"Produced by the Long Beach (Calif.) Cinema Club for its local Community Chest, Because of You is a competent presentation of the various community services offered by the local welfare organizations which receive their support from the Chest. The activities of these agencies, as they aid an unfortunate family to which things seem to happen, are presented in a well-paced manner, without appearing to overemphasize any one agency over the others. The production was well photographed by Lucille Lloyd, capably directed and acted, and is smoothly edited. The narrative, while good, could have been shortened in spots. For a club and community effort, Because of You accomplishes its objective of making its viewers Community Chest conscious." Movie Makers, Dec. 1953, 334.
"Made to support a Community Chest campaign, Behind the Red Feather shows how various social welfare agencies in a community help to forestall juvenile delinquency, care for the aged, the sick and the poor and, in general, make a town a better place to live in. As a connecting link between a necessarily episodic series of sequences, a red feather, the Community Chest symbol, floats into the opening scene of the activities of each agency. Walter Bergmann has recorded this community project with understanding and warmth, and Ralph Bellamy contributed his services in recording on disc an excellently written narrative." Movie Makers, Dec. 1947, 536.
"Jeannie is the little girl in the house where too much of the family income is spent for purposes other than family. With the aid of the court Jeannie is assigned to a Home where she can have the things she needs and toys and playmates. Perhaps we all know the story but each one tells it differently, arriving at a happy ending. The foundation of this club production was a publicity film which it made and donated to the Home" PSA Journal, Nov. 1959, 48.
"Russell Sage Foundation, made by Theodore Huff, ACL, for the members of the staff of Russell Sage Foundation and dedicated to John M. Glenn, retiring General Director, offers an interesting solution of a very difficult cinematic problem. It was desired to present glimpses of the work of the various departments of the Foundation, to include members of the staff of each department and to give the highlights of their achievements under Mr. Glenn's direction. Although the problem was complex, Mr. Huff succeeded in making a smooth and entertaining picture full of cinematic interest." Movie Makers, Dec. 1932, 561.
"Thornwell Orphanage, planned and made by Willis Osborn, is a film study of Thornwell Orphanage, showing the scholastic, industrial and religious training of the youngsters there and presenting a subtle argument for its support. This is a difficult subject because of the problem of selecting significant and coherent action from among the almost endless possibilities. Most welfare films are too discursive and too general in treatment to secure the effect desired. Mr. Osborn has succeeded in avoiding this and has produced a film as coherent and informative as it is well photographed." Movie Makers, Dec. 1932, 560.
"In the film, a young woman receives a letter about her brother's arrival in the army, which prompts her to ask: "What can I do to help in this war?" The film's answer is to give blood, and it proceeds to show the process of the young woman and her father giving blood at the local Red Cross clinic. The entire procedure is shown, including medical examinations and long sequences in the clinic that explain all the parts of the process. Eventually, this vivid color film shows the actor actually giving blood. To provide drama the film shows an alternation between shots of the woman at church and her injured brother resting in a hospital after Dieppe; it soon reveals that he is being treated with blood transfusions, and we can see that he will soon recover. The film ends with a sequence of shots showing the solider walking down a snowy Ottawa street with a cane, returning home. When he sees from a sign in the window that the woman there gave blood, he is touched by her lifesaving contribution. This silent film is thirty minutes long and blends elements of fictional or dramatized scenes with process sequences at the Ottawa Blood Donor Service. Shot in 16mm color film, it is both a vivid and professional-looking production; indeed, it exemplifies both elements of the practical amateur genre (creative engagement with practical issues) and the wartime necessity of the moment" (Tepperman 93).
"Y West Side, the joint production of Robert Coles, ACL, who directed the film, and Charles Coles and Edwin Schwarz, ACL, who photographed it, is a very successful publicity picture for the West Side Y. M. C. A. in New York City. Starting with the social and dormitory facilities of the "Y," the film carries the audience on a tour of gymnasiums, special exercise rooms, roof courts and pools. The abundance of athletic and exercise equipment is shown clearly in sequences of their use, and the carefully planned action throughout the picture maintains interest and continuity. This film is distinguished by excellent photography and by the successful solution of the innumerable problems in handling large scale interiors and group action. Ingenious adaptations of games and exercises were sometimes required in order to fit the scene to the camera field, determined by the exigencies of the space available. The talents of the three producers were so integrated as to make the enterprise an outstanding success." Movie Makers, Dec. 1935, 555.
Amateur Cinema