"Stanley Woolf's film tour of this fascinating island presents an entertaining record, in a pleasantly casual manner, of an American visitor's impressions of the Black Republic. The street scenes and detailed studies of its artisans at work provide engrossing fare, while the voodoo dances at the climax make an exciting film experience. Technically, Haiti — The Black Republic is a wise and workmanlike production. From the short period and superficial observations of a tourist's visit, one cannot, regrettably, ask for a great deal more. The haunting subject matter, however, prompts a fuller answer to such a demand — someday." Movie Makers, Dec. 1950, 467.
"In the Home Movie field, Lawrenson submitted a fine document of a day with his little 2-year-old daughter. The main portion is given over to a day at the seashore. But he gives reasons for everything he does even to going home. He shows a storm coming up and after the family has arrived safely at home, the little looks out of the window while the raindrops patter on the windowpane." American Cinematographer, Jan. 1936, 24.
"Havana, 400 ft., 16 mm., made by Herman Danz, is outstanding among the recent travel and vacation films rather more for its photographic quality than for its continuity. The film presents Havana, its harbor, street scenes and architecture. Mr. Danz has avoided almost all of the amateur's pitfalls, for the film contains no instances of wobbly "pamming," [sic] jerky shots or unfortunate camera angles, encountered so often in films of foreign cities. Even more important, the treatment is impersonal throughout and purely intimate shots were either not taken or were edited out to be included in a family reel. Thus the film is the type that strangers and friends can enjoy as much as a professional treatment of the same subject. Filters used with panchromatic film brought out cloud formations hanging over the picturesque harbor and emphasized the colorful architectural detail of the buildings." Movie Makers, Dec. 1930, 758-759.
"Hazards, which won the MPD Club Film Award, centers around a man who would rather be by himself than entertain friends who are about to call. He commands his wife to tell them he is in Montreal, but by story's end he finds deception can be a rather embarrassing thing" PSA Journal, Sept. 1965, 51.
"A scientific expedition to Mexico for a study of the animals, reptiles and birds. Our visit for the most part is in the rural or wilderness areas but we do get into the market place and we see some of the ancient ruins. A pictorial review of a great many of species of wild life which we rarely see as many of us are afraid to visit the habitat of those creatures. The close-up photography puts the small creatures almost on our noses" PSA Journal, Nov. 1959, 48.
"Het is Lente in Holland!, by Esther Cooke, may well be one of the most beautiful and perceptive travel studies of this (or any) contest year. For here is no banal tourist mish-mash of the usual wooden shoes, windmills and cheese markets; we find in their stead a literate and respectful account of a small country with its old and cherished travel conditions. Technically sparkling and esthetically pleasing, It is Spring in Holland is so deceptively simple that each viewer is likely to assume that he could easily do likewise. But the skill which Mrs. Cooke has lavished on each succeeding scene should not be taken lightly. Her exposures are exact, creating color which seems magically luminescent; her viewpoints are knowingly selected to create fresh and revealing compositions, and her editing has blended the whole into a travel study of exceptional poise and beauty" PSA Journal, Jan. 1955, 48-49.
"Louis Dishotsky and Arthur Rosenthal have put together in High Card Goes an entertaining variation on the travel record film. A definite story line replaces the usual slight continuity device. A pair of tickets for a Florida trip are won on a radio quiz show, but since both parents and two children cannot go, the mother and the father draw cards, high card winning. Wifey tops her mate's king with an ace and takes off for Florida, with the older child. The luckless husband is left to tend the baby and the house. While the acting is fine and the production is technically competent, the pictorial-dramatic pace is rather slow. Tighter editing is indicated." Movie Makers, Dec. 1951, 411-412.
Edited film "chronicling an airstream caravan through Central America (Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, Costa Rica). Film includes many views of scenic landscapes, mountain roads, cities and villages, ruins (Kabah, Uxmal, Dzibichaltun, Chichen Itza) and historic landmarks and airstream trailers tavelling or in recreational vechicle parks. In Guatemala they visit the villages Solola and Panajachel near Lake Atitlan and and town of Antigua. Scenes also include marketplaces, churches and chuch-life, a woman weaving, local crafts, washing clothing at public fountains" Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Museum.
"Item is an audio-visual production of Dr. Willinsky's Hellenic cruise near Greece with his wife, Sadie. Production contains footage of the ancient ruins and other landmarks they visited, including sites in Mycenae, Pergamum, Athens, Troy and Gallipoli. In the form of a travelogue, music and Dr. Willinsky's commentary accompanies images for about the first 30 minutes. The remainder of the production is mute." Ontario Jewish Archives.
Total Pages: 37
Amateur Cinema