"Prize-winning "filmic essay" of a trip along the Manchester Ship Canal from the Mersey to Manchester docks, taken from and following the vessel the Manchester Commerce. Shows the transporter and swing bridges, and the docks." (NWFA Online Archive)
"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.
"Short film about the construction of a building. Opens with a cartoon, features the construction site, and ends with the finished building. Ray L. Huffman's name, who was a San Diego architect, is featured in the film." UCLA Film & Television Archive.
"Bill Messner has turned to religion and nature for his soul-searching film. His leading man, Sam, has a fine home, family and job and is too busy for extra activities such as church assignments. His personal relations suffer from his self imposed confinement. Something persuades Sam to make a retreat to a religious camp. There are the usual at camp activities, plus the opportunity for devotion and contemplation; the relation of ones soul; the atmosphere to reflect purpose and accomplishment. Introspection is the keystone of the picture and well done it is" PSA Journal, Nov. 1958, 48.
"Item is an audio-visual production of Dr. Willinsky's trip to Israel. In the form of a travelogue, Willinsky accompanies footage of landmarks, ruins and the local population with audio commentary. The production includes a brief discussion of the formation of the state of Israel and features various cities, such as, Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv. Sadie [Willinsky] is occassionally spotted in the footage interacting with locals and visiting the homes of friends." Ontario Jewish Archives.
"As an openly avowed disciple of Herman Bartel, one of the old masters of nature filming, Martin E. Drayson has been an ably and imaginative pupil. Seldom have individual scenes of such delicate beauty as his poured across the screen of personal movies. Interlude in Sunlight, like Mr. Bartel's work in Awakening or Pathetique, is essentially an effort to interpret, in cinematic imagery, compositions of music. As such, it is divided into three sections or movements, comprised pictorially of bees, flowing water and flowers. The musical scores which these interpret are Paganini's Moto Perpetuo, Massenet's Meditation from Thais, and Johann Strauss's Wiener Blut waltzes. Preceding these pieces (during the lead title assembly) and between the several sections, Mr. Drayson has elected the use of complete silence." Movie Makers, Dec. 1945, 496.
"An Interlude in Happy Isles, made by Dr. Delmer J. Frazier, is one of those comparatively rare vacation pictures that tell their story in detail, but only in that detail which will mean something to an audience that did not have the good fortune to take the same trip. We have no road signs nor guide maps (except for cinematic effect), we don't even know where "Happy Isles" may be. All we know is that the Frazier family has a delightful time there; that they plan their trips with care; that they love the woods and the wild life; and, finally, that their appreciation of it all thoroughly entitles them to an interlude of pleasure. This film is an excellent technical job — the interiors at the beginning of the picture are beautifully lighted, and follow shots of the squirrels in the woods are quite amazing. However, it is the continuity of this picture, with its well planned incidents, that gives it Honorable Mention." Movie Makers, Dec. 1936, 549.
Total Pages: 299
Amateur Cinema