"Terry Manos takes his family and his audience to the country and shows us what Farm Frolics are for those who live rurally and what fun city children can get from participating in them. Against a background of farm life that is shown largely by indirection, the children romp and play little tricks on each other, while the understanding adults take a good humored part in the proceedings. Mr. Manos's camera work is imaginative, making the most of the abundant material at hand. His greatest achievement is the creation of a fine family film that, because of its lively farm background, also holds audience interest." Movie Makers, Dec. 1947, 537.
"Flowering Byways, presented with well chosen musical accompaniment, is a story of the creation and growth of a home garden, cleverly interwoven with the thread of human interest. In it, Ernest Kremer has made a thoroughly enjoyable and interesting record of his father in law's gardening ability. "Pop's garden" has its beginnings in the chilly days of early spring, when the bare ground gives little promise of the profusion of bloom that is to spring up under Pop's skillful hands. We follow with keen interest the growth of the garden through subsequent months. Mr. Kremer's skill in presentation being demonstrated by the constant variety of material and by the interpolation of well chosen touches of human interest. Finally, the apotheosis of Pop's garden creation is realized when he takes first prize at the local garden club show. The flower closeups here are always excellent, but they are not made an end in themselves." Movie Makers, Dec. 1941, 565.
"Well known for its attainments in the commercial film field, the T. W. Willard Motion Picture Company sets a new high in its publicity productions with Follow the Plow. To technical excellence they have added sound sequencing; into a record of vocational education, they have instilled beauty and human interest. The subject matter concerns the training given to selected city boys in the fundamentals of farming at the Bowdoin Farm, operated by the Children's Aid Society of New York City. Tracing the course of these boys from the sidewalks and streets to the fields, at New Hamburg, N. Y., the location of the farm, the film expands with the glorious color of the autumn country and becomes a living essay of the pleasures of farm life. Constantly changing angles and intelligent titling lend pace to the production. Despite the limited interest in the specific subject of plows and cows, the appeal is made universal through magnificent color scenes and competent treatment." Movie Makers, Dec. 1938, 618.
"The Southwestern and Centerville Railroad boasts a roadbed of less than two miles and runs only on Saturdays — and then to "nowhere." But it undoubtedly provides the favorite ride of all the kids (as well as their equally enthusiastic parents) from the surrounding countryside. In The Fresh Milk Line, Roy Fulmer, jr., records the operation of this narrow gauge railroad on a dairy farm in New Jersey, run as a hobby by the owner of the farm. Closeups of the working of the Diesel engine, the switches and signals add technical interest; while the sequence of laying a new piece of track by presumably adult employees on the farm makes it apparent that the men enjoy "working on the railroad" as much as would any youngster. Here is one film whose interest would have been heightened by a musical accompaniment with sound effects." Movie Makers, Dec. 1951, 412.
"Garden Closeups, by W. T. McCarthy, ACL, demonstrates its right to be placed among the ten best films because of the painstaking care and time expended in its preparation and because of the exceptional results achieved. The film covers a subject which is almost entirely in miniature, but which, in its motion picture interpretation, reveals a whole new world which only the eye of a discriminating filmer and a nature lover could catch. Here are excellent closeups of the common varieties of garden flower, pictured so skillfully that the technique used is forgotten and the actual, living flower seems revealed on the screen, sometimes swaying gently in the breeze, sometimes rifled by a gigantic bumblebee pictured in alarming closeup. Another sequence will show the honeycombed intricacies of a wasp's nest, a time condensation technique showing its gradual cessation of activity as the winter comes on. An outstanding achievement in closeup technique showed the praying mantis in the very unprayerful act of devouring its victim. The film was made almost entirely with the aid of a telephoto lens with special extension, which enabled the patient cameraman to capture his flower and insect subjects from a moderate distance. Focus and exposure alike show the result of painstaking care in Garden Closeups." Movie Makers, Dec. 1932, 560.
"Harrison and Harrison's offer of the firm's color meter in leather case, with six 1 1/4 -inch meter-matched filters in leather filter fold, was awarded Eugene L. Ritzmann of Berkeley, Cal., for his 'Garden Life.' The entrant has been making amateur movies for nine years, and his skilled work in putting on the screen in color by means of controlled timing the blooming of flowers demonstrated that his period of apprenticeship has long since expired. If a word of suggestion and distinctly not of criticism might be offered it would be the film would have greater value for the uninformed if titles should be inserted identifying the various flowers. The subject caused some tough eggs of the male persuasion to sit up and take notice. What it will do to the world of womankind it is not hard to imagine." American Cinematographer, Jan. 1938, 28.
"A film about the agricultural and horticultural work - much by hand - for the production of the county's crops." (EAFA Database)
"Albert D. Furnans has taken a group of charming people in a natural pursuit, truck gardening, and has developed a genuinely amusing "running gag"; the result is a delightful family film. Through an excellent sense of timing, he has sustained the "gag" with proper finesse until its final disclosure. The refreshing use of angles and the meaningful employment of lighting, together with good editing, bring balance and clarity. The entire picture shows the result of good planning and directing, and the filming keeps well abreast of these." Movie Makers, Dec. 1945, 496.
"To impart life and interest to a film about growing alfalfa requires more than ordinary patience and perseverance. Mildred J. Caldwell has supplied these in her picture, Green Gold. Filmed throughout the year, it shows the plowing, seeding, mowing, bundling and threshing, to create a story with depth and perspective. There were times when the movie maker had to climb on stacks of baled alfalfa or ride on a lumbering machine while it performed some vital operation in the culture of alfalfa. Hemet Valley, in California, was the setting, providing pleasant scenic backgrounds for the different operations." Movie Makers, Dec. 1947, 537-538.
"A story of an orange grower's everyday life, of his unending battle with pests." American Cinematographer, Nov. 1940, 498.
Total Pages: 9
Amateur Cinema