Still image from The Ladybird in Movie Makers, Dec. 1953, 319.
English
200 ft
16mm
Kodachrome
Optical
"In The Ladybird, W. G. Nicholls has told the story of the life of the common ladybug — remember "Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home . . ."? — in a film that is entertainingly instructive as well as distinguished by excellent photography, composition and editing. Many of the extreme closeups of the tiny ladybird as it goes through the various stages of its insect life-cycle are indeed remarkable. Mr. Nicholls's skill in closeup cinematography is particularly well demonstrated in the series of scenes featuring the ladybird's value as a devourer of the aphids that so bother rose growers. A narrative that is educative and well written creates a feeling of respect for the ladybird as a friend to man in his constant struggle against destructive insects. Here is a nature study which is first class in every way." Movie Makers, Dec. 1953, 334.
This film is a sequel to Nicholls's Six Minutes with Nature (see MIFF archive).
The film won the Australian Amateur Cine Society's Gold Cup competition in 1953 (Movie Makers, Dec. 1953, 341). It also won first award in the Victorian Amateur Cine Society's annual contest of 1953 (The Age, Nov. 10, 1953, 4).
The film won The Wallace Heaton Cup for the Best Photography in 1953 (see IAC Trophies).
This film is a part of the Institute of Amateur Cinematographers Collection held by the East Anglian Film Archive.
Institute of Amateur Cinematographers Collection, East Anglian Film Archive
Amateur Cinema