[Roger Inman Film]

Date1940 – 1943

Viewing Notes[The film is water damaged and some images are obscured.] A series of “magic tricks” accomplished with film editing: A trick with a bottle. A woman appears, standing on a table. The man performing card tricks, seated next to a microscope. He makes an elephant statuette disappear and reappear. A motorboat on the water. Two women and a boy driving the motorboat, filmed from the bow. A man on a dock putting on a dive suit and helmet. The diver entering the water as people watch from the beach. A woman [Marge Inman?] with two dogs and a lion cub. [Kitty?] The woman with an adult male lion. Three women dancing, wearing flower bikinis. Intertitle: ‘American Bombers to British West Africa. Produced by Rolley Inman.’ Intertitle: ‘The following are the only authentic scenes ever taken showing actual preparation and flying the South Atlantic in America’s all out aid to the British Empire.’ A world map. A hand draws a line showing the airplane’s route. A man walking up a runway, past a row of airplanes. People seated near the wheels of an airplane. A man and a woman working on an airplane engine. The man and the woman loading supplies into the plane. The man in a flight suit with a backpack (parachute?) Three men and a woman gathered around the pack. A man wearing a life jacket, sitting in an inflatable rowboat next to an airplane propeller. People loading supplies into an airplane. Men sitting in the cockpit of an airplane. Clouds and airplanes, filmed from another airplane. Close up of a propeller. Intertitle: ‘Rolling down the coast of South America, we pass DEVILS ISLAND. Famous French Penal Colony.’ Devil’s Island, filmed from the air. People inside the airplane. Airplanes in flight. Intertitle: After thirteen hours [of] trackless seas… we thrill to our first glimpse of Darkest Africa.’ View through the airplane windshield. Intertitle: ‘The Gold Coast of Africa. Known as the white man’s grave yard. Where survival of the fittest is still the only law.’ Landscape filmed from the air. People gathered around a line of airplanes. People inside an airplane. People pose in front of an airplane. Two women and two men in pith helmets, holding a baby. Young women. Women carrying baskets on their heads. A man climbs a termite mound, as people gather around and pose for the camera. Two people seated on the ground. The two men in pith helmets running through the trees, followed by a group of people. The men open a box and hand things out to the gathered crowd. The two men, one with a monkey on his shoulder, approach a camera on a tripod. The men playing with a chimpanzee. One man playing with the monkey and the chimpanzee. The two men walking past small houses. A giraffe. A man handing out necklaces to a group of people. Women pose for the camera. Intertitle: ‘The Dance of the Virgins. Given by Jungle Belles in T[ogo?] Land.’ Traditional dancers. A man holding two young chimpanzees. A chimpanzee sitting on the ground. Two men with a lion cub. The two men walking. A man with the lion cub. A man with binoculars. The two men walking with an elephant. A man holding a camera. A group of women.The two men pose with women and children. Intertitle: ‘Crossing the burning sands of the great Sahara we arrive in Egypt, land of the Pharaohs, playground of Cleopatra.’ People gathered around a parked airplane. Shot of the side of the plane, with a US Air Force insignia. A man in military uniform poses with a rifle. The soldier marching. A line of men in pith helmets and uniforms. A man in uniform. Intertitle: (partially obscured) The [Pyramids] of GIZEH. Built by King [obscured] 3500 years [obscured]. A man standing in front of the Great Sphinx. Intertitle (partially obscured) ‘Notice [---] the Sphinx [---] by a cannon [---] during Napoleon’s conquest of the Nile.’ Silhouettes of the pyramids. A person riding a camel. Intertitle: ‘Enroute [obscured] we visit a caravan in the Trans-Jordan.’ Part of a sign: ‘AS-‘. A man in uniform. Shot of a man. A group of children. A horse drawn wagon. Close up of two women. [End of Reel]