International Review of Educational Cinematography (Jan-Dec 1930)

— io4 ~~ country of Franconia and the typical pilgrimages made to the ancient residence of the Margraves of Beyrouth and the surrounding castles (Magdeburgische Zeitung, Magdeburg, F. 6/321). In England, Walter Creighton is carrying out a talking film which has been described as a genuine panorama of the British Empire and will probably be one of the greatest documentary films produced up to the present. The film has been executed in cooperation with the Empire Marketing Board ; the title has not yet been definitely fixed upon (The Daily Film Renter, London, F. 6/301). In any case, it gives a complete picture of English expansion throughout the world, through her dominions, protectorates, mandates and selfgoverning colonies, of everything in fact that demonstrates and justifies the prestige and power of the Empire. Iceland also (Popular Film, Barcelona, F. 6/302) will, thanks to the Ufa, have its cinematographic document, reproducing its wild and melancholy beauties, its eternally ice-covered mountains and its seas almost always veiled in gloom ; the film will also illustrate the intimate life and customs of the inhabitants. Spain has already launched the film Asturias at the cinema of Oviedo (Region, Oviedo, F. 6/299) ! it is the first of a folklore series, illustrating the life of Gijon and other characteristic parts of that region. America. — We pass from a picture of the jolly and careless life of the students of Bregon University (Movie Makers, New York, F. 6/300), a production of the students themselves, who are the actors, scene directors, technicians and supernumeraries of a film that took three months' work to prepare, and probably entailed the omission of a certain amount of study, to the film « The Marvels of the Amazon », which was projected at the Dusseldorf Planetarium (Dusseldorfer Nachrichten, Dusseldorf, F. 6/317) and is of special interest on account of its reproductions of the scenery and the extraordinary wealth of its folklore scenes. Contemporaneously, a sound and talking film, was shown in Spain (El Debate, Madrid, F. 6/307) under the title « Black Souls and Humble Hearts », based on memories of the unforgettable Uncle Tom. It gives an entirely new and profoundly humane view of the life of the masses of negroes dwelling in the Southern States of America around the Mississippi. Africa, which is still a wild and virgin country, in spite of the advance of civilization, has always had its attraction for the research student and the scholar. After being shown in other important Italian towns, the film « Silvia Zulu » was shown in Venice, where it enjoyed a marked success (La Gazzetta di Venezia, Venice, F. 6,u6). This film was made during the expedition to Zululand led by Captain Gatti. An extremely interesting folklore and geographical record of the country centres round a slight love story, the principal figures of which are two magnificent natives. At the Gramercy Studios in New York, the well known African explorers, Mr. and Mrs. Martin Johnson, are working on a talking film « Across the World" (The Film Daily, New York D. 6/31 1), which is built up around their fascinating adventures in Africa. Meanwhile, the African film « Stampede », produced in America for the British Instructional Films Co. (The Times, London, F. 6/313) is being shown in London. M. De la Fontaine is engaged on the production of « Seto », a film of adventure, documentation and folklore, the scenes of which are laid in the desert solitudes of the Sahara (The Daily Film Renter, London F. 6/306) ; and lastly, an American company for the production of documentary films has already had an extremely sensitive sound apparatus taken to Africa, together with three microphones suitable for reproducing the human voice, the howling of wild beasts and the singing of birds (The Billboard, Cincinnati, D. 6/310). Asia also has many characteristic things to show us. Sammy Bill was courageous enough, during the recent religious disturbances between Arabs and Zionists in Palestine, to work off a film which has a quadruple value : documentary, political, folklorist and topical (Comoedia, Paris F. 6/298). Out of the series of photographs taken in the Indian jungle by Commander G. M. Dyott (The Film Daily, New York F. 6/305), a film has been created with the title « Hunting tigers in India » ; it is a typical and amusing novelty, and is at the same time ex