"Dramatized documentary: Depicts life in the Belgian Congo and French Cameroons." National Archives.
"To make a family film of youngsters that is entertaining to a stranger is quite an achievement, but to make a family picture that is, at the same time, an almost perfect record of the really human qualities of children and parents is a truly notable accomplishment. This is what John Martin has done in his picture, A Day with the Young Martins. His theme is the "from dawn to dusk" story of the Martin family, and he wisely has avoided emphasizing the clock or other obvious methods of holding the picture together. Instead, the story seems to tell itself, and the little episodes that must have been planned, or they could not have been caught with the aid of lighting equipment and camera, have a natural, sincere quality that is very welcome. The picture rates chiefly because of its delightful treatment, but technically it is entirely adequate." Movie Makers, Dec. 1936, 542.
"Dear Boys is a personal motion picture which might have been made in many an American home this past year. Looking about him, C. Manley DeBevoise found his two sons in the Army and his once lovely flower garden changing into a Victory vegetable patch, well tended but mundane. It was from these materials, mixed with imagination and technical competence, that Mr. DeBevoise compiled his film. Mother is discovered (as the picture begins) writing the familiar greeting to her service sons. Her comments during the course of the letter provide the subtitles and the continuity for this attractive record of domestic doings, while Mr. DeBevoise's carefully sequenced scenes tell the story. Dear Boys is simple, sincere and a family film story which any movie maker would be proud to produce — and to own." Movie Makers, Dec. 1943, 477.
"It stars a young boy, named Bill, who writes to his friend Jim, reflecting on their times together the previous summer. Title cards of the boy’s handwritten letter are interspersed with images of their summer highlights, including scenes of fishing, automobile stunts of “Bob King and his Devil Drivers,” and a motorcycle hill climb competition." Chicago Film Archives
"Dear Little Lightbird was entered as an experimental film by Leland Auslender, who also won one of the four top awards in the Class C category. He has a way with color, light and angles, and this talent easily put his film in the Top Ten. It's a story of a little boy born with an incurable disease, and how his three years of life brought into focus all the wonders of nature and this world around us. Perhaps this 18-minute film could be shortened somewhat, but it doesn't seem to matter for the film surrounds you with unusual shots of the simple things most of us miss in the helter-skelter of everyday life" PSA Journal, Oct. 1968, 49.
"Family footage of two children and a toddler running around a garden naked. Includes a shot of the older children sat in the undergrowth and paddling in a pond with a man who has his trousers rolled up" (NWFA Online Database).
"Staria Zimmerman, that charming Milwaukee minx who made her big time bow in The Boss Comes to Dinner, a 1944 Ten Best winner, has done it again in The Dizzy Top. As the impish daughter of a winsome but widowed mother, she pulls the strings in this "merryonette" show which maneuver her pretty parent into the arms of a new and handsome husband. The quite willing victim of these arch designs is, in the film, the proprietor of a swank hat shop, and it is in this bright locale that the majority of the action takes place. Patricia and Ryne Zimmerman — the producers and supporting players — have a sharp and genuine sense of farce comedy. Their lighthearted plot dances forward as gaily as the suave settings they have contrived for it. Their incidents are antic in their absurdity, their timing crisp and delicately controlled. These qualities are, to be sure, aided immeasurably by Mistress Staria, who carries off each new comic conceit with impudent but charming assurance. Mr. Zimmerman's technical execution in their latest film leaves little to be desired in competence and imagination. There is, to a heightened degree, the same warmth and brilliance in his lighting which marked The Boss. His camera viewpoints are effective and varied, cutting one into the next with precision and pace. Show pieces of cinematic imagination enrich the production, like sugar plums in a Christmas pudding. The Dizzy Top, the Zimmerman's first 16mm. effort, is a handsome step forward along their chosen course of lighthearted comedy." Movie Makers, Dec. 1946, 486.
A husband and wife hold different opinions about who is to become Sheriff. The wife roots for the Democratic candidate "Preacher" Slaughter, while the husband wants to re-elect Republican candidate Sheriff Carver. Both parties bribe the husband and wife for their absentee ballot. notes from CFA
"In spite of the almost insurmountable difficulties in using feet to portray much of the action and most of the emotion in a movie, E. H. Sparks has managed to make Doghouse Blues completely comprehensible. A delightful farce of a bibulous fisherman, the story makes judicious use of the angler's big toe to denote thirst, hunger and any other emotion which might master a man on a solo weekend. Colorful scenes of inlets and bays, as well as attractive sequences of fishing craft, imbue the film with a flavor of authenticity. In satiric repetition, his indignant wife trails the tippling angler to the secluded spot where his boat rides at anchor, there to find him "taking the long count." A rude awakening for the errant husband and an eminently suitable final scene close the picture." Movie Makers, Dec. 1946, 471.
"Family scenes in a garden in Stretford. Includes footage of a woman doing a forward roll in front of the camera; interior shots of a baby being bathed and a woman sitting in the living room with a dog" (NWFA Online Database).
Total Pages: 36
Amateur Cinema