User Reviews

Traveltalks goes to rural England after the world war. Farming is old fashion and wide spread. We stop at Bradford-on-Avon in southwestern England. It's a rustic town of thatch roof cottages. There are still working blacksmiths and cattle in the streets. The modern world takes the form of new telephone poles and an American cemetery for the recent war dead. It's more than what I expected and it shows a disappearing world. It may not be a good tourist advertisement back in its day but it does provide a fascinating snapshot of old England.

James A. FItzpatrick send the Technicolor cameras to rural England, with Hone Glendinning and Virgil Miller to run them. Then he shows us a couple of graveyards, and recites poetry, including Gray's Elegy.

I have just been reminded that Fitzpatrick was a sincere and dedicated film maker. True, he ran a travel agency on the side, and this colored his commentary, but he was given to reciting facts and commenting on things that moved his heart, whether was was an American military graveyard in Wiltshire or teeing off at St. Andrews. He did not instruct potential tourists in what goods to buy at the marketplace or assure them that the craftsmen produced up-to-date designs. Fitzpatrick may have been inclined to shout facts from the almanac at his audience, but he did it, I believe, to educate them, not to get them to buy stuff; they had already bought a movie ticket, and that was enough.

Looking at the survivals in rural England, especially the thatched roofs, is very pleasant. The print that plays on Turner Classic Movies is in very good condition.

Pastoral Panoramas (1950)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

This entry in the TravelTalks series takes us back to England where we learn that after WWII the country tried to make the effort to turn their land into a valuable asset. We see the large farms with the entire family (including grandma) working and see a local blacksmith who doesn't appear to have grown with the times. Also on hand is the burial site of poet Thomas Gray and the Cambridge American Military cemetery. If you've seen one of these then you know what to expect and this entry lives up to the nice quality of the series. Once again it's the Technicolor that really jumps out at you even if the print shown on TCM was in pretty bad condition. The golden look of the crops is what really stands out as does the beautiful white crosses at the cemetery. James A. FitzPatrick's narration once again fits the film.