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Note: this film was made prior to the Civil Rights movement. It displays plantation life in the American South and may contain stereotypical images of African Americans that are offensive by modern standards.
This silent film "The Old South" was one of a series of educational movies produced by Eastman Classroom films, a division of Kodak that operated in the late 1920’s and early 30’s. It opens with images of the area to be known as ‘the old south’ encompassing the southeastern United States, stretching towards the central plains (:31). The equator is highlighted as well as the longitude and latitude with which the old south squeezes into (:40). Climate in this area is considerably warm and was ideal for growing various crops (1:02). The coastal plain area is highlighted (1:15). An aerial shot of the waters cutting lines through the land follows (1:29). The flood plain is noted (1:39). The highlands are noted on a map as well as in actual footage (2:17). Home living and work about the home is looked to as locals work on a log cabin (2:24). Women are filmed as they cook and conduct domestic tasks around the home (2:41). A man and young boy work to sharpen tools by hand (2:55). Locals are filmed in colonial attire as horse drawn coaches drive past (3:23). A small school classroom is visited with young women sitting as the teacher lectures (3:30). The film notes much of the population settled around the richest areas for soil (3:40). A map displays the population of 1860 (3:47). Farmers hack at crops in the field (4:01). The film notes the old south needed ‘cheap labor’ (4:54). Tobacco was a major crop in this area as tobacco farms are pointed to (5:01). A small family enters a log cabin (5:27). Sugar cane was another major commodity (6:30). Farmers chop down cane stalk (5:34). Rice fields are looked to (6:30) as farmers dig into the marshy grounds (6:43). Water wheel mills were utilized for power (7:03). Black plantation workers pluck at cotton (7:19). The film turns to the timber industry as a large tree comes down in the woods (7:53). A train drags cars of logs through (8:10). Horses were also used to move the timber (8:18). The poor quality of the roads (8:57) forced travel to the waterways (9:49). A long covered boat moves under a bridge (10:16). A large double deck steamboat (10:47) appears as pedestrians wait on the rocky shoreline (10:52). Steamboat "Winfield Scott" (11:28). Stereotypical images of the "happy slaves" follow. An African American man plays a banjo while a young boy dances with delight (12:56). The favorite sport of the plantation owners was generally fox hunting (13:15). Dogs sprint across open ground as the hunt begins (13:19). Horse and rider sprint through the woods in pursuit of the fox (13:29). The white plantation owners are shown having a dinner party. Guests in long gowns and evening attire stroll into the plantation for an evening gathering (13:42). The party dances inside the plantation as pairs of men and women spin in and out while a violin is played (14:27).
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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