"The Golden West, as this amateur movie was titled by its maker. whose identifty is lost, tours America's Riviera," as the film rather grandiosely labels the Los Angeles region.... It focuses on public places and seldom the filmmaker's family members, who are onscreen largely to illustrate local customs...." (Scott Simmon) During a ride on a blimp, the filmmaker shoots aerial footage of Los Angeles and area, including some of the local film studios. Other sequences include a visit with B-movie actor George O'Brien, on set at RKO, and a Shriners Parade at the Los Angeles Memorial Colosseum, where floodlights illuminate floats representing various Hollywood studios.
The filmmaker is not credited. In archivist Lynne Kirste's commentary for the excerpt in Treasures 5, he is described as an unidentified amateur filmmaker from Pennsylvania.
"Joseph Fischer's 'Goldilocks And The Three Bears' is an unusual amateur accomplishment in which the filmer and his associates staged the age old nursery tale in miniature, building all the sets, props and the marionette figures themselves. A drawback is the lack of sound narration or continuity titles." American Cinematographer, May 1952, 224.
"doc. a fantasia"/avant-garde documentary
"...describes a Winter excursion to a popular resort." (Ottawa Journal)
"The First Sunday Winter Excursion to Victoria Beach [Manitoba] of February 25th, 1940. The Community Club. Steam train. Dog sled. Snowshoeing. The ice piled up near Patricia Point. Skiing near Moonlight Inn. Curling on rink behind Inn. Victoria Beach station." (LAC description)
"U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visit Victoria on 30 September 1937" British Columbia Archives.
"Goyai our first 9.5mm film entry in many, many years, is a neat little package that portrays an elderly man who, in the twilight of his light, goes back to see the old homestead that he knew in earlier days. An excellent track is a great help to the mood of the film" PSA Journal, Sept. 1966, 35.
"In Grand Adventure Louise Fetzner presents a lively record of a daring run through the wild rapids of the Colorado River, as it courses the Grand Canyon from Lee's Ferry to Lake Mead. While thrilling scenes of the intrepid boats and boatmen provide the film's drama, Mrs. Fetzner has not overlooked human interest sequences on the small daily activities of these hardy adventurers. Generally good in photography and editing, the film falls off in pace somewhat in its latter portions. And perhaps the frequent inserts of a title-map of the Colorado are more hindrance than help in what is essentially an action picture." Movie Makers, Dec. 1952, 340.
Total Pages: 299
Amateur Cinema