This 1947 color travelogue film about Florida is part of the Dudley Pictures Corporation “This Land of Ours” series. It opens with the gates of St. Augustine, founded by the Spanish in 1565 (:45). Two children take a drink from Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth (1:04-1:10). Just outside the gates is the 1672 Castillo de San Marcos, renamed Fort Marion in 1821. (1:13-1:35). People pick celery and cauliflower (1:37-1:55). Carrots are picked using a mechanical digger (1:57). Men climb ladders to pick citrus. Shown are overflowing trucks of oranges pulling into the processing and canning plant, where the products next travel by train (2:00-2:20). Longleaf and slash pine trees are tapped for the crude gum from which turpentine and various oils are distilled (2:22-2:37). A phosphate processing plant produces fertilizer (2:39-2:55). Jacksonville [the largest city at that time of the film] is a port city (2:56-3:12). One of its largest products is cigar making, as shown by men hand-rolling them at a cigar factory (3:14-3:29). Pensacola is the home of the United States Naval Air Station (3:33-3:42). Shown in Tallahassee is the capital building (3:45), the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College (4:00), and the Florida State College for Women (4:06). The University of Florida is in Gainesville (4:15). The camera travels down Biscayne Boulevard in Miami with its coconut palm trees (4:24-4:40) until it reaches the beaches of Biscayne Bay, covered in sunbathers (4:41-4:52). Palm Beach has luxury hotels (4:45). Huts in the Everglades house the Seminole Indians (5:14-5:50). Southern belles are shown working at Cypress Gardens (5:55), which also has a water show (6:13). The Singing Tower is at Bok Tower Gardens (6:18), Silver Springs has glass-bottomed boats through which an underwater swimming show can be seen (6:30-7:03). Crocodiles are seen at the Florida Reptile Institute, as are rattlesnakes (7:05-7:15). Dolphins perform at Marine Studios (7:16-7:37). The film summarizes Florida by showing snippets of the same clips already shown.
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