"Journey Through a Day is a beautiful and restful film of a day in a young boy's rural life. The colorful photography by Dale Johnson of Dallas is excellent. He packs a solid day of carefree existence into 17 minutes of entertainment and wishing it were your day" PSA Journal, Nov. 1969, 56.
"Just another day with junior and the usual problems of getting a boy to get out of bed, wash, dress, and finally eat his breakfast as he must get along to school. An opportunity for some of us to relive those long-ago days" PSA Journal, Nov. 1960, 42.
"These Third Avenue kids, see, are playing hide and seek around the front stoops and dark doorways of their native block, when one of them — a little girl — huddles thoughtlessly into the back seat of a parked and beckoning car. Her adventures, when the car is then driven off by a gay young pair of picnickers, comprise the story of Kid-Napped! by Victor Ancona. It is a dramatic story, full of suspense and impending tragedy, but it is one, happily, which refuses ever to take itself too seriously. The young man and his lady pass a bright day in the country with their sandwiches, soda pop and jazz music on a portable radio. The little girl — whom chance dictates shall not be discovered by the picnickers until near the film's end — wanders in happy wonder from flower to fern, from bird song to lakeside. These parallel themes — interspersed with occasional dramatic flashes of a frantic mother — are developed by Mr. Ancona in a suave combination of imaginative camera viewpoints, striking manipulation of outdoor lighting and competent cutting. An 8mm. production, Kid-Napped! eschews, with brilliant selectivity, the unsatisfactory long shot, to present the medium at its best." Movie Makers, Dec. 1944, 494.
"Children and pets are generally lovable and always interesting; but filming them is not a simple task, as many amateurs have found out. Raymond J. Berger, in Lassie Stays Home, accomplishes it with a sure touch and an ease that will be the envy of his fellow filmers. The excellently planned story tells of a lost child who is found by Lassie, the loyal canine family member, after the baby's somewhat older sister hunts her frantically. No adult appears in any of the footage; and remarkably enough, one does not sense the directing mother, just out of camera range. The whole movie goes forward as if the children and Lassie were entirely alone, with the camera miles away. Here is 8mm at its best and here is a film that every amateur would be proud to have made." Movie Makers, Dec. 1945, 494.
Una niña y una mujer van en el automóvil. La niña se queda dormida y comienza a soñar con la historia de la lechera.
A girl and a woman ride a car. The girl falls asleep and begins dreaming of a milkmaid story.
"'Life,' by H. B. Hutchings, given the highest recognition for Home Movies, is the sort of picture that the 16mm camera was made for. It is a day in his son's life and contains many effects which were undoubtedly secured with one of the more modern cameras." American Cinematographer, Dec. 1933, 321, 342.
"This year, Ten Best welcomes a baby picture to its select circle. Out of the large number of personal and family films submitted to the League, Linda represents the ultimate in child movies. Here, in less than ten minutes of running time, unfold some of the high lights of the first few weeks of a baby's life. Following a carefully planned scenario, Richard Fuller shows himself well acquainted with motion picture technique. Lovely settings are accentuated by superb lighting. Pastel pinks and blues, colors intimately connected with the nursery, predominate. Fine cutting, well chosen camera viewpoints, effective use of dolly shots and double exposures all attest to a sound knowledge of cinematic expression. Above all, there is a feeling of quality and good taste. At the advent of a tiny stork, ingeniously controlled by wires, Mr. Fuller begins pacing the floor and lighting one cigarette after the other. Then, the routine of Linda's early days is set forth in charming fashion." Movie Makers, Dec. 1941, 564.
"A family picture built around the young daughter of Ira Radovsky. She is coming into the age when little girls want to go for a walk when things at home are not completely as they would like them. We follow the adventures of this young lady and enjoy every moment of it." PSA Journal, Nov. 1958, 46.
"In Little Geezer, running 400 feet, Theodore Huff, ACL, has produced one of the most able and amusing burlesque film stories of the amateur year, repeating his success of that earlier satiric classic, Hearts of the West. Again he has used, with amazing directorial facility, the neighborhood youngsters as his only actors. Again he has aped, with his own peculiar genius, the threadbare cliches of professional drama, poking fun in his filming as well as his titling. Little Geezer offers fine examples of real cinema, is the sort of thing amateurs can do as well or better than professionals and is delightfully amusing in the process." Movie Makers, Dec. 1932, 561.
"Theodore Huff, ACL, has done it again! That lone wolf producer of Hearts Of The West has paralleled the gorgeous fun of his earlier panning of the purple plains as he takes the gangsters for a ride in Little Geezer. The Big Shot, his lieutenant, Greta Garbage (" — more to be pitied than sniffed at") and Scarface Macaroni are all there, played by the neighborhood kids, no one of them over eleven years old. Through their naively serious acting and his own genius at direction and editing. Mr. Huff has riddled with bursts of laughter the machine gun monarchy of professional filmdom." Movie Makers, Sept. 1932, 398.
"Glen Turner might take a cue from "Gigi" and "Thank Heaven for little girls" with curly hair and their interesting mud pies. With teddy bear and dog, she does for a walk. En route we view the ducks, geese and other farm animals. The trees display their fall wardrobe to add to the delight of a walk in the woods. Soon the dog realizes they have gone too far from home and he goes back for Mother. Soon we return to the little girl asleep admidst the golden leaves. An enjoyable picture of things little girls like to do" PSA Journal, Nov. 1958, 46-47.
Total Pages: 15
Amateur Cinema