HOME MOVIES: 1930s CARIBBEAN

Genre: home movie

Year Published: 1930s

Format: 16mm

Description: Shot by an unknown American tourist, this black and white, silent, early 1930s home movie footage depicts a family’s trip to the Caribbean, including scenes of natural landscapes and historic architecture in Havana Bay, Cuba, Panama, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (TRT 14:11). The film starts with an image shot from the deck of a ship, of the lighthouse known as Faro Castillo del Morro, at Morro Castle (Castillo de los Tres Reyes Magos del Morro) in Havana Bay, Havana, Cuba. A pan shows the Morro fortress (0:08). The coastal skyline of Havana, Cuba (0:40). A distant, steam powered ocean cruise liner (0:59). A portrait shot of two men in suits and ties and a woman in white, wearing a hat, all aboard a passenger steamer (1:06). The Panama Canal. A sequence of locks is visible, with a railcar running on tracks in between them. Passengers look out from the bow of their ship as the railcar ascends a steep incline. Ships docked at harbor (1:12). Opening the gate of one of the locks. Pedestrians walk alongside on a path. Men haul in rope from the docks (2:40). Late 1920s style automobiles drive along a mostly empty street in front of coastal storefronts, including a "French Drug Store." A man in a white Panama hat passes by. A shot from the Panama shore shows a passenger ship proceeding through the locks. A gate closes. The locks are seen filled with water, allowing for passage of a ship billowing black smoke (3:15). A closeup shows rushing water emptying from the locks. Slowly, the water level encompassing the ship begins to change. Another gate is opened (4:46). A 360-degree seaside panorama from a high elevation shows the canal at a distance, with mountains in the background (5:41). Panamá Viejo, the remains of the original Panama City, and Old Panama Cathedral (6:45). A man in silhouette, framed by a doorway. He inspects the ruins. The man, wearing a white suit, climbs a stone wall and waves joyously (6:51). A wide shot shows Panamá Viejo in the background, and a horse-drawn carriage in the foreground. A man in white reclines. The carriage driver wears less flashy attire (7:34). A pan around Panamá Viejo (7:59). A man operates a well, drawing up a bucket, while our tourist party looks on in amusement (8:07). Back on the ship, a man smokes a pipe and plays with a dog. Women sit in lounge chairs, reading magazines on deck. A black and white puppy fails to take direction from a woman’s outstretched hand (8:22). Smoke from a passing steamship obscures a coastal city skyline. A large bridge and urban architecture. Two men in conversation. A large luxury liner cruises by (9:09). A family portrait, with a woman and a young girl, all wearing cloche hats. Packing a polished black automobile and waving goodbye. A man doffs his hat (9:47). A rugged, mountainous landscape with winding roads, filmed shakily from within the car. Ascending a mountainside (10:26). A panorama from a scenic lookout point (11:20). Men smoking cigarettes (11:50). Cacti is visible. Back on the road, a truck speeds past (12:16). Caribbean storefronts and horse-drawn carts. Men carry large sacks on their shoulders (12:28). A camera-shy woman in a blouse repeatedly tries to hide from being filmed (12:50). A young girl poses for the camera, with mountains in the background. A man in a suit poses with a fire truck. Firemen carry buckets of water near a gate labeled, "Collegio Aldridge" (13:01). Sugarloaf Mountain is seen on the horizon, identifying the final location as Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (13:55). The Panama Canal was built in 1884 and taken over by the United States in 1904.

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