"To love a place so well that you can film it so well that the result becomes commercially sought is not the happy fortune of every movie amateur. Waldo E. Austin's Richmond Under Three Flags was paid for by the Morris Plan Bank of Virginia, in Richmond, and is distributed by the Virginia Conservation Commission. Here, a man of culture and a filmer of exceptional care and refinement has given us his own home, lovingly and interestingly presented, with a happy quota of cinematic ornaments. The pace of this accomplishment is leisurely, as was the Old South, yet its manner is modern, as is the new Richmond. In the title wordings, Mr. Austin is especially fortunate, avoiding banality on the one hand and '"fine writing" on the other, with just enough rhetoric to give the flavor of one of the country's most rhetorical centers. The interior scenes of public buildings have been accomplished with an apparent effortlessness that conceals a great deal of effort. Here is the publicity film in its most suave expression." Movie Makers, Dec. 1937, 627-628.
"Misdirected medical research, with gruesome and very exciting consequences, is the basis of the plot of The Scalpel, a photoplay produced by Richard H. Lyford, with the aid of a group of boys and girls of high school age. The plot is extravagant, the story is rather too filled with amazing action, and there is not a doubt that the melodrama as a whole puts too great a burden on the acting ability of a group of young people, even though they are surprisingly able. Nevertheless, here is an amateur made thriller of the Frankenstein and werwolf tradition that really sends chills chasing down your spine. The transition of the unfortunate doctor into a demented and abnormal creature involved makeup that is really astonishing outside of a theatrical studio. It can't be said that the handling of the episode is any less convincing in this amateur production than are the same undertakings in the best Hollywood films of this nature. In addition to being really successful in its object, this picture offers some excellent technical work and very competent management of a large cast." Movie Makers, Dec. 1936, 550-551.
A theatrical-dance version of Snow White performed at the Blue Hill Country Club in coastal Maine.
"Three Wishes is a fantasy, done by Earl L. Cochran with a delightful touch of originality. The story is told in footage that is relatively brief, yet clever editing and planning make it thoroughly complete. Here we have the familiar legend of the fortunate mortal who is given exactly three wishes by a supernatural power — and what happens when these three wishes are granted. The feat that Mr. Cochran accomplished was to tell such a story humorously and effectively, but without resort to complicated camera trickery. Except for one double exposed scene of the inevitable jinni which is evoked by rubbing a silver teapot (and this is a very good shot, too!) the film tells its story with straight cinematography. While the interior and exterior technique of scene recording, including a shot of an auction, was completely adequate, the outstanding feature of this film is its story telling quality, accomplished by careful cutting. An excellent performance was given by the single lead character of the photoplay, while the brief appearance of the jinni was very expertly handled." Movie Makers, Dec. 1940, 600.
"A witch who tires of her venomous role decides to transmit her characteristics to the soul of a cat. In this utterly charming film, William A. Thomas shows that he understands this soul perfectly — in both its winsome and its wilder aspects. With inexhaustible patience, he has recorded all the mischievous doings of a lively kitten that finally sees the light of love and casts off the witch's spell — i.e., the cat has kittens. Mr. Thomas's staging of the witch scenes — a role played with relish by Olive Thomas — is eerie and effective, while his sequences on the satanic feline are done with amused affection. The Witch Cat will appall those who "can't bear the beasts," delight those who adore them." Movie Makers, Dec. 1949, 455.
"…a legend of Merlin set locally. Everything was done, with the exception of the laboratory work, by members of the society at a cost of about £20. The picture runs for twenty minutes" (Anon 1927, 50).
Total Pages: 4
Amateur Cinema