"Beach Holiday, an 8mm. story in Kodachrome, deserves high praise because of its smooth and interesting treatment of material that is directly within the reach of every movie maker. Made by Raymond O'Connell, this subject is a fine example of natural continuity, done in a simple, straightforward manner. The interior shots, which show the family getting up in the morning, their planning and preparation for a day at the beach and, at the end of the film, their return home, afford excellent examples of good exposure and technical work on 8mm. interior scenes. Many of the transitions are well planned, notably a clever shot which shows the final packing of the picnic hamper at home. Its cover is raised in the kitchen, so that the hamper fills the entire frame. The cover is then lowered, revealing a beach scene in the background. The outdoor work gives an excellent exposition of a day at the beach, complete with swimming, sports and boardwalk amusements." Movie Makers, Dec. 1937, 628.
"Produced by the Long Beach (Calif.) Cinema Club for its local Community Chest, Because of You is a competent presentation of the various community services offered by the local welfare organizations which receive their support from the Chest. The activities of these agencies, as they aid an unfortunate family to which things seem to happen, are presented in a well-paced manner, without appearing to overemphasize any one agency over the others. The production was well photographed by Lucille Lloyd, capably directed and acted, and is smoothly edited. The narrative, while good, could have been shortened in spots. For a club and community effort, Because of You accomplishes its objective of making its viewers Community Chest conscious." Movie Makers, Dec. 1953, 334.
"Shows an expedition up Mount Grenville at the head of Bute Inlet" British Columbia Archives.
This film was produced in the late 1930s.
Beep Beep is a quickie little cutie that deals with the concern of a proud Cadillac owner when, at 120 miles an hour, a little Nash Rambler begins to go around him. If you recall the popular song by the same name, you know the outcome" PSA Journal, Sept. 1966, 35.
"When the schooner yacht Enchantress put out from San Pedro for a five weeks' marlin fishing cruise in the Gulf of Lower California, fortunately James H. McCarthy was on board with camera, Kodachrome and a filming plan. The result was Before the Wind, as happy a movie yarn of a pleasure cruise as we have ever seen. A spirit of jollity and a general good time pervade this chronicle, which is adequately strung on the thread of a series of entries in the ship's log of the Enchantress. This casual continuity is entirely sufficient, for each episode is beautifully sequenced, and the whole film reflects a consistent happy go lucky holiday spirit. Exquisite shots of the schooner in translucent California Gulf waters, numerous studies of ship life, handsomely lighted interior views in cabins and engine room are all technical accomplishments in this picture. The sequences of marlin fishing and of clam digging on the Mexican shore are gems of good film planning and good cutting. The movie is presented with an intelligently planned musical accompaniment that really fits the film, but it is the natural handling of sequences of people on a carefree sea vacation that makes this picture superb entertainment." Movie Makers, Dec. 1940, 577.
After celebrating his fourth wedding anniversary, a man becomes obsessed with building a homemade weapon of mass destruction. The man's efforts reach a breakthrough after the couple celebrates their fifth anniversary.
"Produced several years before the historic Stonewall uprising for LGBT rights in 1969, director Nikolai Ursin's gently-activist short Behind Every Good Man (c. 1967) provides an illuminating glimpse into the life of an African-American trans woman. In strong contrast to the stereotypically negative and hostile depictions of transgender persons as seen through the lens of Hollywood at the time, the subject of Ursin's independent film is rendered as stable, hopeful and well-adjusted. The resulting intimate portrait serves as a rare cultural artifact of transgender life and African-American life in the U.S. at the mid-century," UCLA Film & Television Archive.
"Paul Thompson's Behind the Bale would be an amazing performance for a large studio, equipped with many facilities and numerous staff members, and this is true by reason of the exceedingly careful collaboration between the film editor and the comment writer. For a small producer of industrial pictures, Behind the Bale is a triumph in the technique of post recording, as well as a beautifully made picture that would stand on its own feet without narration and with relatively few titles. A Northwest brewer wishes to make it clear that the quality of hops has much to do with the quality of beer. Therefore, Mr. Thompson shows us the Yakima (Wash.) Valley briefly and then gets down to the special crop which the film pictures. We follow hops through planting, growing, picking and baling, in a Kodachromatic exposition that has rare beauty, and we end with four men enjoying the beer of Mr. Thompson's client. In the entire course of this fine piece of cinematography, there is a wizardry of cutting the film to fit the narration — and the reverse — that produces exposition timed with scene in a fashion that would do credit to the best industrial filmers anywhere." Movie Makers, Dec. 1941, 564.
"To produce a clear explanation of just how the modern dial telephone works is a task that would tax any movie maker's ability, or even the united capabilities of any two filmers. Yet, when Kenneth Bloomer and Robert Orr. jr., pooled their movie making and telephone engineering knowledge to make Behind the Dial, they produced one of the most competent technical films that Movie Makers staff has ever seen. Clear, flawless photography, combined with a script that was worked out with infinite care, makes the story interesting and complete. Particularly effective are the sequences of the operation of the automatic machinery of the dial systems, in which shots of the encased mechanisms dissolve into scenes of the same mechanisms after the cases have been removed. The camera achieves the effect of an X-ray in revealing what actually happens within a maze of machinery to make the dial system possible. The film represents a tremendous amount of labor and planning, for much of the equipment shown had to be filmed at the telephone office late at night when the traffic was very light. This is a documentary film of both educational and entertainment value." Movie Makers, Dec. 1937, 628-629.
Total Pages: 203
Amateur Cinema