"The Hero, 150 ft., 16mm., is perhaps the best of the very short, simple film stories. Its most remarkable quality is the clarity with which a fairly complicated plot is presented within the limited footage. The greatest difficulty faced by all amateur producers of film stories, short or long, is that of making the story completely clear, with the right emphasis on the introduction of characters and plot and the development of the action. In The Hero, the Silver Screen Players have overcome this problem and, in addition, have achieved fine economy of footage and action. The acting is natural and the photography excellent." Movie Makers, Dec. 1931, 686.
"Het is Lente in Holland!, by Esther Cooke, may well be one of the most beautiful and perceptive travel studies of this (or any) contest year. For here is no banal tourist mish-mash of the usual wooden shoes, windmills and cheese markets; we find in their stead a literate and respectful account of a small country with its old and cherished travel conditions. Technically sparkling and esthetically pleasing, It is Spring in Holland is so deceptively simple that each viewer is likely to assume that he could easily do likewise. But the skill which Mrs. Cooke has lavished on each succeeding scene should not be taken lightly. Her exposures are exact, creating color which seems magically luminescent; her viewpoints are knowingly selected to create fresh and revealing compositions, and her editing has blended the whole into a travel study of exceptional poise and beauty" PSA Journal, Jan. 1955, 48-49.
"The Motion Picture Club of the Oranges was formed in 1924 and, after a year's work, produced a two-reel picture, 'Love by Proxy'. which attracted considerable attention in amateur circles. This was made on 16 millimiter film. Then the club made a two-reel 35 millimiter production, 'Hey-Hey!'." Photoplay, Jun. 1928, 66-7.
"Film of picturesque scenes of flowing water." Library and Archives Canada.
"This time the Lawlers have produced a short-family picture in several parts. Each part is filmed to the interpretation of a poem recited by a very young voice, undoubtedly a member of the Lawler clan. The stories include the Shoemaker, the Bath, the Party, the Counterpane, snow (sleigh riding) and Hiding. A pleasing picture of the children accompanied by the voice of the little girl" PSA Journal, Nov. 1959, 48.
"Louis Dishotsky and Arthur Rosenthal have put together in High Card Goes an entertaining variation on the travel record film. A definite story line replaces the usual slight continuity device. A pair of tickets for a Florida trip are won on a radio quiz show, but since both parents and two children cannot go, the mother and the father draw cards, high card winning. Wifey tops her mate's king with an ace and takes off for Florida, with the older child. The luckless husband is left to tend the baby and the house. While the acting is fine and the production is technically competent, the pictorial-dramatic pace is rather slow. Tighter editing is indicated." Movie Makers, Dec. 1951, 411-412.
"The people of Guatemala and their volcanic country with its romantic cities, markets, and farms are shown." See and Hear, March 1947, 46.
"Film focuses on women with short skirts walking inside or outside, shopping, with baby carriages or shopping carts, sitting down or walking down stairs" Archives of Ontario.
Edited film "chronicling an airstream caravan through Central America (Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, Costa Rica). Film includes many views of scenic landscapes, mountain roads, cities and villages, ruins (Kabah, Uxmal, Dzibichaltun, Chichen Itza) and historic landmarks and airstream trailers tavelling or in recreational vechicle parks. In Guatemala they visit the villages Solola and Panajachel near Lake Atitlan and and town of Antigua. Scenes also include marketplaces, churches and chuch-life, a woman weaving, local crafts, washing clothing at public fountains" Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Museum.
Total Pages: 299
Amateur Cinema