ALOIS HAVRILLA VISITS CASABLANCA MOROCCO 1930s TRAVELOGUE MOVIE 60344

This 1935 film by RKO Radio Pictures is narrated by veteran radio announcer Alois Havrilla and was produced by the Van Beuren Corporation. Alois highlights six different aspects of Moroccan life.
His trip begins at the port of Casablanca (1:31) from which he drove to the Morocco city of Marrakesh (Marrakech in French). This city, founded in 1062, lies off the northern slope of the Atlas Mountains (1:41). The remains of ancient walls (1:50) overlook a road used by horseback riders, cars, and a herd of cattle. The Koutoubia Mosque tower, built by Islamic Moors in 1157, still stands (2:01). People gather to do business in the jamila (2:06), an open square. The native people (2:12) are a mix of Berbers, Arabs, Moors, Jews, and Sudanese. The first activity is that of the public scribe (2:36-3:14). This individual sits whittling a piece of bamboo into a pen point(3:05). He is writing in Arabic. Next, children play with marbles in the dirt (3:15-3:40). They shoot their alleys in this game that originated over 2,000 years ago.We next watch a harness maker finishing a belt (3:41). The leather is made of goat skins, tanned in a yellow or brilliant red dye, and sewn with heavily waxed silk. A man tries on his purchase (4:00). To make these dyes (4:17), children pound pomegranates and other vegetable matter using poles and a large mortar. Silk is swirled around in the dye (4:24) and the excess squeezed out.The fourth activity is killing locusts. One method (4:48-5:53) involves using a scarf to sweep the yet wingless nymphs into long ditches filled with water, drowning them. The second method (5:55-6:30) involves guiding the swarm into large mounds of dry straw, which are then set on fire. We next learn about the escargot export business (6:31-7:32). Land snails are gathered from the fields and taken to a central station for sorting by size and quality. They are then crated and loaded onto trucks for export to France, Italy, and the U.S. Last, how to properly eat in a Moroccan restaurant is documented (7:37). Before entering, the two men remove their shoes and leave them at the door. A trio plays a violin, drum, and a tambourine (7:48). The men sit on floor cushions to eat (7:57). A server removes the dome over an earthen platter of goat meat (8:07). To begin (8:19), the bread is broken and dipped into the sauce, meat is picked off the bone, and they drink wine out of a ceramic cup (8:59). Afterwards, an attendant brings in a brass bowl holding a cake of soap (9:10). Water is poured over the man’s hands as he washes them and his beard. He dries his hands on a shared cloth used throughout the meal. To finish, the ceremony of tea (9:51) involves adding tea leaves, mint, sugar, and hot water into a sterling silver teapot.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.comWe encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: "01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference."

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com