In this episode of the non-fiction TV show “True Adventure” dates to 1966, Bill Burrud narrates the Mexican origins of a European myth about vampires taking the shape of bats. His crew visits Sinaloa, Mexico, to learn more about this piece of folklore and its relation to rabies and other infections caused by bats. This black-and-white show provides footage of Sinaloa and its wilderness, as well as close-up videos of bats drinking animal blood. Bill Burrud was a popular American television host who produced a number of programs related to nature and travel in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.
(00:42) Bill Burrud welcomes viewers to the series “True Adventure.”
(02:32) Aerial view of Budapest, Hungary.
(04:29) A casket opens, and a hand reaches out from inside.
(05:22) A young woman wakes from her sleep, frightened.
(05:29) She screams, ostensibly because she sees a vampire.
(05:32) She lies immobile, her eyes open.
(05:47) A medieval church in Europe.
(05:50) The hand goes back into its coffin, the lid shuts.
(06:09) Farmers till rice paddies.
(06:16) A vampire could be a cat or a bird.
(06:21) A pointed stick to the heart can kill a vampire.
(06:38) A man molds clay. Filling the mouth with clay prevents the corpse from becoming a vampire.
(06:42) Another belief says scattered grains or a broomstick can stop a vampire.
(07:06) A re-enactment of conquerors on a ship to the New World.
(07:30) Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, Mexico.
(07:38) Colonial drawings of the Aztecs.
(07:52) Footage of Aztec sculptures.
(07:58) These Aztec myths are supposedly the origin of the blood-drinking bat.
(08:02) Bela Lugosi, the actor known for portraying Dracula.
(08:18) Stills of Lugosi starring as the blood-thirsty Count.
(08:56) A Douglas DC-3 plane takes off over a runway.
(09:19) The plane, named Junipero Serra, lands in Sinaloa, Mexico.
(10:18) Footage of Sinaloa’s tropical plants and insects.
(10:41) A motorboat in the Gulf of California.
(10:51) A pelican flies.
(11:34) A man shows the marlin he caught.
(12:03) The marlin is hung on a tree.
(12:12) Burrud talks to a man living in Sinaloa.
(12:27) A church in the town.
(13:00) Footage of a bat.
(13:27) A cowboy with a lasso.
(13:43) Men herd cattle, a victim of bats.
(14:01) Close-up of a graveyard.
(14:17) Footage of the Sinaloan desert.
(14:25) The Mexican Flag, with the emblem of the Second Mexican Empire.
(14:57) The TV crew camps in the desert.
(15:29) A Jeep Land Cruiser drives through the desert.
(16:10) The jeep drives through desert slot canyons, reptiles are seen.
(16:55) The car gets stuck briefly in the rocky terrain.
(17:35) A man holds a jar of blood.
(17:57) He prepares animal blood to lure the vampire bats.
(18:14) He enters the vampire tunnel.
(18:45) The man walks through the tunnel with a lamp and bowl of blood.
(18:59) He sets the bowl of blood down.
(19:05) Several bats are seen in the cave.
(19:31) Close-up of a bat.
(20:09) The bats’ squeaks are heard.
(21:34) The bats fly towards the blood.
(22:02) One drinks the blood.
(22:29) They use tongues to drink blood; it has the longest tongue of any mammal.
(23:03) Close-up of bat feet.
(23:23) The bowl is empty; the bats return to their nest.
(24:20) He exits the cave.
(24:49) The sun sets in Sinaloa.
(24:58) Bats circle around.
(25:07) Bill Burrud concludes this episode of True Adventure.
(26:04) “May all your adventures be happy ones,” he says.
(26:08) Credits for the program.
We 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
