"The mind and heart of Lydia are portrayed symbolically in smooth-flowing, single-framed drawings in this psychological study of a woman. A different film for the devotee of the experimental approach to motion pictures" PSA Journal, Oct. 1963, 42.
"The 'prize winner' of the title of course was just a goat who had pulled down for its owner a ten-dollar bill as a prize at the county fair, a sum which its owner promptly had sunk in the nearest bucolic palace of chance. The committee disregarded any possessive tendencies of its own in the goat line and decided the entrant really did know his onions when it came to making pictures. But of course every one even on the fringe of the amateur world knows J. Kinney Moore is one of the tops among the amateurs." American Cinematographer, Jan. 1938, 28.
"Racing Stars tells the story of a contest of boating enthusiasts in the Star class of sail boats. The Star is used primarily for racing, is about 23 feet long, has a keel with a 900 pound weight at the bottom, and carries only two sails, a main and a jib. Standards assure similarity of boats, of which there are about 5000 in all parts of the world. An animated diagram shows how Star boats follow the prescribed course in a contest An excellent commentary with superb photography keeps this picture moving with never a let-up, and any landlubber can smell the sea air by the time the picture ends" PSA Journal, Sept. 1964, 50.
"Rainbow Fantasy, in the words of Charles C. Hammack, is "an attempt to produce — not a conventional travelog — but more a story of adventure, a hiking adventure to what is probably one of the least visited of our national monuments, Rainbow Bridge, in southeastern Utah." In achieving this goal, Mr. Hammack has been largely and creditably successful. For him and his young wife, Rainbow Bridge takes on the aura of a lost horizon, a Shangri La protected from the outside world by the blistering desert heat and the brutal desert rocks. He brings this overtone of feeling to his film, both through his imaginative camera treatment of the subject and the intentionally dramatic acting of the two travelers. Mr. Hammack's is a new name in Ten Best competition, but it is one which we believe will be heard again."Movie Makers, Dec. 1943, 478.
"It takes a good deal of ability to treat fishing cinematically. It takes still more ability to approach the subject with humor and yet avoid the ludicrous. O. L. Tapp has bypassed both pitfalls in his Rainbow Trail, a beautifully paced, short film that catches the fun of all fishing trips but still makes its point that the angler's life is not all sweetness and light. Mr. Tapp precedes the body of his film with several short shots and titles, all of which indicate a candid view of a fisherman's veracity. The succeeding footage illustrates his thesis, as he (thin, awkward) and a companion (stout, capable) undergo the rigors of stream fishing. That a reviewer can sum up the characteristics of the two men in two adjectives is an indication of the excellent casting and direction which distinguish Rainbow Trail." Movie Makers, Dec. 1948, 491.
"Red Sand, a carefully edited study of bull fighting, is another reel, which will run just over 200 feet selected from the 1000 feet that was shot." Movie Makers, Feb. 1933, 50.
"Among the films awarded honorable mention is Remote Control, by Louis W. Bleser, ACL, which gives a fine cinematic exposition of the activities of a train despatcher, by means of an unusually well equipped miniature railway system. Here the technical problem is especially important, calling for closeup studies of the first quality, the aim being so to light and photograph the subject that there would be a semblance of realism. In effecting this result, the use of well chosen titles and fine editing played no small part. Such a film as this upholds the maxim that "cinematics begin at home." " Movie Makers, Dec. 1933, 522.
"The story, older than the craft of lobster fishing, of a ten year old boy earning his own first few pennies is told beautifully and sensitively in Riches from the Sea, by T. J. Courtney. As simple and human as the life of those it pictures, this film captures the spirit of the young fisher boy as he goes about his work of baiting and dropping lobster pots. They are his own, just given by his father. The money he makes from selling the lobsters he catches, some of which he boils on the beach, is also his own. Finally, when the last one is purchased by tourists along the dusty road and the boy races to the village, clutching his coins, to buy the coveted store window toy, the picture swells to its climax, fully equal to the importance of the occasion in the youngster's life. Lovely angles and expert composition bring beauty in black and white to the photography, and the acting, by Philip Boutilier and his little sister Lorraine, of Seabright, Nova Scotia, is unaffected and agreeable. This photoplay illustrates how completely the locale and life of an interesting community can be conveyed by threading it on a simple story of human nature." Movie Makers, Dec. 1938, 597.
"Lovers of boats and devotees of movie making alike will probably never see enough of Rochester Race, produced by Walter F. Chappelle jr. in the summer of 1952. For this picture is one of the most complete and authentic records of big-league yacht racing that has been produced to date. For big league indeed was the 72 foot yawl Escapade, owned by Wendell Anderson of the Detroit Yacht Club and sailing as scratch boat in the Rochester point-to-point race westward to Hamilton, Ont., eastward to Stony Point Light, and then back to the Rochester inlet. And big league too was Mr. Chappelle's detailed coverage of this grind, as the proud beauty — with a crew of fourteen and 2630 square feet of working sail area — barreled through heavy seas, slatted and drifted in the calms — but came home by 38 seconds the winner. Working under difficult (and often dangerous) conditions, the producer nevertheless achieved a variety and quality of scenes which are amazing. His handling of side or back lighting, as a big Genoa or spinnaker jib arched out from the Escapade, creates many moments of breath-taking beauty. With Rochester Race Mr. Chappelle has proved beyond the cavil of superstitious yachtsmen that a fine movie may be made on a fine racing craft — and yet still win the race." Movie Makers, Dec. 1953, 332-333.
"Al Schmidt's Sail Fishing is a well edited and engagingly pleasant presentation of a theme that might easily get out of hand. Mr. Schmidt has covered all aspects of an exciting sport, including the rarely mentioned sharks. However, the greatest virtue of Sail Fishing is not the film itself but the accompanying narrative, which is delivered calmly and with a good deal of humor. Mr. Schmidt has proved that sharks are exciting in their own right, instead of as a backdrop for a babbling and frenetic narrator." Movie Makers, Dec. 1949, 471.
Total Pages: 14
Amateur Cinema