SC-OUT-ING (1935/1939) A Farmer Film Production.

“Here we can look at Herb Farmer the filmmaker. Herb had a longstanding affection for educational films and even ultimately wrote his master’s thesis about their distribution. This one is a document of the Erie County Boy Scouts from 1935. Herb was a 15 year old scout when he shot this and was only 19 when he finished it (added the credits). His father Dr. Edson J. Farmer DDS was one of the adults in the film as well as Herb’s 13 year old brother, Edward T. Farmer, as one of the scouts. It is remarkable when you look at the quality of work Herb was making long before going to film school at USC. Not only the shots in the film but the professional looking credits which he made while he was attending USC, but prior to the school having any equipment or Herb having taken a single USC cinema course. The best part about this film is the illustration of Herb’s keen business sense in that the label on the can was a pre-made stamp for ‘FARMER FILM LABORATORIES’ and it gave both his home address in Snyder, NY and his then current USC address.”

– Dino Everett, USC Hugh M. Hefner Moving Image Archivist

Below is a photo of the tin and stamped label.

Herb Gallery

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