Alchemist In Hollywood, The (Part II) (1940)

★★★ · A teaching film! · bjsdesign · 2008-03-01

I would like to clarify that this film was made by chemists, not film makers. It was made as a technical, instructional film. Thus the technical "mumbo jumbo" as the previous reviewer commented. It should also be noted that it was made in 1940, yes, cheaply and with no entertainment frills! I wonder if Mr. Solow's USC "laboratory techniques" students were required to watch it?! He is the 1st narrator to be heard on the film. He later became the lab head and developed many award winning techniques used in film labs.

★★ · Fascinatingly Cheap. · Spuzz · 2002-12-17

This film, which details how film is made, starts out with an amazingly boring chemistry lesson, slowly becomes slightly interesting to the end. First starting off with flimsy opening credits (The American Chemical Society badly needs a new logo) the film credits Shirley Burden, curiously, as doing most of thje pghotography. Most? As the narration starts, it sounds like it's done though an echo chamber and sounds hopelessly snooty. Oh they seem to know their way around a chemistry lab though, as 15 minutes go by discussing film emulsion chemistry. Most of it is very convuluted. Try to follow…