"Elmer (Elmer Quane) is a hapless fool and a hopeless romantic, who has his heart set on Enid (Rita Lyons). But with Enid in the clutches of Arthur (Arthur Richardson), Elmer must go to extreme lengths to win her love. Left embarrassed by an encounter at the train station, and frustrated by his bullying boss, Elmer sits beside a secluded footpath. But when Enid's bag is snatched by a pair of thieves, and Arthur stands idly by, it is up to Elmer to save the day, apprehending the men and retrieving the bag. But has he won Enid's heart? Only his clumsiness, her ultimatum and a series of chocolate thefts will tell us" (EAFA Database).
"Opened in November 1903, the Colne and Trawden Light Railway ran along the Burnley and Keighley roads though the town. The line closed for good on 6th January 1934, shortly after these scenes were shot, so the film marks the end of an era for this Lancashire town." (BFI Player)
"Filmed in 1939 by the town doctor, Cologne is a personalized portrait of a farming community that merited only a single sentence in the WPA’s 1938 guidebook to Minnesota: “COLOGNE (945 alt., 355 pop.) is a German community named for the ancient city on the Rhine.” Dr. Raymond Dowidat and his wife, Esther, arrived in 1937 for his first practice after internship, and the impulse for the film seems to have arisen from their desire to document Cologne before they moved on to his next position in Minneapolis." filmpreservation.org
"doc. scientifico-turistico"/scientific-touristic documentary
"When an experienced cameraman such as Oscar H. Horovitz turns his technically competent camera on attractive outdoor subject matter, attractive outdoor pictures are quite likely to result. When, in addition, such a producer lines to discipline his editing, inform his narrative, and make graceful his musical score, a motion picture of true charm and beauty will be his reward. Such is the happy combination which makes up Colonial Williamsburg. A thrifty thirteen-minute study of this handsome 18th Century capital." PSA Journal, 1954, 50.
Documentary
"doc. scientifico-turistico"/scientific-touristic documentary
"Seventeen hundred feet of 16mm. color is a lot of footage through which to sustain audience interest. But, so help us, that is exactly what Lester F. Shaal has done in Colorado Diary, and we don't quite understand yet just how he did it. Perhaps it was the diary-entry continuity device he used, which, with the entries being made in situ on a Colorado dude ranch, permitted a refreshing infusion of flash-back sequences amid the day-to-day activities. ("The flight out here was glorious," notes the attractive diarist, and some superb air footage lends variety to the routines of the corral.) Perhaps it was the side trips from the ranch to ghost mining towns — or to Durango and the narrow-gauge railway country. Whatever the secret, Mr. Shaal has mixed it well with his usually impeccable camera work. Seldom have the vitality and majesty of the West been portrayed more movingly than in Colorado Diary." Movie Makers, Dec. 1951, 410.
"In a color chucklelogue Midgley will show spectacular pictures of Colorado today and give a nostalgic look into Colorado's colorful past. . . . The film features Denver, Pikes Peak, the Garden of the Gods, the Royal Gorge, Estes Park, ascent of Longs Peak, Trail Ridge Road, skiing at Aspen, and pictures of ghost towns and horseless carriages. Some of these pictures, filmed in excellent color years ago during the last days of the Narrow Gaugers, could never be replaced." The Clock Tower, Oct. 17, 1969, 1.
Total Pages: 299
Amateur Cinema