THE GREAT SILK ROUTE [Main Title]
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- Title: THE GREAT SILK ROUTE [Main Title]
- Film Number: MGH 6600
- Other titles: COLLECTION OF COPLEY THAW TRAVELOGUES [Alternative Title]
- Summary: A travelogue following an American millionaire and his wife on their tour along the Great Silk Route, beginning in Europe on the brink of the outbreak of the Second World War.
- Description: "The Thaw Asiatic Expedition travels THE GREAT SILK ROUTE Produced by Lawrence Copley Thaw in the New Magnacolor Copyright MCMXL Trans Asia, Inc All Rights Reserved" The film opens with a short text describing the route's history. A map accompanied by the narrative outlines route to be followed. Paris. The Eiffel Tower, July 1939. Place de la Concorde. Reference to the threat of war. Special permits had been granted months earlier for the expedition to pass through Germany. In Germany swastikas adorn buildings. A Nazi escort accompanies the convoy. Young men help move the caravan after it gets stuck following an overnight rainstorm. The convoy moves on accompanied by their official courier the Baron von Behr [spelling ?] to the Black Forest. German Austria, a military parade. The party camps near Vienna, in the court of the Schönbrunn Palace. A tour around the trailer, its engine and mod-cons. The Baron von Behr [spelling ?], one of his young ADCs and Larry consult map. Budapest. The party crosses the Chain Bridge ? Northern Yugoslavia. Women in fields collecting flower seeds. Inside a seed processing factory. The convoy passes through Belgrade. Traditional dancers in Bulgaria, near Sofia. The trucks struggle on poor roads. A parade in southern Bulgaria, Larry is greeted by the mayor. Istanbul, general views. Dolmabahçe Palace? on the Bosphorus once the palace of a former Sultan , now the home of the President (Ismet Inonu - not seen). Saint Sofia Mosque. Street scenes. The party cross into Asia on a ferry boat lent to them by the government. Bursa. The Sacred Green Tomb of Bursa. The party makes its way slowly along the poor roads. Ankara. General views. Statue of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Street scenes. Ministry of War. Ministry of Hygiene (featuring nude figure on front of building). Ankara Railway Station. Train through the Taurus (Toros) mountains because roads impassable. The Turkoman Nomads, setting up camp. Bolan Belgay ? , high-ranking government official (and Mrs) helped set up these scenes. Rug making, cooking, drinking coffee and a mock-up of a wedding feast. South to the Turkey/Syria border, a village near Antioch/Antakya/Hatay. Wedding celebrations staged for the camera, with reference again to Mr Bolan Belgay and how filming was possible thanks to government assistance. The convoy arrives in French-governed Syria, the town of Aleppo (Halab). A climb up to the old fort and views over the town. September 1 1939, reference to war breaking out and petrol rationing. The party paint the Stars and Stripes on the roofs of their vehicles as a precaution against the possibility of attacks from Italian forces. The party makes its way through Damascus. General views of the city. Visiting a stately home (does not state whose). Crossing the Syrian desert to Baghdad. Rutba Wells, in Iraq being used as a stopping place for the British truck trains. The party is met by an official who has come from Teheran (Tehran) to escort them into the country, he is accompanied by squad of Iraqi Desert Patrolmen (Brigans?) Halfway between Rutba Wells and Baghdad they camp at the British RAF base (Habbaniya ?) where they are guardians of the oil pipe and freight route to Mediterranean. An Iraqi soldier in the British army performs 'changing of the guard' routine. Armoured cars and an armed wireless car. Baghdad. General views. Peggy and Larry meet the young (4 year old) Faisal II, King of Iraq, at their camp on Baghdad's racetrack ground. Also present is his uncle, Abdul Ilah?, the Prince Regent, (the current sovereign until Faisal is older). A visit to the nomad tribe, Bani-Tamim ruled by Sheik Hasan el-Suayal ? Bedouin life. Falconry. Coffee and cigarettes with the Sheik. Acourt hearing in a tent. The Sheik leaves by car. Lunch in tent with the Sheik, attended by Peggy and Larry, the American minister and Mrs Novenshu?, the British Ambassador, French minister and high Iraqi officials. Bedouin display of horsemanship. Teheran (Tehran). General views. Statue of His Imperial Majesty Reza Shah Pahlavi. New parliament building. Bank of Iran. The officers club. Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Camp in a Persian garden, near Mount Damavand, grounds of the American Legation. Mr and Mrs van H Ingard ? Great mosque of Teheran. The Imperial treasure room of the old palace, weapons covered in gems. The Peacock Throne of Persia, and auxiliary chair. Sheep shearing for wool to make Persian rugs, preparing wool and dying. Rug weaving. Race meeting in the shadow of the Elburz Mountains. South to Esfahan (Isfahan) the centre of Persian arts and crafts. Mosque. North to Qom, the Tomb of Fatima. Through the Elburz Mountains to Chalus and the region on the edge of the Caspian sea. Neyshabur (Nishapur) and the tomb of Omar Khayyam. Mashad (Meshed) and the largest mosque in Persia, Imam Reza's Shrine. The expedition cuts through Baluchestan (Baluchistan) into Afghanistan. First stop old city of Ghazni on the Kandahar trade route. Kabul where the Great Silk Route divides. Busy street scenes. Women wearing burkas. Young King Mohammad Zahir Shah, reigning monarch of Afghanistan, inspects the convoy. North of Kabul in the Hindu Kush, in the Bamian Valley, the Great Buddha of Bamia carved into the cliff. Village of Shari Gogola? The Gorges of Bodola? Signs stating 'Frontier of India' and 'Limit of British India' at the Khyber Pass. A camel train. The Shagai Fort, British stronghold. Barbed wire baracade of the city of Peshawar. The governor of the Northwest Frontier Province meets the party (not seen) and they drive through the barrier. General views of the city from elevated position. Street scenes, cinema with posters, band on the street, prostitutes hanging out of windows, traffic policeman, sugar cane vendor, coppersmith, shoemakers, barber, salt merchant, furniture makers, fast-food on the street. Male dancers dressed as women. Near Lahore, the Shalimar gardens. The mosque of Bad Shahi in Lahore, housing Muslim relics. Primitive water wheel turned by blindfolded bullocks. Brief shot of the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Delhi. Archway of India, New Delhi. Palace of the King's Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow. Government office buildings. The Palace of the Nizam of Hyderabad (Fath Jang Mir Osman Ali Khan Asaf Jah VII ?) . Street entertainment, bears and monkeys dancing. Great Jama Mosque in Delhi. Outside Delhi the ruins of the Qutub Minar and the Quwwatu'l-Islam Masjid Mosque. Statue of George V in New Delhi. The film ends on a map showing the route followed. "The End The Thaw Asiatic Expedition"
- Alternative Title: COLLECTION OF COPLEY THAW TRAVELOGUES [Alternative Title]
- Colour: Colour
- Digitised:
- Object_Number: MGH 6600
- Sound: Sound
- Access Conditions: NON-IWM
- Featured Period:
- Production Date: 1940
- Production Country: United States of America
- Production Details: Thaw, Lawrence Copley (Production individual) Boyle, John W (Production individual) Kilenyi, Edward (Production individual) MacPherson, M G (Production individual) Snider, Ray (Production individual) Wilson, Norman (Production cast)
- Personalities, Units and Organisations:
- Keywords:
- Physical Characteristics: Colour format: Colour Sound format: Sound Soundtrack language: English Title language: English
- Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 4 Running time: 74 mins
- HD Media:
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