"documentario"/documentary
"...illustra un'ardita ascensione degli allievi della Scuola di alpinismo di Chiareggio, con cordate che salgono gli straptombi alla ricerca del falco abitatore delle vette"
"...illustrates a daring ascent of the students of the School of Mountaineering of Chiareggio, with ropes that climb the overhangs in search of the hawk that inhabits the peaks."
—"I Littoriali del cinema: i documentari della prima giornata," La Stampa, September 2, 1939"
"A perfectly delightful holiday in personal filming, replete with humor, and imagination, is the comedy, Nite Life, produced by J. Kinney Moore, entirely in Kodachrome and, what is more, almost entirely in interior Kodachrome, by artificial light. Mr. Moore, in his work, refutes the contention, sometimes heard, that the amateur should be wary of film comedy. And, beside negotiating this pinnacle successfully, the producer has added an outstanding technical handling of Kodachrome, as well as a highly diverting and intelligent use of the various camera illusions it is possible to produce with the aid of modern 16mm. equipment. The obvious zest and pleasure with which the actor producer entered into the creation of this film add immeasurably to its value as a genuine document of personal filming achievement. Examples of carefully planned and executed trick photography follow one another in such rapid succession in the film that the spectator is left time only to gasp. However, these tricks are not executed simply for their own sake, but strictly in accordance with the furtherance of the plot. It must be said that, in the second part of the film, the author does yield slightly to the temptation of attenuating the action somewhat in order to spin out his bag of tricks. But the film as a whole is so delightful that any audience could easily forgive this small shortcoming." Movie Makers, Dec. 1936, 542.
"With Number Three Arrives, John Martin carries on the continuity both of his charming family and of his delightful films of them, so ably introduced by his last year's award winner, A Day with the Young Martins. Here again are the sure feeling for cinematic story technique, the nicely effective angles and the smooth sequencing which belies any need for titles. Added to these deft and familiar abilities of Mr. Martin's work, the current production brings to light a delightful flair for farce comedy by the harassed father and a family terrier rivaling, on a small scale, the best of Hollywood's canine thespians. Once more, Mr. Martin has proved beyond argument that a well planned family film may be of interest to all who see it." Movie Makers, Dec. 1937, 630.
"The film includes shots of the departure of the riders in the early morning mist; the Master of Fox Hounds, Stanley Barratt, leading foxhounds by foot over a wooden bridge; riders and hounds patrolling a covert at Juniper Hill; the training of young hounds after a kill; horses and hounds assembling after the cubbing hunt. Scenes … include the meet in the early morning mist; the hounds by the wooden bridge; the location of the kill. A small crowd watches as a fox that has gone to ground is dug out; after the kill the fox’s body is thrown in the air for the hounds and a rider trains the young hounds. The films reference the same location, crowd (including two dogs, which are not foxhounds) and the same rider training the young hounds. Dufaycolor film of scenes from the Great Missenden Show of 1935. Shots include footage of some of the competitors in a junior show jumping event and the presentation of the prizes afterwards" (EAFA Database).
"On Every Hand, filmed by William L. Zeller, is one of those pictures, not infrequently found in the Ten Best selections, that make one marvel at the producer's infinite patience and deep knowledge of a special field. This is a study of those birds that can be found on every hand in the countryside and in the fields of America but which the average man fails to recognize, or even see, much less lovingly study as does Mr. Zeller. In this finished picture, there are many closeups made in the open of birds and their nests, which represent such a colorful variety of bird life as to give one something of a feeling of awe for the patience that Mr. Zeller must have exercised to catch the scenes. The picture is all in color, which brings a revelation of its own, and the continuity and titles are contrived to make an essentially record picture into good entertainment. For this quality, credit goes chiefly to the extremely well written titles and the editing." Movie Makers, Dec. 1936, 542.
"Sunlight and morning noises, the rich, sweet smell of clover, the hot grain fields at midday and windmills drawing water from the deep earth — these are part of the common life of an Ohio farm that two young girls, Marjean and Mary Elizabeth Headapohl, have put into their film, On the Farm. It is a record as American in feeling as Walderts Pond, even though unconsciously so. Innumerable closeups show the generousness of the earth in Ohio, whether in flowers around the house or in the grain and vegetables of the fields. Day after day, the imponderable clouds drift by. Peas are shelled for dinner; the cows are brought in from the pasture by the collie dog; the farm hands return to the barn after a day of harvesting wheat. There is little more shown, in substance, and presently the film ends. But it leaves one with a conviction that this simple way of life in America cannot easily be changed, and that, as long as people of good hearts make records such as this, we cannot wholly forget that the Republic was founded on the plough." Movie Maker, Dec. 1940, 603-604.
'Amateur filmmaker Dorothy Maxey observes the wildlife in her native Norfolk capturing on Super 8 film a variety of interesting flora and fauna, including at Thompson Common where ponies wade into the pingos and steal the heads from the water violets, and in her own back garden stumbling across wrestling toads. The filmmaker also recalls a story of nursing a poorly mouse following a frosty night by returning home with it to kindly warm him up under the oven grill' (EAFA.org.uk)
"The Ostrich Story by R. D. Charlton, a PSA member of Alexandra Headland, Queensland, Australia. Roy has many past winners to his credit and this film can only add to them with an unusual subject such as this. This 5-minute 8mm film was awarded an Honorable Mention" PSA Journal, Nov. 1971, 42.
"Our Boisterous Bluejays is a remarkable study of bird life, filled with intimate shots that are among the best ornithologic cinematography on record. Mrs. Warner Seely, who produced this film, has become an expert at picturing birds in their natural habitat, and she shows the bluejay at every stage of development." Movie Makers, Dec. 1943, 478.
"Film of the Chow Chow dogs owned, and possibly bred, by Eustace and Eunice Alliott in the mid/ late-1930s. Shot primarily in the gardens of the Alliott house in Amersham" (EAFA Database).
Total Pages: 19
Amateur Cinema