Visit to the Philippines Cock Fights Manila Hong Kong Uss Canopus 30864 (1931)

Synopsis

Shot by an unknown American military officer in 1931, this silent 16mm home movie shows views of colonial life in the American protectorate in this period. The film begins with shots of what might be the main gate of Fort Santiago or Fort McKinley in Manila at:46. At 1:18 is a view of Manila's harbor with ships plying the waters including merchant ships and a four stack destroyer. At 2:00 is what the Manila Hotel, designed by architect William Parsons around 1915 in a Mission style. At 2:17, golf swings are practiced while at 2:35 drivers wait. At 2:41 the local sport of cock fighting is explored with the metal spur shown at 2:50. At 5:15 the road to Cavite Naval Base is shown with lots of Navy laundry on display. Looks like everyone was employed taking care of the sailors! At 6:47 a water buffalo is shown getting a mud bath. At 7:06 are views of manila with both water buffalo and car traffic, as well as horse drawn carts visible. At 7:32, the "morning after the Game" (possibly the Army-Navy Football game?) is shown with men and women in proper clothes enjoying breakfast at what might be the Manila Hotel. Life for these Americans seemed to be rather gay and sweet based on these images. At 9:20 a goat (symbol of the U.S. Army football team, os possibly a mascot) is shown on display. At 9:44 swimming in the Hotel Manila pool. At 10:09, close up views of the Hotel and at 10:18, more shots of Manila harbor. At 11:00, the film switches to a submarine, which is seen at 11:46. The…

Uploader's description on archive.org

Details

Running time

16 minutes

Language

English

Collection

Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

• Stock Footage