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“On the Square” is a 1960s color American anti-Communist film presentation on the Soviet Union / USSR presented by Shurfine Foods in cooperation with KGNC Farm and Ranch Department (KGNC is an Amarillo, Texas based radio station). The film also contains scenes shot in on Scandinavia. Directed and narrated by John Garland Smith aka "Cotton John" and photographed by Bill Rhew, the film opens with scenes of Norway's cities and stunning nature before moving to Leningrad (St. Petersburg) and Moscow.
Opening credits overlaid scenes Kremlin Clock, Red Square, Saint Basil’s Cathedral Moscow (0:08). Norwegian fish market (0:58). Troldhaugen Home of composer Edvard Grieg, views of Nordåsvannet Bay (1:34). Norwegian farms nestled in scenic valleys; Portrait of family at work on their farm working with hay, goat milk for dairy products (3:02). Valdres Folkemuseum, local boy and girl perform folk dance (3:54). Resort in Stalheim, views from property (5:03). Farm sheds, Norwegian glaciers seen from ferry boat along fjord (5:21). Various shots of Oslo - office buildings, port, historic buildings (6:17). Locals, children sit and play at parks (6:50). Oslo sculpture park: Fountain, monolith by Gustav Vigeland (7:04). Oslo City Hall, sculptures and bas-reliefs by prominent Norwegian artists (7:56). Royal Palace in Oslo (8:05). Holmenkollen Ski Museum & Tower (ski jump) (8:12). Viking Ship Museum (8:42). Borgund Stave Church, Lutheranism in Norway (9:13). Idyllic scene as pair row across lake (9:42). Narrator Cotton John introduces ad break, Shurfine Foods commercial - “American Way,” American colorful, packaged supermarket; Housewives shopping for family (10:07). Passengers board perhaps Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-104A in Helsinki, Finland en route to Leningrad (Communist Flag painted on tail), interior of jet (11:57). Contrast sparse plane with montage of “American life” and American values: cowboys at rodeo, court, enterprise and technology i.e. RCA TK 42, property ownership, fashion, family home with pets (12:53). Views of Leningrad (St. Petersburg) along Neva River, water ferry (14:06). Winter Palace/ General Staff Building; Palace Square; Alexander Column (14:30). Woman sweeping streets (14:58). Admiralty Building (15:26). Monument to Nicholas I, Saint Isaacs Cathedral , St. Isaac’s Square (15:29). Bullet holes on marble column from siege of Leningrad, WWII (16:00). Tourists walk through grand halls of State Hermitage Museum; Map showing land mass of USSR (16:12). Locals form line at fruit/ vegetable stand, cost of food (17:23). Tramway streetcar (18:17). Recreational activities: locals fish along Neva River, hydrofoil passenger boat, view of Kunstkamera Museum (18:36). Peterhof Palace (Peter the Great, fountains and gilded statues) (18:59). View of Moscow from Sparrow Hills (20:10). Sites in Moscow: Main building of Moscow State University, Soviet statues around city, Rossiya Cinema on Pushkin Square, giant Moskva Pool, high rise apartment buildings, modern hotel complex (20:28). Fortified Donskoy Monastery (16th century) in disarray, disregard for religious establishments (21:58). Communist billboards (22:26). The Monument to the Conquerors of Space (22:49). Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy (VDNKh), main gate, various pavilions for all 15 Soviet Socialist Republics built around Friendship of People’s Fountain, Russian folk dance performance, agriculture demos/ education (22:55). Interior Space Pavilion: Lenin portrait, Voskhod 1, Sputnik 1, Laika space dog (24:43). U.S.S.R pavilion, Expo 58 World Fair, Brussels (25:21). Circus performance Gorky Park: acrobatics, ice skating/ bicycling bears (26:06). Moscow Metro (28:10). GUM (department store) shop display windows (28:49). Narrator, cameraman stick out in “western” suits, cowboy hat standing on Red Square: view of Kremlin Citadel, Dormition Cathedral (29:50). Interior of Kremlin, religious mosaics (30:40). View from crowded Red Square looking towards Lenin’s Tomb, State Historical Museum, St. Basil’s Cathedral (31:11). Sightseers file past graves of Communist leaders along Kremlin Wall (31:38). Long, winding line for Lenin’s Tomb and Crypt, various photos of Lenin (31:53). Crowds, music, red flags wave on Red Square for Moscow Victory Day Parade “May Day,” Red Army tanks, A-350 anti-ballistic missiles, etc. (33:03). Changing of the guard at Lenin’s Tomb (35:12). Closing Credits (36:08).
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit www.PeriscopeFilm.com