Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1949)

64 Period pieces seem to have taken over the theatrical screen at the moment. W hile lavish sets and costumes generally are important to such productions, the pictures below are of a simpler variety, offering the low budget amateur producer examples of method and technique which he can interpret freely in. the light of his own requirements. WISHES COME TRUE Chicken Every Sunday: Rosemary Taylor's reminiscences of her early home life furnished 20th CenturyFox with the sort of diverting material family lensers might uncover while exploring the attic some rainy afternoon. Family recollections are always new% always fresh and enjoyable, taking their flavor from the particular familv involved. Emil\ and Jim Hefferan (Celeste Holm and Dan Dailey), who began their married life in Tucson, Ariz., about 1910, differ from millions of other Americans only in the particular circumstances in which they find themselves. Jim is a born speculator, his eye trained on an immense future fortune, missing meanwhile the real rewards of successful living. Emily, anxious only for the security of her home and children, takes in boarders I from her wedding day) to counteract Jims extravagances. The conflict of the story arises suddenly, is soon spent, and a speedy reconciliation follows the realization they have both been rich and secure through the years, in their love and devotion for each other. A simple family yarn, it contains abundant good humor of the home 20th Centnrv.TV, spun variety and points up a moral at the same time. Similar stories are hidden in your old family album. The New Look will simplify your costume problem, and some borrowed old fashioned chairs and things will dress the set for a film version of your Uncle Jim courting Aunt Emily —and what fell to their lot. TIME LAPSE Enchantment: Out of the basic stuff of the traditional and popular historical romance, RKO Radio Pictures has spun a tender love story against the backgrounds of Victoria's London and the London of the late blitz. Teresa Wright and David Niven are the star-crossed 19th Century lovers, while Farley Granger and Evelyn Keyes play their modern counterparts. The romantic stories of the four principals are interwoven with the tale of the old house where the personal dramas, present and past, are played out. Given this fundamentally interesting, if undistinguished, script, it is unfortunate that the flashback technique employed misfired so badly. Amateur filmers who are fascinated by this method of narration are here invited to view the results when the DOMESTIC DIFFICULTIES, here exemplified in a scene from Chicken Every Sunday, are as sure-fire picture material today as they were in the 1910's. device miscarries. Of relatively simple construction, the story is related in an endless series of dissolves between the present era and that of our grandmothers. The audience is asked to follow the story line through too rapid shifts of scene without the customary aid of well planned transitional devices. To be effective, they should permit the spectator to follow the action with complete ease. He cannot do this if his mind is occupied with trying to determine in what time and place he is expected to lend his attention at the moment. This is a recurring weakness with amateur films. Their producers would do well to study this Hollywood product to see how the professionals can err as well. as they in the use of this tricky technique, which seems so deceivingly simple. . . . AND CHARITY Monsieur Vincent: Produced in France by E.D.I.C. (Paris) and released in this country by Lopert Films, Inc., this excellent screen biography is the story of the 17th Century St. Vincent de Paul, the first of the great social reformers, who devoted his long life to the disinherited of the earth. The film has been awarded the Grand Prix du Cinema Frangais, the highest French film honor, and Pierre Fresnay, who enacts the title role with humility and sincerity scarcely ever witnessed on the screen, hasbeen similarly honored, at the recent biennial exposition in Venice, for the best portrayal by an actor. Amateur groups have in past years produced fine and stirring dramas based on the lives of religious leaders. It is with the hope of reviving interest in such worthy projects that this film has been singled out as an example of how beautifully and simply such stories can be told, even with a comparatively small budget. It is recommended without reservation to all amateurs as an outstanding example of cinematic technique. But, in particular, it is recommended to clubs considering a group production and casting about for suitable material.