American Portrait

American Portrait

Rejissyor: Wilding Picture Productions. Tells the story of improvements and better ways of life which have come into being during the last one hundred years. The story centers around a life insurance agent as portrayed by Alan Ladd. 06:27:10:22 CU grandfather clock reads 12:00; camera pans down to woman dropped off by boyfriend wearing suit, woman tries to sneak upstairs past grandfather working at desk but trips on staircase; grandfather walks up to young woman smoking pipe; girl mockingly says to grandfather “What are you doing up at this hour of the night?” “What are YOU doing up?” 06:31:07:14 Horse-drawn carriage pulls up in front of camera; salesman opens up side of carriage with hand painted sign “Marvel of the Age Coal Oil Lamps”; salesman of the 1880s tries to sell woman at door a coal oil lamp, husband comes to door and stubbornly tells salesman off. 06:33:49:02 Man in late-nineteenth century suit smoking cigar. 06:34:43:15 Man rides up on horse to talk to farmer about buying life insurance; farmer angrily sands man away. 06:40:17:25 CU pocket watch with American flag carved into the cover held in disembodied hand; hand opens watch, watch reads 8:32. 06:40:30:26 CU date October 5, 1882 printed on calendar pages removed by disembodied hand to show next day. 06:40:37:14 CU date printed on calendar reads January, 2 1887. 06:40:46:00 Pages of calendar from July of 1895 blow off table. 06:40:53:28 Disembodied hand pulls away calendar page with date November 9, 1899. 06:41:03:17 CU disembodied hand rolls back page on calendar dated September 14, 1903 and flips up to the 17th. 06:41:14:28 Man working at desk stands up to answer antique phone from around 1903. 06:41:52:25 Carnival scene supposed to take place around 1903; great footage of phrenological map on sign in front of circus tent; two men meet at circus, man shows the other man the automobile he is demonstrating at the circus; man says he will race the car against a horse. 06:43:06:18 Great footage of race between antique automobile and a horse;

https://archive.org/details/0746_American_Portrait_06_25_41_00 · Public domain (Internet Archive)