Grand Canyon, Pride of Creation

Out in the dry state of Arizona, arguably the most impressive of the seven wonders of the world can be seen. This episode of Traveltalks focuses on the Grand Canyon, the nearby Colorado River, and a few other things in the vicinity. Fitzpatrick starts in north-central arizona in what is known as the Painted Desert, which is a stretch of plateaus and mesas formed over millions of years via the process of erosion. Surprisingly, back in those times this area was essentially a jungle inhabited by dinosaurs, which is a far cry from how it now looks. We then look at the San Francisco peaks. Rising 13 thousand feet above sea level, they're the highest mountains in arizona, and their melting snow descends into valleys below where cows and other animals eat. Finally, the moment we've all been waiting for comes into view. At over 50 miles in length, the Grand Canyon is unlike anything else on planet Earth. It is guessed that Spanish explorers in search of treasure were the first to come across this great wonder, but Native Americans say the world's first humans came from the underworld via the canyon. Fitzpatrick then drives along the road that encircles the rim of the canyon so we can see it from a different angle. The sheer scale of the formation is clear as day as some sections of it are as wide as 18 miles. Due to the shifting position of solar rays, the canyon during the day displays a multitude of colors, until just before sunset when it turns bright purple. People from miles around come to ride mules into the depths of the canyon, and so far, 200 thousand people have done this. The canyon is also apparently big enough to house every single human being on earth and still have room for additional millions. On the floor of the canyon is the colorado river, which slowly but surely erodes further sections of it over the course of countless centuries. The first time I watched this, I thought that (for the first time) the Technicolor worked to the detriment of the experience since the colors on the Grand Canyon are too bright. I thought there was a glitch in the disc when I saw them being shown as purple, but according to the narrator it's a real occurrence. I'm not trying to find flaws in this short, but after seeing dozens of (mostly nondescript) Traveltalks, I can't help but be a little bit judgmental.

Traveltalks goes to the Grand Canyon. There are sheep and some wildlife. There is the Grand Canyon as we drive by. There is also a tour following a mule train. I wonder if they could have carried the camera while riding a mule. That would have been cinematically interesting. Otherwise, this is like an old family vacation film and nothing more. I guess this was soothing during the darkness of world war.

Grand Canyon, Pride of Creation (1943)

*** (out of 4)

Nice entry in James A. FitzPatrick's TravelTalks series from MGM. As the title clearly says, this one takes us to Arizona where we get two different views of the Grand Canyon. We start off on the rim and then travel down below on a mule ride. Various bits of history are told including how it was believed to have been created 160-million years ago and that it's believed that it was Spanish travelers searching for gold who discovered it. We learn that hunting is prohibited in the park and we even get to see a deer who FitzPatrick says probably has never heard a gunshot. This entry in the TravelTalks series really doesn't feature as much narration as fans of the series are probably used to but I'm going to guess this was done simply because the images speak for themselves. Some people have asked me if it gets tiresome watching all these TravelTalks shorts and I say no because they are all charming in their own way. Plus, each time I watch one I can't help but think about the people who saw them when they were originally made and how many of them were probably sitting in the theater and seeing the places for the very first time. I'm sure those who had never seen the Grand Canyon in anything but B&W photos were simply awed by the images here. History buffs will enjoy seeing the land how it was in 1943 and as a film it remains entertaining.

James A. Fitzpatrick sends the Technicolor cameras out to take a look at the Grand Canyon, and I spent my time wondering why he took so long to get around to it. Of course, it has been a popular subject for well over a century, between paintings, postcards, stereopticon slide (I saw the Grand Canyon in 3-d on a friend's Viewmaster set almost sixty years ago), and straight out touring. I've been there, although I didn't use one of the well-known mules to head down. It was summer and hot and sticky.

The print I saw looks as if the colors have shifted, which they should not do with true Technicolor. The colors are too bright, too unlikely. Of course, that may simply be that my memory is unwilling to believe the reality, and over the 45 years since I saw the Canyon in person, the image has become muted.