At his Lost Landscapes 6 show at the Castro Theater earlier this month, our friend Rick Prelinger showed parts of this 20-minute travelogue-style movie on San Francisco from 1955. The cinematographer, Tullio Pellegrini, was an amateur with very professional skills as an editor. (His narrative is a bit heavy on the “biggest” and destinations being “meccas,” but most of his facts are right.)
This is already rocketing around the local history community, and everyone has a favorite part. Playland’s Big Dipper? Monkey Island? The rustic bridges of Golden Gate Park? Those beautiful, beautiful cars everywhere? Sit back and enjoy:
http://www.archive.org/details/SanFrancisco1955CinemascopeFilm
Tags: video
A native of San Francisco, I have lived abroad since 1967, so I especially enjoyed seeing The City of my high school years!