"Émile Gallet, ACL, a man of rare talents and infinite patience, treated us to a showing the other day of his 16mm. color cartoon, The Legend of St. Nicholas, which, with a six year interruption by the war, has been in the making since 1938. Based on an old French folk song of the 12th century, the cartoon relates the fairy tale adventures of three little children, a wicked butcher and kindly St. Nicholas." Movie Makers, Sept. 1949, 327.
"The tranquil countryside of east Lancashire belies its sometimes turbulent history, and Pendle Hill, overlooking the area, is to this day associated with the infamous witch trials of 1612. In this short colour film by amateur filmmaker Kenneth Prior, we visit the locations of the notorious events, in a county that saw more of an upsurge in supposed witchcraft activity than any other in the north." (BFI Player)
"This picture, telling a dramatic story of a mysterious curse hovering over a stretch of lonely beach, was produced in Kodachrome and runs 400 feet." Movie Makers, Dec. 1939, 614.
"The Legend of San San Ku was a practically unanimous choice as winner of the top award with its story of a Japanese legend. If the credits were to be removed from the beginning of this film, it would be hard to believe that it was not made in Japan. It was a very ambitious production for a crew of amateurs to undertake, and they came through with flying colors. Here's 20 minutes of Japan that is delightful to experience" PSA Journal, Oct. 1968, 48.
"A delightful filming of the nursery story in which mother, daughter, auntie, and the family collie do the parts. Instead of the usual home movies we so often see, the Wolnezs have captured the family on film in a story that will delight all who see it, young and old. This will be blown up to 16mm and included in the Package" PSA Journal, Oct. 1962, 34.
"David Bradley, the dynamic heart of Willow Films, producers of Macbeth, has behind him a long and amazing record of outstanding dramatic pictures. Among these are his productions of The Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens; Emperor Jones, by Eugene O'Neill, and Peer Gynt, by Henrik Ibsen. His Macbeth is the greatest of them all. And in a sense, this moving evocation of the brooding Shakespearian tragedy is the end product of them all — since, in it, Mr. Bradley's creative and cinematic abilities have come fully and splendidly of age. The character of this brilliant achievement may perhaps best be illumined by Mr. Bradley's own words from his plans for the film. "We realized clearly," he has written, "that the strength of our Macbeth must be found in stimulating cinematic treatment, portrayed with such angular camera compositions as to suggest the twisted, supernatural aspects of the drama. We planned our lighting for harsh contrasts and textures, so that, on occasion, the brooding menace of cold, murky stone could almost be felt. For our Macbeth was to be, above all, a movie, depending on atmosphere more than acting, 'punch' more than pomp, for its ultimate success or failure." That it has been success, not failure, is rewardingly the case." Movie Makers, Dec. 1947, 534, 536.
"Mag the Hag" is a 1925 amateur fiction film shot and edited by Hiram Percy Maxim (1869-1936), founder of the Amateur Cinema League. It is one of the earliest amateur fiction films shot on 16mm in Northeast Historic Film's collections. It features Maxim's daughter, Percy Maxim Lee, in the lead role of Percy Proudfoot. oldfilm.org
"In The Magic City, Virginia Rodarmor shows a warm and winning appreciation of a child's love for fairy tales. After a delightful opening scene in which Mother pantomimes the end of a bedtime story to her three young ones, we see them being tucked away for the night. The film then pictures the children enacting, in a dream, the tale their mother has just related. A regrettable lack of steady camera support is offset by the sensitive unfolding of the story, keeping it unerringly on a level of pure fantasy. A delightful and characteristic conceit is the sequence in which the witch is transformed into a pure white cat — complete with miniature black mask and peaked hat. The role is played by the family pet with superb and feline aplomb. The Magic City is a rewarding adventure into the difficult realm of motion picture fantasy." Movie Makers, Dec. 1948, 495.
"a legend of the origin of a Druid’s Circle near Matlock which goes by that name" (HMHT 1933: 335).
"Story of murder during a treasure hunt." Movie Makers, Nov. 1933, 475.
Total Pages: 4
Amateur Cinema