"Item is a film of a trip to Hawaii taken by Dr. Willinsky and his wife, Sadie. In the form of a travelogue, footage of Hawaii's landscape, vegetation, landmarks and local population is interspersed with captions that were added in by Dr. Willinsky to provide information about the country's culture. Footage includes shots of sites around Honolulu and Waikiki, surfers, Hawaiian flowers, churches and temples, sugar cane farming and singers performing outside a hotel. Sadie is occassionally spotted exploring the sites and interacting with locals."
"From Capetown, South Africa, comes Help Yourselves, Boys!, by Lewis Lewis, a charming record of two handsome youngsters and their father engaged in planting, growing and harvesting zinnias. Using many effective angles and double exposed titles, Mr. Lewis relates a plausible tale of his boys raiding the grape arbor, being caught, and finally having their exuberance turned toward flower growing. Since the newly hatched garden is situated close to the ocean, the scenic backgrounds are startling as well as pleasant. Rich, black earth and flaming orange zinnias provide an attractive setting for an engaging family movie." Movie Makers, Dec. 1947, 538.
"Hunting, cast of "Boy," played by Winthrop Rolfe, and "Dog," played by Teddy. Boy, walks with Dog through the forested mountainside, gazes at views over the alley, drinks water from a rushing stream, and kneels to shoot at birds." Notes by (NHF) Chris Reed and Chris Castiglia, June 2013
"A short colour film recording a visit to a garden in Llandudno" (EAFA Database).
"In Love Apples, Henry Hoke presented what is, so far as Movie Makers records show, the first approach to filming the hobby and preoccupation of an entire family. Unquestionably the Hoke family likes tomatoes and, something less commonly encountered, it is willing to work to produce them. Mr. Hoke's Kodachrome film lets us see the entire family group at work planting, weeding, watering and picking — especially picking, because Mr. Hoke makes quite a cinematic point of eager hands reaching for tomatoes in and out of season. The continuity is active and full of humorous touches, with a shade too great an emphasis on camera tricks for their own sake; the photography is adequate and often provides much screen beauty. Above all, this film has a unity which, added to its unusual motive, brings it into the Honorable Mention class." Movie Makers, Dec. 1936, 549-550.
"The Making of Canadian Homespun, by Duncan Mac D. Little, ACL, is a distinctly novel cinematographic achievement because it is an al fresco industrial film depicting a process of manufacture that normally is largely performed indoors. In addition, it is a uniquely valuable contribution to folk way records, listing, as it does, in a lovingly made film inventory, the steps involved in the production of homespun cloth by a geographically sequestered population which maintains one of the last stands of homely folk craft on the North American continent. Mr. Little's picture was made in summer in a region lacking facilities for indoor lighting. It compresses seasonal activities into the space of a few days, showing sheep shearing, preparation of the wool and its spinning and weaving. For this purpose, a spinning wheel and loom were set up in the open by the country people of the locality, who cooperated happily with Mr. Little. Not only is this ancient process preserved in an exceptional film record but, at the same time, there are offered many character studies of exceedingly individual French Canadians." Movie Makers, Dec. 1935, 551, 553.
"Mexican Silhouette, conceived as a gamble, has grown up to glory. After but a few years of average movie making experience, Clement K. Chase — as with so many — felt an irresistible urge to attempt, in one film, a concentration of all his accumulated skill and experience. He turned to a subject he knew with intimacy and affection, and Mexican Silhouette was the result. It is a splendid educational and general interest study, divided flexibly into three main sections — Mexico, D. F., Mexican Agriculture and Mexican Cities. To these subjects, Mr. Chase has brought a mature photographic skill, marked by tripod steadiness, stimulating compositions and a dramatic feeling for the use of filters. Well titled in the original silent version, the film is now being distributed commercially in both sound and silent editions." Movie Makers, Dec. 1939, 633.
"Having forsaken the good land of tequila for the gypsy life of a trailerite, Ralph E. Gray presents what may be the last in a long line of distinguished human record films on America's southern neighbor. Mexico At Work And At Play displays recurrently in its many and varied sequences the opulent camera work and warm eye for color which have marked all of Mr. Gray's award winners. Mirrored in the present movie are such native occupations as sugar cane farming and mescal distilling, such handicrafts as glass blowing and opal polishing, such diversions as cock fighting and an Easter Passion Play. Mr. Gray's treatment of these and other colorful subjects is leisurely, loving and methodical." Movie Makers, Dec. 1948, 494.
"A very brief view of Conway Castle is followed by scenes from the Middlewich Show - the different stalls are seen, as well as some of the prize winning flowers and vegetables. There are shots of the smaller livestock at the show, such as rabbits, chickens and budgerigars. There is a dog show, and the Dairy Queen of Cheshire arrives with her entourage. She presents trophies to the winners of the large livestock competitions, and the film ends with a show-jumping competition." (NWFA Online Archive)
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Amateur Cinema