HOME MOVIES: 1929

Genre: home movie

Year Published: 1920’

Format: 16mm

Description: This extraordinary silent home movie from the late 1920’s takes viewers along a trip to the Pacific coast and includes sights from San Francisco, Stanford, Monterey, Pasadena, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon. It opens with a shot of a traditional San Francisco home in white stucco (:10) and the trio on the trip (:17). The three are then seen heading onto a golf course (1:09), possibly at the Presidio. The Palace of Fine Arts is pictured as the women pose for photographs in front of the structure (1:50). One of the traditional cars of the San Francisco cable car system is shown (2:35). Foggy footage follows of mountains as well as the city skyline (2:55). The Quad on the Stanford Campus is viewed including the Memorial Church (3:08). The tourists then play another game of golf taking turns swinging at the ball (4:06). Marsh’s Oriental Art and Antiques building in Monterey is shown at (5:00). This building is also known as the G.T. Marsh and Sons building, now on the National Register of HIstoric Places. The rocky shoreline along the Pacific coast is the picturesquely depicted with three small islands just off the coast (5:13). Some of the trees are zoomed in on in the area to show their twisting branches (5:56). A large cliff peers out over the water (6:07). What appears to be the Carmel mission is shown at (7:20). The Hotel Del Monte follows with a large outdoor and columned seating area near a swimming pool (7:38). One of the women of the trip stands near a friendly deer in the yard (8:27). The camera then pans upwards to show a large mountain face towering up alongside it (9:04). A brown bear is caught wandering around the grounds (9:24) prior to shots of a large waterfall in Yosemite (9:43). One of the tourists takes a closer peek at the bear (9:59). At (10:13) is the Ahwahnee Hotel. At (10:48) is what appears to be the funicular or incline railroad at Mt. Lowe north of Los Angeles. They then make a stop for refreshments at a small, roadside vernacular style snack stand (10:53) that looks like a piece of citrus. A road winds through the San Gabriel Mountains (11:02). Mansions of either Pasadena or San Marino follow. At (12:03) the stately, palm tree lined roads of Pasadena are shown. The Pasadena City Hall is visible at (12:12) and at (12:38) Benedict's Castle in Riverside. An oil field follows (12:40), most likely in Venice, with a close up shot of one oil drill in operation (12:58). The film begins to wrap up as the tourists gear up for a trail ride through the Grand Canyon (13:46) as the canyon follows just before the film’s conclusion (14:22).

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