spice the film and to make it the excellent study that it is instead of a routine record film. The continuity is well developed and the photography is of good quality." Movie Makers, Dec. 1937, 630.
"Portrait of a Young Man, by Henwar Rodakiewicz, ACL, is a triumph of fine photography and sensitive imagination. Abstract in treatment, and speaking through delicately rhythmed scenes of smoke, leaves, grasses, the sea, machinery and the heavens, this film is an attempt to portray in graphic terms a young man's reactions to the beauty, force and mystery of the natural world. In producing the final three reel version, Mr. Rodakiewicz has filmed deliberately toward the one end for more than three years and in many different locales. Although using largely material to be found in nature, he has so transmuted it, by the creative artistry of his selection and control, as to get from each selected scene, not a mere reproduced likeness, but a trenchant and symbolic image. Portrait of a Young Man is beautiful, exciting, workmanlike and distinguished." Movie Makers, Dec. 1932, 538.
"Problems in the Pounding Surf is an animated cartoon of a little dog's antics in the ocean. Entered in a previous film competition, judges in that event stated "A truly fabulous animation film, extremely competent timing and use of line with good overall humor." So our judges were not alone in their praise of this workmanship. What our judges did not know and won't know until they read these words here is that the maker of this film, Dale Ramsey, is only 15 years old" PSA Journal, Aug. 1967, 37-38.
"Film of picturesque scenes of water." Library and Archives Canada.
"The story, older than the craft of lobster fishing, of a ten year old boy earning his own first few pennies is told beautifully and sensitively in Riches from the Sea, by T. J. Courtney. As simple and human as the life of those it pictures, this film captures the spirit of the young fisher boy as he goes about his work of baiting and dropping lobster pots. They are his own, just given by his father. The money he makes from selling the lobsters he catches, some of which he boils on the beach, is also his own. Finally, when the last one is purchased by tourists along the dusty road and the boy races to the village, clutching his coins, to buy the coveted store window toy, the picture swells to its climax, fully equal to the importance of the occasion in the youngster's life. Lovely angles and expert composition bring beauty in black and white to the photography, and the acting, by Philip Boutilier and his little sister Lorraine, of Seabright, Nova Scotia, is unaffected and agreeable. This photoplay illustrates how completely the locale and life of an interesting community can be conveyed by threading it on a simple story of human nature." Movie Makers, Dec. 1938, 597.
"The majesty of one of North America's greatest rivers is the theme of Walter Downs's Saga of the St. Lawrence. Stunning Kodachrome views of this mighty stream picture it from the decks of a river steamer. The ship is used as a mechanism for carrying the continuity theme forward and for providing smooth "trucking" shots of the passing shoreline. Brief stops offered the opportunity for sequences that show the character of the country and its people with the sympathy and understanding of one who knows the region well. These also punctuated the film in a pleasant and interesting fashion. The picture is accompanied by a musical background and some sound effects, all done by double turntable. This is a gracious and capable film of high photographic quality." Movie Makers, Dec. 1937, 630.
"Spanning the upper and narrower part of the State of Idaho from east to west, the Salmon River provides the original blueprint for one-way traffic. You either end up in western Idaho — or at the bottom of the river. Frank E. Gunnell ended up in Idaho. His coverage of this adventurous journey in The Salmon — River Of No Return is complete, carefully planned and splendidly competent. One becomes thoroughly familiar with the great, flat-bottomed barge, guided by giant sweeps fore and aft, in which the hazardous rapids of the Salmon are surmounted. One is charmed, even fascinated, by the deserted mining huts along the river and the few forlorn characters who still live amid this rocky wilderness. The Salmon — River Of No Return is a leisurely and well made record of a unique vacation adventure." Movie Makers, Dec. 1948, 492.
Travelogue and social gathering document. Narrated by Joan Baldwin with orchestral music by Sibelius throughout. "Only 50 people lived here last winter and 12 children attend the school. Fishing..." oldfilm.org
Total Pages: 10
Amateur Cinema