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Amateur filmmaker Betty Stefenel (Jan. 2, 1913 – Aug. 4, 1980) was from San Mateo, Morgan Hill, San Jose, and other cities in the peninsular part of the San Francisco Bay Area in California, USA. Beginning in her mid-30s, Stefenel shot with Bolex L-8 and H-8, and Cine-Kodak Mode E Sixteen cameras starting from around 1948 until at least 1972. She was a prolific maker of both amateur films, edited into little narratives, and home movies. She
documented domestic scenes and self-portraiture, club meetings and activities, her husband Anthony at work at their rock and gem shop, her sons Ronald and Rudy who routinely made appearances and occasionally worked behind the camera when their mother wanted had an on-screen role, other family members, pets, friends, and the landscape San Francisco Bay Area and Marin County. More, she also very enthusiastically experimented with handmade titles with little asides, illustrations, stock footage, unusual film stocks such as Dynacolor (which she criticizes in on-screen notes), and 8mm film to which she (presumably with Kodak’s assistance, but it is yet unclear) added magnetic striping for soundtracks.
Stefenel became a new member of the Amateur Cinema League in 1950, and was a charter member, treasurer, and eventually program director of Peninsula Home Movies Unlimited (PHMU, later Peninsula Home Movie Club), a regional chapter of the ACL. In 1951, she was also listed as a member of San Jose Movie Club, and that year filmed a picnic attended by members from Eden Movie Makers of Hayward, CA. Alone, and as part of a group, she screened her films for other local clubs such as the Richmond Movie Club. In the 1950s, Stefenel was PHMU’s delegate to the Northern California Council of Amateur Movie Clubs, served the Council as assistant editor of its Filming For Fun Quarterly publication, and attended and documented on film its short-lived Film For Fun Fiesta, an event where regional amateur filmmakers converged to screen their films and discuss techniques. Locations varied, but in at least 1955, 1958, it was held in San Francisco, 1963 in Oakland, 1964 in Los Angeles, and 1968 in Berkeley. She also authored a piece for the September 1959 issue of PSA Journal (Official Publication of Photographers Society of America), titled “Animation: Questions and Answers,” in which she covers techniques she had employed and general advice on the topic.
Stefenel’s catalogue of films includes: What! No Dessert? (ca. 1950), Tik Tok Said the Clock (ca. 1950), Closeups v. Chatter (January 1951), Pie (June 1952), Cake (May 1952), Pictures of Me I Wouldn’t Show to A Dog (ca. 1949), Memories of Eden Movie Makers Picnic 1951, Our Circle of Friends (1947/1949), Xmas Memories 1954, We Drive to Aunt Helen’s (1948), Monterey Memories (1950s), She Dood It (1950s), At Patio Cafe June 1948, and others. Deserted Films has in its collection all but This Is Christmas, Dissolves, and What! No Dessert?. At least four of her films won awards. Tik Tok Said the Clock won a PHMU award in the uncut/unedited 16mm category in 1950; the club awarded her best film of 1958 for This Is Christmas; and she won “Filming for Fun” awards for both Dissolves, and Five Little Kittens and How They Grew around 1953.
[Note:In fall 2023, UCLA Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) graduate students Jackie Forsyte, Gabz Norte, and Daniella D’Acquisto, inspected, cleaned, and digitized a selection of six films. California Revealed has supported the digitization (The MediaPreserve) and preservation of seven Stefenel films, and three have been restored and digitized (Colorlab) with funding from a National Film Preservation Foundation grant. AV Geeks has digitized for us some of her more “straightforward” home movies.]
Amateur Films
BS#2. [Pictures of Me I Wouldn’t Show to A Dog, ca. 1949.] 8mm. B/W & Color. Silent. Betty Stefenel collection. Playful self-portraiture (with some shot by friend “Rosemarie”) of Betty hamming it up around and outside the house. Singing, dancing, making faces, doing a silly Chaplin “Tramp” walk, self-deprecating intertitles and more. Inspected and digitized by then UCLA MLIS grad students Jackie Forsyte, Gabz Norte, and Daniella D’Acquisto. Summary written by board member Sean Savage.
BS#3. [Memories ofEden Movie Makers Picnic 1951.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Betty Stefenel collection. Documentation of an outdoor amateur movie club picnic, shot in muted (or lousy) Dynacolor, as a title card explains. Betty’s footage is augmented by shots from other club members, some seen in action with their cameras and tripods. There’s also a staged skit involving an outhouse and a comically large roll of toilet paper. Inspected and digitized by then UCLA MLIS grad students Jackie Forsyte, Gabz Norte, and Daniella D’Acquisto. Summary written by board member Sean Savage.
BS#6. [“PHMU Club News Reel 1949 to Oct. 1950.”] 8mm. B/W and Color. Silent. Betty Stefenel collection. Title cards for ACL (Amateur Cinema League) and Betty Productions, friends Catherine and Nick Zarevich come for a visit, they drive away, title card: The End. New reel, “all around sportsman” Ferdinand Barni with Rudy, Ronald, and Tony Stefenel; men teach the boys how to hold a hunting rifle, they look for game; Tony and Ferdinand talk it over, title card: The End. Inspected and digitized by then UCLA MLIS grad students Jackie Forsyte, Gabz Norte, and Daniella D’Acquisto. Description written by volunteer Rio Maropis.
BS#7. [“Album ‘59-60,” “(2nd Filming for Fun) Fiesta Script” (1958) and Outtakes from 1953 and Otherwise.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Betty Stefenel collection. Outtakes and other “Reel Clippings” from various Stefenel films. Glimpsed are a white Chihuahua with a turtle, kittens and chickens feeding together, classic silent movie excerpts shot from a television screen, stray title cards, and much material from the 2nd “Filming for Fun” Fiesta for amateur moviemakers, held in San Francisco, 1958. Inspected and digitized by then UCLA MLIS grad students Jackie Forsyte, Gabz Norte, and Daniella D’Acquisto. Summary written by board member Sean Savage.
BS#8. [Our Circle of Friends, 1947-1949.] 8mm. B/W & Color. Silent. Betty Stefenel collection. Title cards for ACL (Amateur Cinema League) and Betty Productions, friends Catherine and Nick Zarevich come for a visit, they drive away, title card: The End. New reel, “all around sportsman” Ferdinand Barni with Rudy, Ronald, and Tony Stefenel; men teach the boys how to hold a hunting rifle, they look for game; Tony and Ferdinand talk it over, title card: The End. Inspected and digitized by then UCLA MLIS grad students Jackie Forsyte, Gabz Norte, and Daniella D’Acquisto. Description written by volunteer Rio Maropis.
BS#5. [Closeups vs Chatter, January 1951.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Betty Stefenel collection. After a number of opening titles, Betty introduces the very tools she used to make the film (titler, telephoto lens, extension tubes, pocette); she interjects footage of herself, with intertitles, asking audience members to please be quiet or there will be consequences!; plants and pets examined up close; a kitty with different-colored eyes, a “nosey” dog, leaves, petals, dirt; fur, eyes, beaks, and noses; close ups of pointing fingers and shushing lips, too. Inspected and digitized by then UCLA MLIS grad students Jackie Forsyte, Gabz Norte, and Daniella D’Acquisto. Description written by volunteer Rio Maropis.
BS#10. [“My First Movie, Part 2,” late 1940s.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Betty Stefenel collection. In this amateur short, Betty Stefenel documents her husband, Tony, at his rock and gem shop helping customers, her sons Rudy and Ronald attempting to build a dog house, the patient dogs and pet monkey (!), her sister Rosemarie, and a bit of self-portraiture. The filmmaker again includes handcrafted titles to explain the narrative and identify the people on screen — the titles get pretty crazy at the end. This film has been digitized (The MediaPreserve) and preserved thanks to a generous grant from California Revealed.
BS#15. [“Xmas Memories 1954.”] 8mm. Color. Sound. This amateur film by Betty features a hilarious little narrative about family members claiming territory on the Christmas turkey, watching their pets (two dogs and a monkey) misbehave, and her son Ronald opening a gift that is wrapped in progressively smaller boxes, Russian nesting doll style. She again includes handcrafted titles to explain the narrative and identify the people on screen as well as a comical soundtrack. This film was restored by Colorlab thanks to a generous grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation.
BS#37. [“We Drive to Aunt Helen’s (at Corte Madera). Filmed April 1948.”] 8mm. B/W & color/tinting. Sound. In this amateur film, Betty Stefenel crafts a narrative about a family visit — including a lovely drive through South San Francisco, San Francisco, and Marin County — to her Aunt Helen’s house in Corte Madera (Calif.) and her grandmother (or her children’s grandmother). The filmmaker again includes handcrafted titles to explain the narrative and identify the people on screen as well as a soundtrack. She also seems to have tinted some sequences in some way. This film was restored by Colorlab thanks to a generous grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation.
BS#43. [“Vincent Catalano, Jr., June 6, 1948.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. Betty Stefenel collection. This home movie is about a birthday party for a little boy, Vincent Catalano, Jr. The filmmaker includes handcrafted titles to explain the narrative and identify the people on screen. The last minute is the Stefenels’ drive home. This film has been digitized (The MediaPreserve) and preserved thanks to a generous grant from California Revealed.
BS#50. [“Monterey Memories,” 1950s.] 8mm. Color. Sound. This home movie features the Stefenel family fishing in Monterey (Calif.), and includes views of the harbor, and close-ups of different kinds of crabs, a starfish, and flounders or halibuts they catch. The filmmaker includes handcrafted titles for each shot as well as a soundtrack. This film was restored by Colorlab thanks to a generous grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation.
BS#52. [“She Dood It,” 1950s.] 8mm. Color. Sound. Betty Stefenel collection. In this amateur film, Stefenel documents her hilarious attempts to cover her dining room walls with wallpaper. The filmmaker includes handcrafted opening and closing titles. This film has been digitized (The MediaPreserve) and preserved thanks to a generous grant from California Revealed.
BS#65. [“Cake,” May 1952.] 16mm. Color. Silent. Betty Stefenel collection. In this short amateur film Betty Stefenel’s son, Ronald, sneaks off with a cake fresh out of the oven, and his brother Rudy catches him outside with it and snaps a picture. Ronald pays Rudy for the camera to destroy the image, and the story continues as they swap places. Betty makes an appearance at the end. The filmmaker includes handcrafted titles throughout, including instructions for viewing — most likely for distributing to other members of local chapters of the Amateur Cinema League. This film has been digitized (The MediaPreserve) and preserved thanks to a generous grant from California Revealed.
BS#75. [At Patio Coffee Shop, June 1948.] 8mm. Color. Silent. Betty Stefenel collection. In this very short amateur film, Betty Stefenel captures the proprietors of her favorite local “Patio Coffee Shop” in San Mateo (Calif.) at work. She includes handcrafted titles to open the film and to identify people onscreen (Joe and Mrs. Joe!) This film has been digitized (The MediaPreserve) and preserved thanks to a generous grant from California Revealed.
BS#102. [“Pie,” June 6, 1952.] 16mm. Color. Silent. Betty Stefenel collection. In this short amateur film, the Stefenel boys (Ronald and Rudy) bake a handmade pie…once the pie is finished and he’s had a taste, Rudy throws it in Ronald’s face. The boys switch places and the story continues… Includes handmade titles and transitions. There’s a note stating that Peninsula Home Movies Unlimited awarded her first prize in the uncut/unedited 16mm category on June 6, 1952, but we cannot yet confirm. The years seems correct based on the boys’ approximate ages here. [This film includes a handwritten note: “Instructions to Projectionist. This film has quite a bit of black leader on it. Some projectors require more than others. Get past black leader before turning light on — color film. Disregard the magnetic stripe – no sound has been put on it. If possible, play some slapstick type of music with it.”] This film has been digitized (The MediaPreserve) and preserved thanks to a generous grant from California Revealed.
BS#105. [“Tik Tok Said the Clock,” ca. 1950.] 16mm. Color. Silent. Betty Stefenel collection. In this short amateur film multiple family member remember to set the same clock ahead for daylight savings the next day. Hilarity ensues. The filmmaker includes handcrafted titles, and a bit of stop-motion animation throughout. Although Stefenel seems to have reused a title sequence at the end stating this film had won an award in June 1952, it actually won some time before October 1950. This film has been digitized (The MediaPreserve) and preserved thanks to a generous grant from California Revealed.
Example of amateur filmmaking competition entry form, United Kingdom, 1962.
Photo to promote the November 1958 “Filming for Fun Fiesta” at the Hotel Mark Hopkins in San Francisco. Photo taken by G.M. Robertson of Oakland in July 1958. Stefenel filmed parts of the same Fiesta in reel BS#7 above. It even seems some of these young women are in the footage in the scripted play scenes.
BS#82. [“Engelbert Humperdinck at Circle Star Theatre, Oct. (16, 1972), Sign- Morty Gunty, Closeups.”] 8mm. Color. Silent. The Circle Star Theatre was a famous circular, rotating-stage venue in San Carlos, California, active from 1964 to 1993.
BS#83. [“1971 (July 31, 1970) Tom Jones at The Cow Palace.”] 8mm. Color. Silent.
BS#69. [“Mountain View Memories,” 1950s.] 8mm. Color & B/W. Silent. With helpful intertitles.
BS#47. [“My Favorite Shots {…} Mother’s Hobby {…} My Movie Oddities {…} Our Children at Play {…}, ca. 1949-1951.] 8mm. Color & B/W. Silent. Includes a local amateur cinema club meeting. Further description forthcoming.
Bibliographic Resources:
“Pink Stones Stolen from S.M. Rockery,” The San Mateo County Times, September 17, 1948.
“New ACL Members,” Movie Makers, May 1950, p168.
“Contest Results,” Movie Makers, November 1950, p427.
“Most Gracious,” Movie Makers, November 1951, p350.
”Camerawoman,” The Berkeley Gazette, December 27, 1951, p8.
“Closeups — What Filmers Are Doing,” Movie Makers, June 1951, p204.
“Clubs,” Movie Makers, April 1952, p122.
“Gem, Movie Clubs Hold Show Tonight,” The San Mateo County Times, January 16, 1953.
“Projector Maintenance Kit,” The San Francisco Examiner, January 25, 1953, p43.
“Clubs,” Movie Makers, April 1953, p106.
”Amateur Prize Film Show Friday,” Oakland Tribune, April 26, 1953, p54.
“Movie Makers,” Movie Makers, April 1953, p107.
“Filming Fiesta,” American Cinematographer, December 1955, p558.
”Movie Group Awards Prizes,” Redwood City Tribune, December 22, 1958, p2.
