"To love a place so well that you can film it so well that the result becomes commercially sought is not the happy fortune of every movie amateur. Waldo E. Austin's Richmond Under Three Flags was paid for by the Morris Plan Bank of Virginia, in Richmond, and is distributed by the Virginia Conservation Commission. Here, a man of culture and a filmer of exceptional care and refinement has given us his own home, lovingly and interestingly presented, with a happy quota of cinematic ornaments. The pace of this accomplishment is leisurely, as was the Old South, yet its manner is modern, as is the new Richmond. In the title wordings, Mr. Austin is especially fortunate, avoiding banality on the one hand and '"fine writing" on the other, with just enough rhetoric to give the flavor of one of the country's most rhetorical centers. The interior scenes of public buildings have been accomplished with an apparent effortlessness that conceals a great deal of effort. Here is the publicity film in its most suave expression." Movie Makers, Dec. 1937, 627-628.
"Produced by Edwin S. Mayer, this 1929 amateur film documents life and work on the T-Half Circle Ranch near Sonora. Ranch hands first herd cattle for branding and de-horning. Then, they turn to working the sheep, sorting them into separate classes before shearing wool. Later, the ranch hands battle a prairie fire on the property. In addition to outlining ranch operations, Mayer also introduces his family and colleagues. At the conclusion, Edwin and his wife Minnie join another couple to explore Carlsbad Cavern in New Mexico. The cave is now the primary attraction of Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Please note, this film contains a racist joke regarding African Americans. The Texas Archive of the Moving Image does not condone this language, but presents the film as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as to claim this discrimination never existed" Texas Archive of the Moving Image.
"Riders of the Pecos is a movie of a "dude ranch" with all the close shots of interesting and significant details that usually are missing in "dude ranch" films. During a summer vacation, few take the time and effort to make as human and colorful a document as has E. M. Barnard. He has caught the dust of the corral, the appetites of the open and even the barn dance. It is a horsy film, of course, with sequences of roping, "bronco busting" and plain and fancy riding. But best of all are the charming shots of a horseback trip and the campfire at the trail's end. There is a neatly turned "running gag" of a young equestrienne who is first seen repeatedly as more concerned with her brightly polished boots than with riding. But, after a few suppers off the mantel, she adds more dust and scars to her boots than got there naturally and becomes a real cowgirl." Movie Makers, Dec. 1941, 567.
"Footage from the Princes Risborough Show, including riding variants on ‘school sports day’ contests, riding variant of musical chairs, and an inter-hunt giant ball pushing contest" (EAFA Database).
"A new illustrated lecture filmed on an amusing trip by bicycle through the isolated, unspoiled southwestern corner of Colorado." Pacific Union Recorder, Dec. 12, 1949, 4.
Documental sobre la Semana Santa en una ciudad de Castilla, donde la paz contrasta con la violencia de otras partes del mundo.
Documentary about the Holy Week in a city of Castilla, where peace contrasts with the violence lived in other parts of the world.
"Recreates the revival of change-ringing of the bells at Vancouver's Holy Rosary Cathedral, after a five-year hiatus. Shows the training of bell-ringers and the ringing-in of the New Year. The bells of Westminster Abbey in Mission City are also heard. Members of the Vancouver Society of Change Ringers are featured. Winner of a Canadian Film Award in the amateur category (1961)" British Columbia Archives.
"A carefully detailed study of the biggest show on earth, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus bears lively evidence to Oscar H. Horovitz's intense interest and attentive recording over a ten year period. The glamour and the tinsel, the thrills and the panoply, the sawdust and the sweat, all have been caught by his camera and painstakingly mounted. Backstage glimpses show something of what it takes to produce the massive extravaganza. The clowns in their dressing rooms reveal a little of the secret of their art. But in the eager faces of young spectators and the breathless attention of their elders can be read the circus's enduring mystery and perennial allure. The filmer's technical capabilities are manifestly demonstrated. Despite the obvious exposure handicaps, individual shots of admirable artistry turn up often enough to enliven any audience. With all these factors in its favor, however this massively impressive movie may leave some viewers wishing for a little less detail, a little more simplicity, and a still more stringent use of the editing scissors." Movie Makers, Dec. 1950, 465-466.
"This picture, in its original 1600 foot length, was selected by Movie Makers as one of the Ten Best in its 1950 competition. Oscar Horovitz has completely re-edited it, compressing it to 800 feet for what, we are sure, is a greatly improved picture. Certainly it is one of the best film documents of a circus ever seen by American Cinematographer's reviewers in many years, and we are sure that Cecil B. DeMille, who currently is producing a picture on circus life, would agree on the merits of its photography. Horovitz's camera—a Bell & Howell 70-DE camera—has caught the atmosphere of Circus Day with colorful scenes, both inside and outside the tents, beginning with the Sideshows and continuing inside the big top where he recorded all the big spectacles from a variety of angles. It is evident that making the picture required Horovitz to visit the circus on several different occasions, for it shows careful study and preplanning and a wise choice of positions for setting up his camera. The interiors, made under the big top with its attendant inferior lighting for photography, are commendable and offer a fine example of what can be done with Kodachrome film in the hands of a skilled cine photographer." American Cinematographer, May 1951, 190.
"Competence plus completeness distinguish Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Oscar H. Horovitz started his film with sequences of the circus's winter quarters in Florida and followed it as it entrained for Northern performances. Unloading the circus comes next, and, after informal views of the crews at work setting up tents and the performers preparing for work, there is a complete picture of the show in the big top. The quality of the lighting, although limited by the amount of illumination provided by the circus, is still astonishingly good. Even better is the sequencing of the scenes of the performances, for Mr. Horovitz succeeds in altering his camera positions almost as freely as if the circus were staged especially for him." Movie Makers, Dec. 1943, 478.
Total Pages: 299
Amateur Cinema