"This was produced by a £5 Baby camera and tells its story, in which three characters are introduced, entirely by the movements of hands. R. D. Stuart, a Glasgow amateur, took second place, with another London man third" (Anon 1929, 48).
"Button Ballet is a nifty little piece of animation. A number of buttons do a ballet set to Brahms music in one of the most masterfully executed animation films ever seen in this competition" PSA Journal, Aug. 1967, 36.
"The Butterfly with Four Birthdays is a well done documentary on the life cycle of the Anise Swallowtail (Papilio Zelicaon). The Zelicaon, often mistaken for the Monarch, lives in the Western United States and lays her eggs on the anise plant, also known as sweet fennel. From the egg comes the baby caterpillar, thirdly the pupa or chrysalis stage, and finally, on its fourth birthday, the butterfly. This film also received the MPD Nature Film Award" PSA Journal, Sept. 1965, 50.
"The late and unlamented war kept amateur movie makers — along with the rest of peripatetic America — pretty close to their backyards. Robert S. Walker is one who has made this restriction pay dividends. The result is Butterflies, a charming study of these winged wanderers of blossomland. Those filmers who have ventured into the field of extreme closeup work will understand and applaud the patient skill with which Mr. Walker got wellnigh perfect results in recording each new specimen. Rhymed quatrains serve, with the scenes, to create a film of light and airy entertainment." Movie Makers, Dec. 1945, 496.
"Charles J. Ross found in Victoria, a land of generous rainfall and benign sunshine, where walks and pathways are lined with trees and flowers from distant places, where every path leads the visitor to new scenes of verdure and color; he is entranced and delighted at every turn. The imagination and planning of the landscape artists is his to enjoy without surfeit, so tasteful are their arrangements" PSA Journal, Nov. 1958, 46.
"Busk'n [was awarded] for its very excellent black-and-white photography" PSA Journal, Sept. 1966, 36.
"One of the most unusual educational institutions in America, the John Hay High School, of Cleveland, Ohio, is devoted exclusively to courses that adapt the student to life in a business civilization. Business Champions, produced for the school by Anthony L. Cope, a John Hay instructor, provides fine coverage of all the school's activities. With the end product — a well adjusted citizen with a job — constantly in mind, Mr. Cope shows fully and intelligently how John Hay determines and develops the aptitudes of its students." Movie Makers, Dec. 1948, 492.
"will probably be an all-women film produced by the lady members, stories for which are now under consideration" (HMHT July 1933: 77).
"an adaptation of an old song… and is now underway" (HMHT Aug 1933: 113).
"an object lesson of effective simplicity in telling a story" (HMHT Dec 1933: 283).
"Inspired by a family funeral, three children in Cockermouth, Cumbria, give the recently deceased 'Jackdaw' a dignified send-off. Heather Harris, the youngest child, officiates as a priest. Sadly, no-one can now remember whether the deceased was a family pet or just a wild bird found in the garden, but this film remains as a fleeting, yet touching, picture of a moment in childhood" (BFI Player).
Total Pages: 299
Amateur Cinema