"The Title is taken from the opening scene of a shoeshine box busy shining shoes with the help of a small boy. On the side of the box is the price of the shine, 10¢. An episode in a series of events in which the little box is every presented. A simple, yet touching portrayal in which the audience is so carefully drawn to live those few minutes with a wonderful little boy. The film leads but does not close in on us, our emotions may move with our interpretation. The maker, Antonio Cernuda, with a display of the artist and philosopher, has earned his second Gold Medal Award" PSA Journal, Nov. 1959, 47-48.
"The Abandoned House is a nostalgic treatment of a girl who returns to the home where she was raised and reflects upon her childhood there" PSA Journal, Sept. 1966, 34-35.
Película argumental en la que un adolescente enamorado de una artista descubre que está no merece sus desvelos y vuelve a su vida normal de joven estudiante.
Fiction film in which a teenager in love with an artist discovers she is not worth losing sleep over, and the goes back to his regular young student life.
"Amateur narrative about a young woman’s infatuation for a suspicious newcomer" centerforhomemovies.org
"An experimental film about a boy owning a bicycle and learning the proper safety rules on the road." Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research
"Taking the familiar 'Twas the Night Before Christmas as a theme, Bert Seckendorf and Vic Watson have put together an appealing children's holiday film combining live action with animation. The live action interludes show a father reading the poem to his young son on Christmas Eve, with the familiar lines superimposed at the base of the scene. These connectives then fade out to miniature sets in which animated figures re-enact the well known story of St. Nick. The film suffers from some underexposure and uneven animation in places, but it offers a very pleasant holiday item." Movie Makers, Dec. 1949, 455,468.
"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
"The combined efforts of Massimo Sani-photography and Ezio Pecora-directing. A slowly paced, sensitive portrayal of adolescent emotions. While in many amateur films the acting is such that we can never forget it is a movie and that the actors are aware of the camera, in "Encounter on the River", the acting is natural, making this tender, almost too subtle story most enjoyable. The best directed amateur film seen in years." PSA Journal, Dec. 1955, 36.
"Una historia sobre el acoso sufrido por la juventud por parte del mundo de los adultos. La posición alternativa del grupo [de realizadores] se hacía explícita desde las primeras tomas, en donde los créditos aparecían escritos en las paredes de una casa en ruinas, omitiendo los apellidos y dejando solo los nombres de pila de quienes participaron" (Vázquez Mantecón, 2012).
"A story about the harassment suffered by the youth from the adult world. The alternative position of the group [of filmmakers] was made evident from the first shots, where credits appeared written on the walls of a house in ruins, omitting last names and leaving only the first names of the participants" (Vázquez Mantecón, 2012).
"The trials, tribulations and eventual triumphs of a teen aged young man embarked on his initial evening engagement are engagingly portrayed by John C. Sherard in First Date. Even the traditional nuisance role played by junior members of the girl's family is given a new angle — a trained flea circus on the loose. But this bit of business and others in a basically imaginative comedy are, on occasion, drawn out too much for the best dramatic pace. Outstanding in the film, however, is Mr. Sherard's use of Type A Kodachrome outdoors without the corrective filter to simulate moonlight." Movie Makers, Dec. 1949, 469.
Total Pages: 3
Amateur Cinema