"Item is a film taken by Dr. Willinsky of a trip to Rome, Italy. In the form of a travelogue, footage of landmarks, ruins and the local population are interspersed with captions that were added in by Dr. Willinsky to provide information about the country's history and culture. Included are shots of the Pantheon, the Colosseum, a Roman market, the Appian Way and dinner at a Roman restaurant. Dr. Willinsky's wife, Sadie, is occassionally spotted in the footage with travel companions who are probably relatives or family friends." Ontario Jewish Archives.
"Glimpses of Rural Hungary was the first film ever made by Elizabeth Rearick but its excellence must be credited to more than beginner's luck. It represents a willingness to follow instructions carefully and an ability to compose scenes as they are selected. The picture contains a charming record of the people and customs of Hungary, but capturing this was secondary, for Miss Rearick planned the film to be principally a record of folk dances. Most unusually accurate exposure and focusing make the film outstanding in its technical aspects. Clear, crisp, steady pictures inevitably do a great deal to present a subject in a delightful way. One of the remarkable features of the film was the rock steadiness of the camera, although Miss Rearick did not use a tripod at any time. The sequencing is worked out well and, although the film is intended for use in physical education work, it has a tremendous general interest value. The entire finished product is one of which an experienced filmer might well be proud." Movie Makers, Dec. 1933, 500.
"Gold for the excellent trick work in its dream sequence in which a young boy imagines, in a neatly feathered "balloon" above his head, the adventures he is about to have in the forest" PSA Journal, Sept. 1966, 36.
"a sogg. lungh. norm." Feature fiction film
"La grande casa, realizzato da Guido Pallaro, Cesco Cocco, Fernando de Marzi, soggetto di Giulio Fracarro, operatore Antonio Schiavinotto, interpreti Livia Lauri, Otello Toso, Lia Zanolla, Ario Chiarin, Luisa Sironi, aiuto Giorgio Pomerri. II film prodotto dalla Sezione Cinematografica del GUF di Padova che nelle prove precedenti ha dimostrato di possedere un buon numero di elementi volonterosi e di sicure possibilità, risente nel suo complesso della bontà della organizzazione; e questo un elemento da tener presente, perché mostra che ove alla buona organizzazione si venga ad aggiungere una piu persuasiva forza artistica, il gruppo Padovano potrà raggiungere risultati cospicui. Il difetto della Grande Casa sta appunto nella mancanza di forza interiore. Il tema prescelto, la costruzione della Casa dell'assistenza, non è stato svolto in uno scenario organico e provvisto di elementi atti a permettere una realizzazione più serrata e convincente; invece la narrazione è un po' preoccupata, lenta e dispersiva. Comunque il film non manca di momenti felici, di qualche buona descrizione ambientale, di sobrietà interpretativa; cosi pure l'assenza di retorica e un elemento da non trascurarsi e che torna a vantaggio della produzione."
"The Great House (La grande casa), by Guido Pallaro, Cesco Cocco, Fernando de Marzi, subject by Giulio Fracarro, cameraman Antonio Schiavinotto, actors Livia Lauri, Otello Toso, Lia Zanolla, Ario Chiarin, Luisa Sironi, assistant Giorgio Pomerri. The film produced by the Padua GUF Cinematographic Section, which in previous tests has demonstrated that it possesses a good number of willing elements and certain possibilities, suffers in its entirety from the virtue of the organization; and this is an element to keep in mind, because it shows that where good organization is added to a more persuasive artistic force, the Paduan group can achieve significant results. The defect of The Great House is precisely in its lack of inner strength. The theme chosen, the construction of the House of assistance, was not carried out in an organic scenario nor was it provisioned with elements to allow a more tight and convincing direction; instead the narrative is a little worried, slow and scattered. However, the film does not lack apt moments, of some good environmental description, of interpretative sobriety; so also the absence of rhetoric is an element not to be neglected and that returns to the advantage of the production."
—Il ventuno 28 (Review of the G.U.F. of Venice), May 1935
"Family scenes in the garden at Greenbank, Keswick - the children dance, do somersaults, skip and perform for parents and grandparents." (NWFA Online Database)
"Amateur stage play directed by Roger Clapp and starring Dorothy Stebbins." Northeast Historic Film.
"The familiar plight of a boy who disappears just before his music lesson is the simple springboard launching The Great Man Hunt. The subsequent adventures of the older brother and a reluctant pal who search for the errant youngster build into a chase sequence (on the teen age level) that is soundly representative of basic movie techniques. In developing this theme, Donald Volkman set himself many a difficult exposure problem — notably in shots of the boys aboard a trolley car and in wooded areas with sunlight slanting through tall trees. His solution of these problems is satisfying in every case. Further, Mr. Volkman's cross cutting in the chase sequences indicates intelligent study of professional masters of this technique. A swift climax is presented amusingly as the music teacher apprehends the boy who, wearing only a pair of swimming trunks, tucks a violin under his chin and proceeds to play his lesson at the edge of a lake." Movie Makers, Dec. 1949, 455.
"Green Christmas is a seven-minute gift from Roy Martin of Annandale, Va., done to the tune of Stan Freberg's recording of the same name. Clever animation and a wide use of imagination make this almost-too-long film quite entertaining. You'll like this version of how commercial Christmas can get. It's in glorious Christmas color" PSA Journal, Nov. 1969, 57.
"A delightful film of the home is A Greene Christmas, produced by Mildred Greene. Here is a record of a domestic Christmas that may well serve as an exemplar to other movie makers who are tempted to wander far afield. No startling new stunts in technique or effects of continuity are displayed, yet the film is so homelike, pleasant and sincere that it commands recognition as an achievement. Naturally, however, all departments which contribute to the completion of the film are more than adequately handled. The interior lighting, which resulted in perfectly exposed color shots in the familiar home settings, is noteworthy. Special recognition should be accorded the successful, well exposed shots of the subjects out of doors at night in one sequence. All the actors, members of her immediate family and friends, including the producer, were naturally and pleasantly shown, but the palm for outstanding characterization must go to Miss Greene's mother, who played the part of herself in a most delightful and unaffected way. The preparation of the color titles for this film deserves special mention because of their perfect exposure, fine backgrounds and outstanding arrangement of metal script letters. (Miss Greene tells about making A Greene Christmas in Stretching Christmas, in this number of Movie Makers.)" Movie Makers, Dec. 1939, 609.
"Ralph E. Gray's 1939 entry, Guatemala, the Glorious, is another of those studies of Central American lands for which this fine filmer is noted. No less an ethnologist than a movie maker, Mr. Gray has an insatiable curiosity which always runs to the unusual and striking folkways of the countries he records in Kodachrome. He has found these folkways in Guatemala, as he has found them before in Mexico, and he knows the trick of making them interesting, by a most intelligent interplay of distant, medium and close views. He has footage of the mysterious ceremony at Chichicastenango which has not been obtained before, as he filmed the interior of the church for the first time. Mr. Gray's editing and titling bear evidences of haste, without which his entry would have won higher rating, but, in spite of these, it maintains his high standard of fascinating subject matter expertly presented." Movie Makers, Dec. 1939, 634.
Total Pages: 39
Amateur Cinema