Flight to California (1953)

[Music] like time at a busy airport as the big plane rolled slowly and gracefully into loading position announcing ambassador flight 93 for Los Angeles now boarding at concourse key number eight all aboard flight 93 please when the trim smiling hostess appears in the doorway you know everything is shipshape on board first flight or 50th there's no excitement quite like a novelty that never wears off the sounds and sights that spell modern age in transportation it's a wonderful feeling you get as you board your plane no matter who you are something happens to you inside and makes you feel well sort of sorry for those who are going to be left behind a warm welcome for everyone from the pretty girl in the trim uniform always on call to lend a hand cheerful smiling service for every passenger on board a pair of newlyweds Eadie and Henry fresh from their wedding honeymoon bound to California Edie and Henry looked over every travel folder they could get their hands on but it didn't take them long to decide that California was the place they wanted to go on their honeymoon small-fry enroute in a special care of the senior hostess to be delivered safe and sound in Los Angeles on a visit to Grandma and Grandpa the new mode in honeymoon travel but the same old way of saying I love you [Music] final call ambassador flight 93 for Los Angeles now boarding at concourse gate number eight all aboard flight 93 please to me that means I'm on my way home to my family my house my work at the studio it was good to be on board following the other passengers and now coming forward to my seat about half way down seemed like pleasant company now we're ready to go so take it away [Music] leveled off and heading west toward California and the Pacific a little help from the hostess and then ready to settle down in solid comfort the younger fellow is Richard Carlson Hollywood actor the older man a businessman from the east [Music] it was a big-time industrial executive I recognized his name when I told him my name not a glimmer asked me what business I was in when I said actor he said hmm must be interesting work my ego took quite a jolt but I recovered quickly a movie fan bless her nice looking girl a few seats forward kept staring at me newlyweds looked like to me I looked around and there he was Richard Carlson Henry didn't think how to talk to him all I wanted was his autograph naturally neither of us had a pencil but I can always depend on my Henry he had a pen [Music] it was certainly a wonderful start to our trip meeting a movie star before we were hardly even off the ground everybody nice and friendly like we all know each other [Music] cruising at 300 miles an hour a steady course do you west and now Meal Time and always welcome part of air travel as part of the service of course a full meal soup meat salad vegetables dessert coffee milk or tea breakfast lunch dinner served hot from special galley equipment [Music] there's nothing like relaxing high in the sky whether it be the deep slumber of childhood lulled to sleep by the drone of the motors or the restful calm of old age in quiet contemplation and almost before you know it you're looking down at some of the world's finest scenery like the Grand Canyon for instance no need for words to describe this sight the other side of the Rocky Mountains has always meant one thing to me California oranges in your own backyard palm trees and the streets Hollywood Beverly Hills San Francisco and now in only a few more minutes we're going to be there all the things we'd read about and heard about and it was all gonna be ours Henry's in mine on this two-week trip and only a matter of hours from home to California it was almost too good to be true but it was true there's our plane landing at the Los Angeles International Airport I could feel the plane taxi I think that's what they call it hit him for the terminal and so we were here at last in California man I could hardly wait for the plane to stop and let us off [Music] California here we are just as bright and shiny as I left it and am I glad to see it this is what I call living good bye mr. big business good luck I was anxious to get along but somehow I couldn't get that young honeymoon couple out of my mind their first look at California at ground level was really something to see they were the nicest pair of honeymooners I'd come across in a long time I decided on a little wedding present for them to do what I could to make their visit a memorable one I invited them to come along and before they had a chance to turn me down I hustled them on to meet someone I hoped was waiting for me it was wonderful to be home more wonderful to catch sight of Mona up there near the gate Mona that's mrs. Carlsen now movie director needed here it all came natural I guess Mona and I acted sort of like a pair of newlyweds Mona like DeeDee and Henry on site and fell in with my idea of helping them enjoy their California holiday [Music] this is where we live in Beverly Hills we like it fine so did Edie and Henry but they spent more time in the pool and in the house which was okay with us that is with Mona and me seeing to it that they had lots of fun well that's what we were concerned with was a pleasant little chore that was grateful to Mona for pitching in and making things Pleasant for our visitors it's fun for us too just watching their happiness the way they played and teased each other a couple of kids on the loose with not a care in the world [Music] Richard Carlson a dick that is didn't start his new picture for a few days so he drove us around town wanna see the stars homes this man is a guide for tourists here's a busload touring movie land the sights of Hollywood and Beverly Hill dick drove us around to see the stars homes imagine taking on a tour of movie land by a movie actor himself that's what I call living only a tumbledown Shack but it's home to Cary Grant or is it Lana Turner I get them mixed up another little place called home Pickfair imagine having to mow all that lawn [Music] only a few minutes drive and you're on the beach at Santa Monica one of dozens of swimming and play beaches along the blue Pacific shoreline mile after mile of sand warmed by the Sun Beach beauties everywhere and art lovers willing to look this is paradise for thousands of Sun worshipers Californians by birth or adoption and visitors in almost equal number from every state in the Union then dick drove us around to the different Studios and I found out surprise most of them are not really in Hollywood at all but in small towns close by they all look pretty much alike on the outside but what I wanted to know was how about going inside dick explained it's pretty hard for visitors to get inside these days but he did manage to fix it for us and that's how we got to see how movies are made [Music] acting as guide for Edie and Henry was a real pleasure although he didn't show it much Henry got just as big a bang out of things as Edie the Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard for instance they considered it one of the most interesting sights in Hollywood in fact their enthusiasm made me kind of interested in another close look myself so we parked the car and walked over to the forecourt [Music] so these are the famous footprints I've heard so much about Sonia Annie Harold Lloyd that really goes back before my time but here's my boy Jack Benny and here's Betty Grable Henry's girl next to me of course you know I could be a Hollywood star myself for size anyway the next morning Edie and Henry started out on a tour south along the coast their first stop picturesque Balboa named of course after the Spanish explorer who discovered the Pacific Ocean a few miles farther south on the coast route Laguna Beach Beach Resort and Southern California artist colony and then three hours from Hollywood the city of San Diego important United States Naval Center [Music] our next stop and for the first time in my life I was in a foreign country the border town of Tijuana Mexico no trouble at all getting across the border I mean things like passports and such they were glad to have us and we were glad to be there which is putting it mildly a few routine questions and we were on our way down Tijuana's main street ready to see Mexico and that Mexico see us food Mexican food about me open hot and I do mean hot tamales tortillas tacos enchiladas and a few other tidbits we could hardly swallow let alone pronounce [Music] this is some documentary evidence for the natives back home seigneur Henry and his muchacha Senora Edie on their caballo in Old Mexico one evening at our house Edie asked about other places to visit and things to see during other seasons of the year winter time for instance well that was all I needed that was my hobby so in less time than it takes to tell it and before Mona could change the subject I had the projection machine out and ready to roll trouble with colour home movies is that you got to keep finding new victims to look at them for the benefit of anyone who might be saying but colossal conceit the Hollywood credit system is very strict when you do anything in filmmaking you just have to take screen credit even if you don't want it I think anyway what we're looking at now is Palm Springs one of America's famous winter resorts November 2 about April sunshine playground for picture people for thousands of Californians every year and a surprising number of people from the east refugees from New York and Chicago snow and cold Pittsburgh Detroit Philadelphia and Boston sleep and bitter winds this is the annual circus week parade frankly I'm pretty proud of this footage in color yet it was a lot of fun the parade itself and shooting it especially close shots here and there [Music] now as we say in pictures we dissolve to the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena annual event of world renown held on New Year's Day floats bands beautiful girls stunning floral creations rolling down Colorado Boulevard to the cheers of thousands of people gathered from every part of the Union watching this fabulous riot of moving color and design spectacle of such sights and sounds as can be enjoyed nowhere else on earth [Music] back to summertime and my Catalina footage I have a tendency to wax poetic when I think of Santa Catalina Island it's a kind of a dream world from the time you step off the boat at Avalon town only two hours by boat from the mainland to going home time I happen to like birds but Catalina's famous bird farm I had plenty to shoot at this is a big beak de metrobús as the oneth ologist would say another colorful and big beaked resident of the bird farm couldn't get much action out of this one either on the other hand meet my friends penny penguin and family out for a stroll encouraged by a couple of small fry speed boating along the shores of Catalina your face whipped by flying spray on a day-to full of delights to remember them all on a gem of an island off the coast of Southern California [Music] now we fade in on some of California's old missions wonderful old buildings churches really established by the early Spanish Padres and still in use today through them was the history of early California written before George Washington and the Revolutionary War here we see the famous Mission San Juan Capistrano known throughout the world as the mission of the swallows who returned in the spring of every year always on the same day from their winter exile peace quiet and beauty dwell here this beautiful garden of many flowers centuries removed from the hustle and bustle of the world we live in today [Music] and now to another California vacation land Lake Arrowhead about an hour and a half from Los Angeles named your holiday and it's yours at Arrowhead mine happens to be water sports and here it is [Music] Golf of course for the tournament player and the duffer no that's not me swinging like a champion wish it were my game is strictly for the birds in the low hundreds top prize money perfect climate all year round some of the most interesting courses in the country these are elements that make California tournaments so attractive to the top pros put a camera in my hands give me a roll of color film and here's what I bring in a fine photo of yachting fun in California waters and now a touch of - a soup song of excitement a fistful of thrills [Music] if you're squeamish about spills close your eyes quick because wow they're heroes goodbye now this board of Kings was practiced in Southern California this happens to be the clubhouse of the Hollywood Park Racetrack but I was able to get better racing footage at Santa Anita pounding down the stretch for home also I reluctantly add the fade out of this Richard Carlson home movie production [Music] the morning after that swell movie show Henry and I found ourselves being taken out to the airport we were leaving Southern California I don't know why I should have felt so so weepy it was only a trip but this was different somehow everything had been so perfect gate number four all aboard flight one please we had made wonderful friends we'd seen so many wonderful things It was as though we sort of belonged here the Carlson's well there's no use trying to tell how we felt about them all I can say is that I wish every traveler as much friendship as we found up there in the sky and then in sunny Southern California [Music] and now we're taking off again North to San Francisco goodbye Richard Mona Carlson and thanks a million it's really been wonderful and maybe someday we'll be back again [Music] flying toward more good times in San Francisco below us vacation spots we hope to visit someday Monterey and Carmel along the coast for instance the big trees enormous stands of giant redwoods which were mere saplings hundreds of years ago [Music] and Yosemite full of scenic wonders impressive Half Dome wonderful wild country four pack trips and hi Laci waterfalls reflecting the Sun splashing down steep cliffs we're told as a ski country to all winter sports for that matter personally I go for a nice warm fireplace at home but for those who like snow and what goes with it like ski chasing down mountains well here it is [Music] I'm Francisco just a few minutes away now everyone says it's the new york at the west coast although it's not as large as los angeles san francisco has the reputation of being much more cosmopolitan there's the Golden Gate Bridge and like all California cities on the coast surf bathing only a few minutes from the heart of the city about the first thing we did after landing was to take a boat trip around the day it's a lovely trip and a wonderful skyline view of the bay city as exciting a sight as we'd seen on the entire trip we're passing under the Oakland Bay Bridge I believe this is the second longest bridge in the world here's the Ferry Building at the end of famous Market Street we'd heard about the cable cars of course and one of the first things we did was to get on board although frankly it looked a little shaky to me it was quite a sight to see the conductor in the motormen turn the car around at the end of the line I thought all that went out with the gay 90's quaint that's the word for it I think a one-way trip will be enough for me [Music] rising from the crest of Nob Hill the famous Mark Hopkins hotel and this is the view from the top of the mark looking toward the Oakland Bay Bridge in the cities beyond Chinatown San Francisco has the largest Chinese community outside of China so it says in the guidebook very oriental very intriguing gift shops full of lovely Chinese jewelry and other exquisite knickknacks Henry got kind of worried but I promised I'd go easy and I did within reason that is here's a really fabulous place San Francisco's famous Fisherman's Wharf where hundreds of fishing boats bring in tons of fish caught not far off shore outside the Golden Gate all kinds of shell and other fish so right then and there on the war we'd already had our lunch in Chinatown but how could anyone resist those tantalizing odors plenty of Wharf restaurants marvelous fish menus and wonderful friendly service several places you pick out your own food and they prepare it for you Henry's not much of a seafood eater strictly a hamburger man but even Henry had to try some of this well this food was all and more we'd heard this wasn't eating for hunger this was strictly for pleasure and now it's really good buying goodbye to California no longer the land of our dreams but now the land of wonderful memories goodbye from Henry and me until we come back again someday we hope and from California to you Edie and Henry a very pleasant goodbye until we meet again for you California means holiday time and the pursuit of unforgettable memories and that's what it means to thousands who come here every year something for everyone on the beaches along mountain trails at the resorts in the cities those looking for the vigorous life and those in search of the quiet warmth of the all-embracing Sun this then is California the Golden State all things to all people a great place to live a wonderful place to visit truly a vacation Wonderland [Music]