Canada
English
390 ft
16mm
B&W
Silent
"The film contains twelve short vignettes that incorporate several cinematic techniques to comical effect." Library and Archives Canada.
This film is a part of the E. F. Attridge Collection held by Library and Archives Canada.
LAC notes: "E.F. Attridge made this film with his Sunday school class about 1955. The class was at Windemere United Church, 356 Windemere Avenue, Toronto."
E. F. Attridge Collection, Library and Archives Canada
"The first is titled, Wizards of Windemere, and opens with a car approaching down a residential street and comes to a stop at a curb in front of the camera. A teenage boy exits the passenger side, and then another boy exits, and then another until a total of ten young men have stepped from the car. The group turn to enter the building behind them, with a cut to the title card, Wizards' club. The film short continues with a series of short visual camera tricks. 2.) The Magic Touch. Two boys exchange crumbled dollar bills that miraculously appear to change into 50 and 100 dollar bills. 3.) The Shark. Two boys are at a billiard table playing pool. Boy on the right takes a shot. A third boy enters the room and approaches the table but the two boys wave him out of the room. The third boy returns, grabs a pool cue and takes a shot. Cut to an animated shot of the billiard balls breaking and rolling into the table pockets to clear the table. 4.) Guess who? A boy is seated playing the piano and next to him another boy plays the violin. There is candleholder between them with a full set of lit candles. The piano player leans over and blows the candles out but using trick photography they appear to keep on relighting. He turns to the other boy, “George, I can't blow them out.” The boy with the violin turns, blows the candles out as they both turn and smile at the camera. 5.) Boy scout handshake. Two boys approach each other and shake hands. The hand of one of the boys comes off leaving the other holding a disembodied hand. 6.) A youngster blows up a paper bag and punches it. Two title cards read, Bang! and They're off. A group of eight boys take off running. One of the boys appears to run right through a fence. Using stop action cinematography, the boy runs through another fence, then through two phone booths. Shot of a boy scaling down the side of a building. Another boyis animated down a set of stairs. 7.) The trained bike. A boy standing in a field gestures to something off screen. The camera pans over to a bicycle laying on the ground. Using trick photography the bike gets up, wheels backwards to the boy who grabs the bike. 8.) A group of ten young men are gathered in a circle looking down solemnly at the ground. Close up of a casket. The lid opens slowly revealing a skeleton inside. The boys run off looking over their shoulders in fright. 9.) A young man is walking down a street towards the camera. As he nears, another boy suddenly appears next to him, then disappears, then reappears as the two of them reach the camera. 10.) Two boys are seated at a small table facing each other. One of the boys snaps his fingers and a tablecloth appears covering the table. The other boy snaps his fingers and two plates appear in front of them. They continue along until the table is covered in forks, knives, glasses of milk, bread and butter. 11.) The toothache. A boy is sitting outdoors next to a pile of bricks. He is holding his jaw in his hand. A title card reads, The thought of a drill. The boy looks off screen and his face turns to an expression of astonishment. Shot of a large drill bit poking through a piece of wood. 12.) The cagey actors. Shots of mice in a large cage running on a wheel and a large disc. Shot of a mouse perched on a miniature model of a toilet. Shot of a mouse running on a disc imprinted with the words, Mouse Circus. The film ends with a shot of a white mouse balanced on a small perch with the title card, Good-bye," via Library and Archives Canada.
Amateur Cinema