Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1953)

24 JANUARY 1953 Maxim premiere The filst Public showing of the 1952 Maxim Memorial Award winner was presented by the Amateur Cinema League on December 9 before members and guests of the Hartford (Conn.) Cinema Club. This group was founded in 1926 by Hiram Percy Maxim, FACL, Founder President of the ACL, and is the club of his daughter, Percy Maxim Lee, FACL, donor of the award. Featured on the program was this year's award winner, Duck Soup, by Delores and Timothy Lawler, ACL, of Kenosha, Wise. The other films shown (all Ten Best winners) were Backyard Birding, by Herbert D. Shumway, ACL, of Greenfield, Mass.; The Man With The Box, by James L. Watson, ACL, of Worcester, Mass. ; Poet and Peasant, by Robert G. Williams, ACL, of Toledo. Ohio, and Muntre Streker, by Mathis Kverne, of Oslo, Norway. Messrs. Shumway and Watson both attended the screening. Warren A. Levett, ACL, who was in charge of technical arrangements, presented the films and their varied audio accompaniments smoothly and effectively. Edmund Zacher, ACL, club president, presided over the meeting and James W. Moore, ACL, the League's managing director, introduced each film with a brief discussion. Japan Contest The Nippon Amateur Cine Slide Association (NACSA) of Tokyo, Japan, has announced that it will hold its first international competition this year with entries accepted from amateurs anywhere in the world. Trophies will be awarded to the top ten films in the John C. Lauber, ACL A LIGHTING SETUP is pictured by members of the Minneapolis Cine Club, ACL, during the visit of Peter van Rijsinge, ACL (center), of the Hague Cine Club, in Holland. Behind the cameras are Alfred Peterson, R. J. S. Carter, ACL, and Albert Roser. Wilford Anderson, ACL, club head, is with model Joan. contest, with a Grand Trophy for the best film out of the ten. An undetermined number of honorable mentions will also be awarded. The closing date for the competition, which also includes a special classification for slides and filmstrips, is March 31, 1953. Films are limited in length to 800 feet for 16mm. and 400 feet for 8mm. Further details may be gotten from ACL, or by writing directly to NACSA, Konishiroku Building, Muromachi 3, Nihonbashi, Chuo-Ku, Tokyo, Japan. LOS Angeles 8'S The November 11 meeting of the Los Angeles 8mm. Club, ACL, featured a screening of the 1951 Ten Best winner, Venezia, by Oscar H. Horovitz, FACL. Also on the agenda for the evening was an election of officers for the coming year. The results are not available as we go to press, but will be published soon. November also saw the club's annual Gadget Night, at which members' gadgets were swapped and talked about. Michigan salon 0n March 14, the Michigan Council of Amateur Movie Clubs will present its 1953 Salon at the Portage School auditorium in Kalamazoo, with the Long Lake Amateur Movie Camera Club of that city acting as host. Trophies will be given to the top films in each of four classes: scenario, family, documentary and club productions. The deadline for all entries is February 21. Further details and entry blanks may be obtained from Mrs. R. D. Evans, 1122 Cambridge Drive, Kalamazoo, Mich. MMPC Winners in the annual contest conducted by the Metropolitan Motion Picture Club, ACL, of New York City, were announced last month. The $24 Purchase, by Terry Manos, ACL, captured first prize, with Cine Memoirs, by George Mesaros. FACL, and A Queen's Story, by Helen C. Welsh, ACL, of Albany, running second and third respectively. Honorable mentions were awarded to Captain Tully's Catch, by Constantine A. Wihtol, ACL; Catapulted into Fame, by August Meister, ACL, and Sweet Air, by the MMPC Project Group. Congratulations to all the winners! The club celebrated the Yuletide season on December 18 with a special program featuring The Philadelphia Story, by Samuel Fass. ACL; Here, Kitty, by Walter Bergmann, FACL, and The Birth of St. Mary's, by Robert F. Gowen, ACL. The choir of the Jersey City Central Avenue Reformed Church gave a performance of The Carols, narration for which was done by J. Christian Vogel, ACL. Rhode Island Our smallest state has found that there is always room for one more movie club. The Rhode Island Movie Makers, recently organized by residents of Providence, have extended an invitation to all interested filmers to join them in their new venture. If you would like more information about the club, write to Wallace E. Tillinghast, jr., ACL, 150 Ann Mary Brown Drive. Providence 5, R. I. S. Africa Salon The Johannesburg Photographic and Cine Society, ACL, will hold its 17th Annual South African Salon on Photography during the late spring this year. Closing date for the competition, which is open to amateurs throughout the world, is March 15, 1953. Three top awards will be made, with honorable mentions to other films judged worthy. Films may be of any gauge and length, sound of any kind or silent, color or black and white. For further details, write to J. K. Stokes, club secretary, Post Office Box 7024, Johannesburg, South Africa. Brooklyn gala The fifth annual 8mm. Gala Show was held recently by the Brooklyn Amateur Cine Club, ACL, at the Neighborhood Club House. The program, which was well received by a capacity audience, included The Wiffenpoof Song, by David Stettner, ACL; Oaxaca, by Esther Cooke, ACL; Dress Affair. by John Harms; The Black Satchel, by Al Londema; March 11, 1952, by Arthur Rosenfeld; Outsmarted Smarties, a 1952 Ten Best winner, by George Valentine, and The Carabi Incident, by Harry Atwood, ACL, given an Honorable Mention in ACL's 1952 selections. Taft The Taft Cinema Club, ACL, of the Bronx, N. Y., was entertained at a recent meeting by a showing of films by Fred Furman of the New York City 8mm. Motion Picture Club. Among the pictures that Mr. Furman brought with him were Two Weeks in June; David Grows Up; The