English
00:11:00
382 ft
16mm
Kodachrome
Sound-on-film
"Monarch Butterfly Story: This film, with its carefully written and recorded narration, is equally meticulous in its photography which chronicles the life-cycle of the Monarch butterfly from egg to adult. Major Anderson and his wife Claire Louise have collaborated in producing one of the finest studies of insect life ever produced by a non-professional film maker, and already one large educational film distributor is negotiating for its purchase. Employing two Bolex H-16 cameras, the Andersons have produced several excellent sequences in time-lapse photography aided by equipment home-made for the purpose by Mr. Anderson. The picture opens with scenes showing adult Monarchs in natual habitat. Interesting facts regarding the butterfly are told in the narration. Then the egg-laying period is shown, followed by closeups of the egg, hatching of the pupa, and it ultimate growth to an adult through the various stages of metamorphosis natural to the Monarch. It is the meticulous ultra-closeup photography and the perfectly executed time-lapse camera work that gives this production its class, and easily makes it one of the best 16mm color films of the year." American Cinematographer, May. 1951, 190.
Movie Makers (April 1951, 136) reported: "Major William Anderson, ACL, and Mrs. Anderson produced the top point earner in the [Washington Society of Amateur Cinematographers'] history of monthly contest screenings. Their film, The Monarch Buttefly Story, received 98.5 points." The film would later win first award in the 16mm. class of the club's annual contest (Movie Makers, Sept. 1951, 302).
Discussed in "Closeups" (Movie Makers, May 1951, 147), which notes that distribution rights to the film were acquired by Encyclopaedia Britannica Films.
Catalog listings of this film include credits to: the Andersons, Charles E. Palm, Encyclopaedia Britannica Films, and Andre Feature Films. The film exists and is held in a number of library systems today.
Amateur Cinema