"The film was conceived of, directed, shot, edited, and hand-titled by Barstow. A staff volunteer, Barstow had recently graduated from Dartmouth College (class of 1941) when he accepted work on the farm with his wife, Meg. The “Newark Kid-Stars,” as they are credited in the film, helped to create the story and acted in the film, yet their names were never recorded." The Back Table, Archives and Special Collections at the New York University.
"The present fate and possible future of the southern share-cropping farmer have been pictured in dramatic and authentic detail by Alan S. Hacker, ACL, in a five reel, 16mm. film recently completed under the sponsorship of the Sharecropper Film Committee, New York City. Made to aid the Southern Tenant Farmers' Union, the production illustrates the agricultural despotism and destitution which have resulted in the formation of that group bargaining organization. Farms and families of Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi appear in this documentary record, which kept Mr. Hacker three months in the field. Lee R. Hays. an Arkansan, served him as liaison officer with the union and its supporters, while Gardner Jackson, of the film committee, contributed to the production's planning. Narrative comment and a musical background are scheduled additions to the pictured story, in preparation for screenings before school and civic groups interested in the success of the Southern Tenant Farmers' Union." - "Practical Films," Movie Makers, March 1937, 128.
"In An Apple a Day, F. Radford Crawley has epitomized, in color, the story of a Canadian apple orchard. He shows, in perfectly exposed Kodachrome scenes, how the trees are grafted and pruned, how the orchard is mulched with straw and how the trees are sprayed. He shows the apple pickers at work in attractively chosen angle shots and, without interrupting the flow of action, he introduces the different varieties of apples grown in Canada. Horse drawn carts carry the apples to the packers, and there follows a tightly edited sequence of the ring pack method, culminating in a brilliant closeup of the top of an open basket of apples. In an epilogue, the basket is opened in a home, and children bob for apples at a Halloween party. Ingeniously managed upward angles show the children's faces bobbing for apples floating in the water above the camera. (The method of producing these shots was described in The month of plenty, by Mr. Crawley in the October, 1938, Movie Makers. The execution of the plan is perfect in the film.) Brilliant close shots of beautifully colored fruit stud this film like jewels, and especially satisfying are the subtitles, made by double exposing white lettering on a scene of an arched branch of an apple tree, filmed against a dark, late afternoon sky." Movie Makers, Dec. 1939, 634.
"A two-part lecture travelogue film on the state of Arizona. The film would have been originally presented with live narration by the filmmaker, Robert Davis. Part one includes footage of desert landscapes, ranches, pre-historic artifacts, Native American art production & industry (wigs, textiles, etc), saloons, regional industry (logging, agricultural, and dams). Part two also includes footage of desert landscapes, cacti and dams as well as scenes from Phoenix and the surrounding area. Highlights from part two include a tour of a trailer park and footage of people skiing and sledding down a snowy hill." Chicago Film Archives.
"In As Ye Sow, Walter Bergmann has made a record of a Victory garden around the plot of the conscientious worker as contrasted to the indolent one. Mr. Shirker in his wishful thinking, through a dream sequence, takes the local prize for vegetables before the digging even begins. As the season progresses, Mr. Worker grows a fine garden, while his opponent achieves a harvest of weeds in spite of his bribes to helpers to produce his garden for him while he goes fishing. The players are well chosen and directed, and there is an amusing and well acted climax in which Mr. Shirker gets his inevitable just deserts." Movie Makers, Dec. 1944, 495.
Todos los miércoles en Villafranca de Ordizia se celebra una singular feria que, en muchos aspectos, marca la tendencia de los precios y estimación de los productos del campo, ganado, etc.
Every Wednesday in Villafranca de Ordizia, there's a singular fair that, in many ways, marks the trend for prices and estimation of country goods and cattle.
Bamboo of Japan is an 8mm film in color by Mr. Hutsutaro Kageyama of Kyoto, Japan. Bamboo to most of us means simply a fishing pole and not much more. Not so much in Japan. Bamboo is so much in demand there that bamboo tree plantations are quite prevalent. You will learn things about the use of bamboo that you never dreamed about of in the 22 minutes of this film. A very educational film and a credit to the country of its origin, Japan," PSA Journal, Mar. 1970, 43.
"The construction of the POM (Pride of Montreal) Bakery in Montreal. Some commercial harvesting footage with baking at POM." (LAC description)
"Portrait of Calhoun School, founded in 1892, and its vocational work among rural African Americans of Lowndes County, Alabama. The film shows the living conditions of the poor and illustrates how the school makes a difference in health education, agriculture, and road construction." The Field Guide to Sponsored Films.
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Amateur Cinema