In B&W and Color. Originally titled "1300 Miles in 15 Minutes," this is an amateur travelogue by my grandfather Gus Martens. Sadly, the film's acetate has decomposed to the point that substantial portions may be difficult to watch, but I felt it was important to salvage as much of it as possible. There are definitely scenes of historical interest worth preserving, such as the car ferries crossing the Delaware River before bridge construction made them obsolete, the since-demolished Columbus Hotel of Miami, the replica galleon docked in Biscayne Bay and, of course, the vintage traffic (11:44). The 10-year old boy appearing in several scenes is my father, Warren, who recently passed away at the age of 83 . The initials "M.G.W." in the opening title are those of my grandparents Margaret & Gus, and Warren.
Gustave at the time was working as a field manager for Hoffman Beverages, and making business trips to Florida was a regular part of his job. He usually went by plane (an enviable job perk for anybody living in Queens back then) but for this particular trip in 1939 he took his wife and son along via auto. During their long drive down the eastern seaboard the family made stopovers in Washington, Mount Vernon, Charleston, Fort Sumter, and St. Augustine before reaching their final destination in Miami.
Since Grandpa was "Mr. Home Movie" to everyone who knew him back home, he certainly didn't want to return from exotic Florida without a picture show, or else an awful lot of people were going to be disappointed! Well, Grandpa certainly delivered.
Just try to imagine how this film originally looked when the colors were vivid and the details were crystal clear. Should you have any mouldering old movies in your basement that are worth keeping, please try to have them digitally transferred by a reputable service before it's too late.
And let me assure you - unlike the fake home movies appearing all over television commercials these days, the aging film effects seen here are 100% authentic!
Robert Martens
September, 2012