One of the things that inspires my writing a column is not being able to find the information I want anywhere else, so I need to share the material that I have in hopes that it will encourage others to share what they know.
How can an entire series of award-winning Disney documentaries from the 1950s be almost entirely forgotten by even the most avid Disney fan? It seems to be the case with the People and Places series, perhaps because the films were never re-released on any form of home media, although they became quite the staple for showing in school classrooms a half-century ago.
While Walt was excited about the popularity of the True-Life Adventures series, he felt that there needed to be something to introduce American people to different cultures as well. It was this commitment to sharing the stories of other cultures that lead to his plans for an International Street at Disneyland and later the creation of “it's a small world.”.
Walt's original plans for his EPCOT project was that it would be an international community, which is why the creation of World Showcase at Walt Disney World today was very much in keeping with his philosophy.
When talking about his True-Life Adventures documentary series in the May 1954 issue of Women's Home Companion magazine, he stated: “All these people live, work, fear, love as we do. At bottom the human family is one.”
On September 11, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower launched the “People to People” initiative under the U.S. Information Agency as a program of personal diplomacy between people of different countries to enhance international understanding and friendship.
Leftover footage from Seal Island was used as the basis for the first episode in the People and Places series.
Walt Disney was an eager participant, and he stated, “For hundreds of years, philosophers have been saying, in one way or another, that a stranger is really nothing more than a friend you haven't met yet. If just plain people would get together and listen to one another, they might be our best ambassadors of international good will.
“It's true. When people get to know and understand each other, they very often find that they're not much different after all,” he said. “Get a ball like that rolling and no telling what we can do for world peace.”
Walt Disney originally sent the photography husband and wife team of Alfred and Elma Milotte to Alaska to film anything they found of interest in this last frontier. They produced lots and lots of footage, of everything from animals to Eskimos to industry and more, but Walt became fascinated with their scenes of seals and encouraged them to shoot more of the delightful animals.
He used that material that featured no indication of man's presence to create the first True-Life Adventures documentary short titled Seal Island (1949). It won an Oscar for Best Short Subject Documentary.
With the success of that series, Walt re-looked at all the massive amount of unused footage that the Milottes had sent, and had Ben Sharpsteen stitch together the material about the life of the Eskimos into the first of a 17-episode travelogue series called People and Places.
That first film titled The Alaskan Eskimo (1953) won an Academy Award in the Best Short Subject Documentary category, and a new Disney documentary series was launched. This first effort was the only film in the series that was not shot in CinemaScope.
The series featured a title card that proclaimed, “All scenes are authentic and the stories are factual,” but were as manipulated experiences as those featured in the True-Life Adventures series. After all, how could people be expected to behave naturally when massive CinemaScope cameras were towering in front of them to capture the Technicolor wonder of it all?
In addition, normal life is often quite dull so some scenes had to be staged (although representing actual experiences) to create a sense of drama.
Walt assigned his True-Life Adventures team, including Winston Hibler and Sharpsteen, to supervise the series. Sharpsteen was the overall producer, as well as directing a few episodes.
Walt had little personal involvement and was preoccupied with the building, opening and operating of Disneyland, and trying to keep the animation department busy as well as juggling his new responsibilities in television. So, these documentary shorts seem to lack his special touch of showmanship and story editing, although were high quality and are beautiful to watch.
In addition, the shorts seem to concentrate more on the superiority of America, compared with these quaint countries and their charming archaic traditions. Any reference to these countries recovering from World War II was completely ignored, as well.
1. The Alaskan Eskimo (2/18/53) 27 min. Director: James Algar
The first film in the series featured the every day home life of an Eskimo village concentrating on one family from one spring to another. Activities included building, hunting and fishing, making hunting tools, gathering fuel, surviving a blizzard and a celebratory mask dance. One comic moment involves making blueberry “ice cream” from the snow. The only film in the series not shot in Cinemascope. This film won an Academy Award for Best Short Subject Documentary. Filmed by Alfred and Elma Milotte
2. Siam (12/24/54) 32 min. Director: Ralph Wright
Despite the heavy monsoon rains, people carry about their every day activities. The women perform a beautiful dance and the men do a boxing match using their feet. There is a visit to a teak camp to see elephants at work, a visit to Bangkok, a trip in a teak wood sampan with a Siamese family down one of the canals, and, finally the coronation of a king. Filmed by Herb and Trudy Knapp. The film was re-titled Thailand.
3. Switzerland (6/16/55) 33 min. Director: Ben Sharpsteen
The film begins with an airplane trip over the landscape of Switzerland, including the Swiss Alps. A visit to some of the cities includes a wedding ceremony, primitive hillside farming, and various craftsmen at work including a cheese maker and a miller. A young boy who herds goats rescues a lost kid from the flock in an obviously staged scene. The fall harvest is shown, as well as a bobsled ride down the famous Cresta Run. The famous Swiss festival, the Basler Fastnacht, is shown with its intricate masks and costumes. The film ends with a climb to the top of the Matterhorn with three young Swiss mountaineers. This film was one of the early inspirations for Walt to build a Matterhorn at Disneyland.
4. Men Against the Arctic (12/21/55) 30 min. Director: Winston Hibler
The film focuses on “icebreakers”, the specially constructed ships built to make their way through the heavy Arctic ice packs, on a trip to Thule, Greenland. Helicopters from the ships help guide the way. The highlight is the difficulty of these ships to reach the weather station at Alert, only four hundred miles from the Arctic Circle, in an annual task called “Operation Alert”. The film follows the ship named the Eastwind that attempts this dangerous undertaking and gets trapped in the ice but eventually frees itself to return to its home base. The film won an Academy Award for Best Short Subject Documentary.
5. Sardinia (2/15/56) 30 min. Director: Ben Sharpsteen
A train takes viewers through the rugged countryside to see the people and stone structures of Sardinia today. Sheep being tended leads to scenes of wool being treated and spun, clothes-weaving and needlework. Also shown is barley-grinding at an ancient mill, bread baking and home delivery. Others segments include a wedding, a holiday parade, a funeral service. The “Ardia” festival is shown, with horsemen riding at top speed to commemorate historical events. The film ends with preparations for the annual tuna run and the fishing fleet catching these fish and returning home.
6. Disneyland, U.S.A. (12/20/56) 42 min. Director: Ham Luske
The longest film of the series was used to acquaint audiences with the wonders of Disneyland, treating the location as if it were a strange, foreign countries with its own customs and unique sites. I've written more extensively about this film for MousePlanet.
7. Samoa (12/25/56) 32 min. Director: Ben Sharpsteen
Once again, the focus is on a typical day with views of boys playing hooky and swimming in a lagoon while other villagers are gathering food and making copra. There is the gathering of chiefs who make and administer the laws of the village and the proposal to build a ceremonial guest house. The one daily hot meal is prepared. Women fish in shallow waters while men underwater at the lagoon. One man is temporarily endangered when his canoe capsizes and the next day his neighbors fell a tree and help him make a new canoe. The proposed guest house is seen being constructed and series of housewarming festivities closing with the villagers performing ritual dances. Photography by Herb and Trudy Knapp.
8. The Blue Men of Morocco (2/14/57) 31 min. Director: Ralph Wright
The action begins in the Sahara Desert in the southern portion of Morocco where the Blue Men of Morocco live today as they did in biblical times. They derive their name from the fact that their skins are stained blue by the indigo dye of their garments. Camp life is shown, including raising camels, churning camel's milk, games of desert checkers, and drinking tea. Then the Blue Men journey to Marrakesh, stopping at an oasis to replenish their water supply and passing Berber shepherds. After a dust storm, they arrive at their destination. They sell their camels and shop for rugs and blue cloth. They then return to the village to continue to live as they always have.
9. Lapland (7/3/57) 29 min. Director: Ben Sharpsteen
The Lapps live in the frigid zone where the Arctic Circle cuts through the upper tips of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. The Lapps are considered an international people who owe allegiance to no particular nation so cross this area freely in a nomadic existence. They go where the migrating reindeer go, their primary source of livelihood. The film focuses on the different weather they must endure and the other challenges they confront with this lifestyle.
10. Portugal (12/25/57) Director: Ben Sharpsteen
The film opens with animation showing the various explorations and routes of Portuguese sailors and then transitions into live action to fishing off of Portuguese ships in modern times. Ships called “rebelos” carry cargoes of empty casks to the upper valley of the Rio Douro to be filled with authentic port wine and then returned down a hazardous river. Viewers are shown the harvesting of the grapes and the cork industry. In addition, there are scenes of bullfighting on horseback and the driving of the bulls through the countryside. Some bulls are diverted into the side streets of the cities for the “amusement of the residents” creating bedlam. Finally, arriving at the arena, viewers see the performance of the caballeros, the matador and the fercados.
11. Wales (6/10/58) 25 min. Director: Geoffrey Foot
The film contrasts the modern Wales with its natural resources, foundries, mills, and factories with its rich historical background and wealth of ancient lore. Great granite fortresses are visited as reminders of past struggles. The film explores the Welsh coastline that makes up three-fourths of its boundary and the use of Welsh language in revivals of ancient ceremonies.
12. Scotland (6/11/58) 25 min. Director: Geoffrey Foot
The film covers the three distinct regions: the highlands, the islands and the lowlands. The inhabitants of the scattered islands of the Inner and Outer Hebrides use little channel boats called “Puffers” to bring everything the islanders need including news from other islands. There is a section devoted to the bagpipe and shows the yearly Edinburgh festival where pipers can show their skill and various clans and regiments gather. Foot had worked on the Disney live-action feature Rob Roy (1954) that took place in Scotland.
13. The Ama Girls (7/9/58) 29 min. Director: Ben Sharpsteen
With the first rays of sunlight, the mother prepares breakfast over an open fire, the father skippers a fishing vessel, and the elder daughter known as an Ama or “diving girl” gets ready for her daily chore. Ama girls who have superior stamina and physique harvest a variety of seaweed called “Heaven's Grass” as a crop. Everyone in the community helps at the end of the day when the sardine fleet returns. Evening brings a brief moment of relaxation but the realization that the struggle to wrest a living from the sea begins again early the next morning. The film won an Academy Award for Best Short Subject Documentary. It was released for the educational market in 1961 on 16mm and re-titled Japan Harvests the Sea.
14. Seven Cities of Antarctica (12/25/58) 30 min. Director: Winston Hibler
The biography of what many considered earth's final frontier, Antarctica, and how many expeditions were finally opening up this area. The film includes a look at the earliest of explorers of the area like Wilkes, Palmer, and Admiral Byrd, and how modern icebreakers cope with the glaciers and mountains of snow. The picture ends with a summary of Antarctica's future potential for natural resources and as a strategic hub for air travel in the Southern Hemisphere. Walt had sent cameramen Lloyd Beebe and Elmo Jones to accompany Navy photographers who were filming “Operation Deepfreeze.” The Disney Studios served as a training facility for the Navy cameramen sharing lessons based on problems encountered while making the True-Life Adventures series. The film won awards from the British Film Academy and the Southern California Motion Picture Council.
15. Cruise of the Eagle (3/19/59) 18 min. Director: Ben Sharpsteen
Basically the story of the U.S. Coast Guard, from keeping sea lanes open to facing gales and hurricanes to accurately forecasting the weather and rescue missions, including a race to the scene of an airliner that ditched in mid-ocean to rescue its passengers. The film ends with a glimpse at the Sea and Air Rescue Services rigorous 10-week training program at sea.
16. Japan (4/6/60) 28 min. Director: Ben Sharpsteen
A comparison of the customs of the past contrasted to present-day Japan. The film shows ancient farming customs, agricultural ceremonies, ancestor worship, school teaching, marriage customs, sporting activities and more while showcasing the natural beauty of the land. The film uses cross-screen filters to give the photography a look that suggested oriental paintings.
17. The Danube (4/27/60) 28 min. Director: Ben Sharpsteen
The pride that the people who live along the Danube take in their traditions is emphasized. Known as the River Highway of Central Europe, the Danube passes through some of the world's most beautiful scenery and this film follows the river through the Black Forest, Bavaria and Austria. Examples are shown of various customs as well as some festivals. The film ends with a view of the most famous of all the Danube cities, Vienna, known according to the narration as “Queen of the Danube”. Photography by Herb and Trudy Knapp.
Always the clever marketer and realizing that his audience may not have seen these documentary shorts or remembered them, Walt recycled some of these People and Places shorts, as well as the True-Life Adventures series, as episodes on his early Disneyland television show.
On October 5, 1955, the Disneyland television show aired an episode titled People and Places: Tiburon, Sardinia, Morocco, Icebreakers. The show featured segments from three of the People and Places series, as well as excerpts for one that was never completed before the series was cancelled: Tiburon.
William Neil Smith (1829-1975) spent four years filming the material as part of his anthropological field work amongst the Seri Indians of Tiburon Island and the northwest coast of Sonora, Mexico.
From 1945-1967, Smith made many extended ethnographical field trips to Sonora, Mexico, to study the Seri Indians at Desemboque and Tiburon Island. His research included lifestyle, customs, language, genealogy, kinship, and cultural changes, due to the influence of outsiders. He assisted the Seris by bringing much needed medicines and supplies to them and introduced them to the culture of the United States.
The Blue Men of Morocco was used as the second half of the Disneyland television episode People of the Desert (4/10/57). Seven Cities of Antarctica appeared in the episode Antarctica: Operation Deepfreeze (6/5/57). The Alaskan Eskimo was shown as the second half of the episode Behind the Cameras in Lapland and Alaskan Eskimo (10/24/56) while the first half showed how filming was done for Lapland.
In 1959, Golden Press released a 176-page hardcover book titled Walt Disney's People and Places written by Jane Werner Watson with color photos from the documentary shorts.
The text was based on the original film narrations by Dwight Hauser, Otto Englander, Winston Hibler, Ted Sears, Alan Jaggs, Francis Cockrell, Ralph Wright, Harrison Negley, James Algar, Trudy Knapp and Cecil Maiden.
There were chapters devoted to Lapland, The Scotland Highlands, Switzerland, The Danube, Portugal, Sardinia, Morocco, Samoa, Japan, Thailand and two chapters to People and Places episodes never made “The Amazon” and “The Navajos.”
There is a foreword credited to Walt Disney:
“In our film visits to faraway lands, we have found that every PEOPLE has a wealth of ancient lore – and every PLACE a treasure of rich tradition. Each land is steeped in the memory of historic times that shaped the lives of its people.
“Today, modern ways have reached into nearly every corner of the globe. Yet in many lands, old and colorful customs continue, unchanged by time, undisturbed by the march of progress. We have sought out these few remaining places where the old ways are carefully preserved by people who cherish ancestral cultures and ancient legacies.
“However, it seems that the laws of progress dictate that, in all things, the old must steadily give way to the new. Our 'People and Places' pictures are living records of some of the unique customs and old cultures that still endure in remote and isolated corners of the globe.
“As the past slips slowly but certainly into the future, these traditions of yesterday may soon be lost forever in all the tomorrows yet to come. Our purpose has been to capture and preserve these stories before they become only dim memories.
“In primitive times, man lived in fear of the tribe in the valley just across the mountains. Yet when adventure and exploration brought such peoples together, they found common bond – common problems – basic human problems of hopes, aspirations and ambitions.
“Most of the world's people will never travel to strange and faraway lands, but we hope that through our pictures, and through the pages of this book, a contribution may be made toward strengthening the bonds of good will and understanding by which all men can exist together in peace.”
The forgotten People and Places series is just another colorful footnote in the rich heritage of both Walt Disney and his company. It is also one of the most poorly documented film series produced by Disney, so hopefully this column might spark others to share the information they have of this unusual project with all of us.
