"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.
"Having slept the night beside a haystack, hapless travelling salesman Hercules Smith (Elmer Quane) awakes with his trusty canine companion Snapjack (Clovis Bige). Approaching a nearby house, past a man affixing a 'No Hawkers' sign to the gate, Hercules unsuccessfully attempts to sell a vacuum cleaner to the lady of the house, but manages to secure a position as a general hand. But each of his tasks end miserably with a series of unfortunate incidents involving cars, bees and unruly children. To make matters worse, Hercules is mocked at every turn by an elderly lady, who hands him instruction booklets and pamphlets for every occasion, from a copy of the highway code to a beekeeping manual and a guide to playing checkers. Fed up, Hercules retires to the back of the house for tea, but is constantly interrupted by the family's petulant cook, who deals out a similarly rough treatment to a prospective kitchenhand, Krimhild Colquhoun (Joan Bulleid). Setting a booby trap for the cook, the pair run off arm in arm, collecting their paycheques at the front door. Sitting in a field, a series of gags leads to an embrace, as the elderly lady delivers a final pamphlet: 'Advice for Young Mothers'" (EAFA Database).
"Within the brief confines of Lady on June Street, Leo Caloia presents a satisfying example of the personality film worked out in story form. Faced with the common problem of family filming, he has resolved the riddle with imagination, humor and marked cinematic ability. The "lady" in question is pictured as a lazy, luxury loving wife, spiritually eager to be the best of helpmates, but physically enslaved to satins and sweetmeats. Dozing, as she regards with languorous ambition an advertisement for homemade shortcake, she dreams vividly of a sweet but unaccustomed success with pot and pan. Crash! In her dream, the lady slips, and her magnificent shortcake slithers across the kitchen linoleum. Bump! In reality, she has rolled sleepily from her couch, to awake with a thud on the living room floor. The film fades swiftly as she hurries the tops off canned beans and sauerkraut." Movie Makers, Dec. 1939, 632.
Comedy about a married couple who appear to have overslept once again.
Filmmaker Émile Gallet plays dual roles in this film as a antique dealer offering a promotion for his store's thirteenth year, and a customer who attempts to cash in on the prize. The film is spliced in two to allow Gallet to perform against himself, and features hand-written intertitles in both French and English.
"The Leucocyte Story, besides being a Ten Best winner, was also awarded the MPD Humorous Film Award and the MPD Sound film Award. It is a little gem of animation that is universal in its appeal and expertly done. The symbols depicted by the animated clay globs are a joy to watch. Without sound the film would lose fully half of its appeal" PSA Journal, Sept. 1966, 34.
"Film features two stories: The Fly - in which a man, who is reading a book, is bothered by a fly; and The Phone - in which a woman, who is painting and then taking a bath, is bothered by a ringing phone" Archives of Ontario.
"The Line combines serious commentary with humorous visuals to tell us that in man's lifetime his joys (above the line) just about equal his sorrows (below the line.)" PSA Journal, Sept. 1966, 35.
"Young girl plays house, cares for doll, irons doll clothes." oldfilm.org
"The Little Monastery by the Side of the Road by Peter A. Kransz, a PSA member of Niles, Ill. Peter has made this corny, but very clever, shorty film that will have everyone chuckling and wondering why they didn't think of it! This 3-minute 16mm film won for him a Ten Best medal and the Humorous Film Award" PSA Journal, Nov. 1970, 38.
Total Pages: 23
Amateur Cinema