"In a relatively short period of filming, Raymond J. Berger has mastered a type of photoplay which a great many persons have expressed a desire to make, the story film featuring a child and a pet. His script, a simple and unpretentious recounting of how an invalid child wills herself to walk again, to go to the aid of her injured dog, proves an ideal vehicle for Mr. Berger's young daughter and her handsome collie, Lassie. This 8mm. Kodachrome picture, scored with re-recorded music, is noteworthy for its excellent framing and splendid closeups. Particularly engaging is the sequence, after the accident, showing the mutual recovery of the two stars. Young Miss Berger, considering the limited histrionic ability of a natural child, plays her role with grace and assurance; her crying scenes and the ingenuous frolics with Lassie are unusually credible and well performed. Mr. Berger deserves credit for his planning and fulfillment of a screen play that revolves around two such charming personalities." Movie Makers, Dec. 1946, 486.
"The Making of Canadian Homespun, by Duncan Mac D. Little, ACL, is a distinctly novel cinematographic achievement because it is an al fresco industrial film depicting a process of manufacture that normally is largely performed indoors. In addition, it is a uniquely valuable contribution to folk way records, listing, as it does, in a lovingly made film inventory, the steps involved in the production of homespun cloth by a geographically sequestered population which maintains one of the last stands of homely folk craft on the North American continent. Mr. Little's picture was made in summer in a region lacking facilities for indoor lighting. It compresses seasonal activities into the space of a few days, showing sheep shearing, preparation of the wool and its spinning and weaving. For this purpose, a spinning wheel and loom were set up in the open by the country people of the locality, who cooperated happily with Mr. Little. Not only is this ancient process preserved in an exceptional film record but, at the same time, there are offered many character studies of exceedingly individual French Canadians." Movie Makers, Dec. 1935, 551, 553.
Documentary film chronicling the background and production of Dinosaur Dream (1995), which Sid Laverents made in his late-80s with assistance from his wife, Charlotte.
"In Maxine's Big Moment, William Messner proves that he knows the language of the motion picture, for he tells his tale in true visual terms. No subtitles are used, nor are they needed. This is a small film but a suave one, scarcely more than a vignette, as it recounts the excitement of a teen age girl's first formal dance. In it, the producer has used high key lighting that is eminently suitable in portraying a lovely young girl anticipating and preparing for a party. The choice of softcolor backgrounds adds immensely to the mood of the film, and the imaginative mirror shots in which the young lady pins a corsage to her gown are noteworthy. Fine editing and smooth transitions, in addition to good acting, combine to make a delightful and entertaining home movie." Movie Makers, Dec. 1948, 476.
"May Day Conflict is a well executed and skillfully edited family story film of the conflict created by the opening of the trout season and a flower festival both falling on May first. The central character is a good loser (the husband, of course!), as he accompanies his wife to the flower show after elaborate preparations for his fishing trip. Herbert F. Sturdy has deftly woven into the story pattern light, humorous incidents to provide amusing comedy relief from his fine floral closeup studies. Expert camera handling and smooth transitions lend a semi-professional finish to the picture." Movie Makers, Dec. 1948, 493-494.
The film depicts Mayan rites in 1930's Guatemala along with intertitles describing the destruction of Mayan temples by conquerers and the performance of traditional ceremonies at the steps of churches.
"In producing Mexican Fiestas, the Hiram Percy Maxim Award winner of 1938, Ralph E. Gray has written a triumphant climax to his sympathetic and beautiful studies of Mexican life. Last year, in the Ten Best winner, Primitive Patzcuaro, he trained his camera quietly but observingly on the small scope of a single village. This year, in the dynamic sweep and action of Mexican Fiestas, Mr. Gray has ranged the length and breadth of Mexico to record with amazing vitality the thrilling ceremonies of a people at play. Here is an authentic documentation of religious and quasi religious holiday customs, both pagan and Christian. Here the simple mind of the Indian peasant interprets history and theology in his own colorful and often childlike idiom. Here, in the words of the film's own preface, "brave fireworks still exorcise the Devil; bright costumes do honor to the Diety, and exciting dances revive in antic splendor the ancient folklore of Aztec, Moor and Spanish Christian. To this striking and turbulent subject matter, Mr. Gray has brought a photographic skill which but rarely returned him anything less than perfection. The film's episodes, well edited and shrewdly titled, march smoothly onward to an amazing climax of pageantry and beauty. Important as a document of ethnologic value, entertaining as a drama of people at play, Mexican Fiestas is a worthy winner of the Maxim Award for 1938." Movie Makers, Dec. 1938, 596-597.
"Mexican Silhouette, conceived as a gamble, has grown up to glory. After but a few years of average movie making experience, Clement K. Chase — as with so many — felt an irresistible urge to attempt, in one film, a concentration of all his accumulated skill and experience. He turned to a subject he knew with intimacy and affection, and Mexican Silhouette was the result. It is a splendid educational and general interest study, divided flexibly into three main sections — Mexico, D. F., Mexican Agriculture and Mexican Cities. To these subjects, Mr. Chase has brought a mature photographic skill, marked by tripod steadiness, stimulating compositions and a dramatic feeling for the use of filters. Well titled in the original silent version, the film is now being distributed commercially in both sound and silent editions." Movie Makers, Dec. 1939, 633.
"What would have been an excellent film under any circumstances becomes outstanding as a group production. Produced by the Minneapolis Cine Club, it was originally conceived by William S. Block, carried out under the supervision of G. L. Larson, with Earle E. Ibberson in charge of production, while club president Elmer W. Albinson did the final cutting and editing. All members contributed directly to the project, either in filming or by helping to complete the picture. In the film we accompany two teen-agers, a 4-H boy and girl, on a grand tour of the fair, visiting exhibits, marvelling at the livestock show,standing pop-eyed before the midway spectacles, puzzling over the complexities of modern art, gasping at the fireworks display against the night sky. A running gag furnishes comedy relief, while the wholesome charm of our young guides is revealed in a sympathetic and appealing fashion. The members' filming is consistently competent, and deft editing has made Minnesota State Fair a well integrated and thoroughly enjoyable entertainment." Movie Makers, Dec. 1948, 476, 491.
Total Pages: 29
Amateur Cinema