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Eskimo Eats Fish
Master 2 - Tape 1 Little Eskimo child pets a baby Husky dog. Cute. Forces dog to look at camera. MS eskimo in fur-lined parka with hood over head uses knife to work what looks like a piece of skin for a mask. Eskimo begins to peel skin from a frozen, blood-stained fish. He then starts to eat it, raw; closeup. Hungry. CU burying fish in snow/ice.
Rocket and Astronaut
Master 2 - Tape 1 First, a rocket (possibly manned) at a launching pad, night. Lifts off in a cloud of red smoke. Saturated color. Hard to make out much of anything once it is off the ground. Closer shot of lift off. Bref CU of astronaut - head in bubble helmet.
Ploughing Field with Oxen
Master 2 - Tape 1 CU of hand plow turning over the earth. Green grass, black plow. MS Rear shot of oxen-pulled plow, man behind it, guiding it. Low angle, almost mythic shot of farmer with hand plow, against rich blue sky. Wind is blowing. He wears a hat; pulls the reins to get the oxen or horses offscreen moving, and then plows ahead. Overhead tracking shot of handplow in field. Man in shorts stands behind oxen who pull plow.
Steam Thing
Master 2 - Tape 1 Steam comes out of a hole on top of a metal container. Lots of steam. This is a very strange shot, hard to figure out exactly what it is or why it was shot. The container fills the bottom half of the screen, steam comes out the middle of the container and goes to the top of the screen. Letting off steam. Gets to be almost as thick as smoke. Contraption/invention is maybe a steam maker.
1950 - Air Conditioner Assembly
Big, bulky air conditioner of the 1950s moves down an assembly line. Man in white uniform works on it. It has a red tag on it, facing us. Man stands behind the air conditioner. As it comes down the line, another man with gloves puts a grill with insulation on the side of the appliance. Man with appliance makes notes. Quality control. Several air conditioners move on the assembly line toward the camera, good movement.
Portuguese Fishing Village
Master 2 - Tape 1 Ethnographic travel footage from the 1940s and 1950s: Nazare, Portugal. People in traditional clothing, practicing traditional fishing techniques.
Waterfall
Master 2 - Tape 1 Good waterfalls scenics and shots of Niagra Falls.
Early Inventions
Master 2 - Tape 1 Starts with man with padded wings, flapping; he keeps running on the ground with the wings, a few people running behind. Eventually gets to a peak, is pushed off, falls, doesn't fly. At strange contraption called the Gray Goose flaps its wings, collapses. At a man lets out his parachute, in slow-mo, and is yanked from the plane. At a man inexplicably rides his bicycle into a brick wall. Rides towards camera, wall crumbles. 1920s cars driving back and forth, street cars (cable cars) drive by, and a car is squished flat. a little boy drives a midget car down the street. A car bucks on its back tires. A car rides full speed into a parked car, spectators watch. A man drives his car into a steel girder and is thrown out. A jet-propelled car speeds down the road. Matted shot (side view) of people in a car driving into the water, from a rocky beach. Fishing or boat pier behind them.MS steam engine car facing camera. Men shake hands and the car drives down the street. MS two men drive a funny little car right towards camera which is tracking them. They try to stop, but the brake handle comes off; they are about to collide with a truck (insert of frantically braking feet) but they end up with their car fitting perfectly on the back ramps of the truck and being simultaneously lifted up and carted away. Slapstick comedy. A boxy glider airplane flies awkwardly over a body of water, crashes, skids, turns over. A group of men walk a funny-looking contraption down a lawn to make it fly; can't. More contraptions of early flight including the semi-famous shot of the seven-winged biplane collapsing.
Death Of The Batman
Master 2 - Tape 1 MS Stunt man with manmade wings and parchute costume shows his get-up to the camera, poses, turns around. Biplanes in the background. CU of his face, he has goggles and a flier's cap on. Jumps out of an airplane (POV plane). After about fifty feet, he starts to move up again, powered by jet propellor or something. Crowd of people look up into the air, fingers pointing. Aerial stunt show. Then disaster: the man with the parachute falls to the ground with a thud - MLS as he falls, unopened shute trailing after him. Spectators go crazy, running toward the probably dead man.
Grapefruit Mask
Also found in catalog #492885 Master 2 - Tape 1 Spoof on inventions, a silly newsreel spot released in the 1930s. A man demonstrates a contraption that he has patented and invented to keep grapefruit juice from squirting into your face. It's a silly-looking little shade-mask that has a hole in the mouth where the spoon can fit. It's pulled down from the cap like a movie screen or window shake. Super closeup of the spoon entering the mouth slot. The man wears wire-rim glasses.
Wacky Aviation
Master 2 - Tape 2 WS A couple of boys help their father put on his frame/cardboard wings. In a field, on a hill. He oversees, then starts to flap. The boys run. The father comes down the hill, chased by a little dog. Eventually, after trying to take flight, he goes down a little hill and crashes, the wings flying off. WS as he crashes - he looks dejectedly at the camera. A more successful stunt flight: man smiles at the camera, sits in makeshift cockpit. It's a man-powered glider, with a bicycle wheel in front, he takes off, stays up. Another plane does a somersault/loop-the-loop. Groups of people look up to the sky. Nice crowd. Spectator shots.
News Parade of 1944 - Allies Liberate France
Master 2 - Tape 2 News Parade of 1944 - Allies Liberate France CU soldiers. Super tracking shots of troops lined up, marching on the streets
Building Houses
Various shots of housing construction. Wood frames, large developments. Probably in California, maybe Los Angeles area. Good shots of development, suburban expansion.
Haight Ashbury in the 1960s
Master 2 - Tape 2 Haight-Ashbury (?), San Francisco, late 1960s. People walk on sidewalks. CUs of hippie-looking youth, walking around. Long haired white boys, counterculture youth. A group gathers around some musicians in a park. Shots are very close, handheld and jerky. . Circle of people. African-American percussionist. Footage is dark. Some people dance. Wider shot of group in park at sunset from forest, cam zooms out to silhouette of group coming towards camera, sunlight streaks in through trees.
Steam train comes around a bend in the tracks,...
Master 2 - Tape 2 Steam train comes around a bend in the tracks, heading toward camera- blue sky b/g. . White steam blows out the side. Incredible, heavy, black smoke comes out of the top of the train. Power. Locomotion. Long freight train. As it approaches camera, black smoke changes to white. Engine comes right up to and past the camera - beautiful steam engine passes right along/in front of camera. MS train as it rolls away from camera, nice rear shot as it round bend towards mountain/cliff. smoke still pours from it. Caboose marked '7'. CU of wheel s and steam on track at. WS dozens of boxcars rapidly passing camera, scenic mountains in b/g (looks like a postcard). Thick black smoke comes up from the engine at the back of the train (it's pushing the boxcars). Five cabooses on the end. Silhouetted wide shot of train passing cam in sunset light, tree in f/g. Very picturesque. Canted angle shot of train (diesel engine?) entering frame - white steam. CU wheels passing over track. CU stem engine wheels pass along track. WS bend in train track, Steam engine with light on front of engine, rapidly approaches, dark ("Southern Pacific" logo on side). Boxcars round bend - very nice. Camera swish pans with last car as it passes.
Old West Cowboys and Indians: Pastel desert...
Master 2 - Tape 2 Old West Cowboys and Indians: WS pastel desert landscape, short shrubs. Horses bearing cavalry seen in the distance. Indians cover over a hill, maybe 25 of them on horseback. Good shot of lots of horses running down a hill with wild Indians on the back. Warpath. Good shot of them going into the water, river, on horseback. This looks like cheesey tv-western material.
Indians on horseback invading a fort
Master 2 - Tape 2 Indians on horseback invading a fort. Going through the main gate. Hatchets raised. One horse and his rider are shot at and go down (dramatic). Indian in the woods with bow and arrow. Single feather in headband (brave?) Walks very quietly - cautiously, camera looks like it's stalking him. LS from behind barrel of gun - young indian runs out from behind brush, gun aims and fires, indian goes down. CU Wagon Train on fire. Indians on horseback around wagon train, threatening. Causing trouble. Circling fat chief in head-dress comes around.
Interesting shot of Indians (Native Americans)...
Master 2 - Tape 2 Interesting shot of Indians (Native Americans) helping the British Redcoats fight the Americans during the Revolutionary War. Footage shot in the 1910s or 1920s, recreated for that period. Indians look much different than they would later become for Hollywood. First shot is a back shot, as they run out, axes flying in the air. A bunch of Redcoats are seen from the back with bayonets, but it's becoming a chaotic mob scene, possible a slaughter/massacre. WS chaos in a town (house in f/g) Indian axes a dead person on the ground twice and runs off. MS Raping and pillaging (men chasing women, general destruction) Hand-to-hand combat. Made for silent film days. More appropriate as film history or as history of our impressions of Native Americans than it is as stock
Oil Wells
Oil wells, derricks, etc. CU tank of oil. Oil bubbling. Several shots of a pump jack (nodding donkey, horsehead pump, Pumpjack, beam pump, rod pump, grasshopper, thirsty bird or jack pump) pulling oil from the well. Pans of wells on hillside and small refinery; Industry, Fuel, Energy.
Printing Press
Printing Press Starts with machine making envelopes.
LBJ In Hawaii
LBJ In Hawaii President Johnson visiting Hawaii: pressing the flesh and being bedecked with leis. This looks like it's pretty early in his administration. By the end, he is swamped in leis. The footage is in great shape, a little shakycam, but also some nice camerawork. Air Force One, LBJ and Lady Bird board, and wave, pan up to American flag on tail; plane taxis away; CU of Hawaiian women.
End of World War I - Celebrations
Parades/celebrations from World War I: looks like people sending off the troops but a lot of it could be the armistice; an outpouring of patriotism. Lots of waving American flags. Soldiers dancing. Soldiers waving from train. Men getting off ship. Parade. Ship leaving, crawling with soldiers. Soldiers marching through streets. Dancing in the street. People bearing mockup of "Kaiser's Coffin" People riding on truck (soldiers, sailors, civilians, woman in modish frock), waving to camera; black man with baton leading soldiers marching down street, streetcar passes; fleet of cars in street bearing soldiers. More soldiers marching. Parades get larger and larger;
CLOCKS
CLOCKS MS of sundial in a garden. CU of sundial. Clock with hands moving very fast. CU of stopwatch ticking off the seconds. A white clock hand sweeping across a balck background (no numbers on this clock). CU of clock with hands moving very fast. Another clock with fast moving hands.
Vintage Car Crashes
Wacky old-car crashes