Still image from The Magnificent Accident in Movie Makers, June 1947, 239.
English
200 ft
8mm
Kodachrome
Silent
With music on disc.
"In a relatively short period of filming, Raymond J. Berger has mastered a type of photoplay which a great many persons have expressed a desire to make, the story film featuring a child and a pet. His script, a simple and unpretentious recounting of how an invalid child wills herself to walk again, to go to the aid of her injured dog, proves an ideal vehicle for Mr. Berger's young daughter and her handsome collie, Lassie. This 8mm. Kodachrome picture, scored with re-recorded music, is noteworthy for its excellent framing and splendid closeups. Particularly engaging is the sequence, after the accident, showing the mutual recovery of the two stars. Young Miss Berger, considering the limited histrionic ability of a natural child, plays her role with grace and assurance; her crying scenes and the ingenuous frolics with Lassie are unusually credible and well performed. Mr. Berger deserves credit for his planning and fulfillment of a screen play that revolves around two such charming personalities." Movie Makers, Dec. 1946, 486.
Discussed by Berger in "The Family Tries Drama" (Movie Makers, June 1947, 239, 260-262). In the article, the filmmaker describes directing children and pets in dramatic roles, with reference to The Magnificent Accident. Film stills are shown.
Mentioned in "Closeups" (Movie Makers, Nov. 1946, 435), where an image of Lassie the dog is shown.
The film won first award in the "Family Film" class of a Smokey Mountain Movie Club film contest in 1949 (Movie Makers, Dec. 1949, 474). It also won a "bronze plaque" at an International Movie Salon in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1950 (Movie Makers, Nov. 1950, 420).
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Amateur Cinema