This silent 1930s home movie depicts an all-male vacation to Santa Catalina Island, of the coast of Southern California in the Gulf of Santa Catalina, including footage of men at sea, dolphin spotting, fishing, and coastal exploration (TRT 9:31).
A distant ocean cruise liner passes along the horizon, trailing smoke (0:08). The wake of a fishing boat; white foam of the Pacific Ocean. A row of barrels is visible. Men labor on deck. The captain at the helm. A friend in a tank top takes over. A steam engine emits smoke. Men shield their eyes against the sun (0:16). The first sign of dolphins. The captain, shirtless, hairy, and wearing a fedora, looks out on the horizon at the passing ship (1:30). Rod fishing. The fishing party, backlit (1:47). A common dolphin swims alongside the boat. Suddenly a school of dolphins is revealed. The dolphins dart along, just below the water’s surface (2:24). The fishermen unpack a large fishing net. One man wears a sailor’s cap and smokes a cigarette. The fishing net in closeup (3:04). Bait on a fishing line (3:28). A large school of dozens of dolphins surfacing in a medium shot, revealing countless dorsal fins (3:30). A tree-studded crop of Channel Islands (4:06). The men, grouped together, prepare hunting rifles. The men aim their rifles at an unseen target off the bow of the fishing boat (4:26). Palm trees in a light coastal breeze (4:36). Two men gather plants and carry them to a small rowboat. A shirtless man gazes at the water in silhouette (4:40). The camera shakes with excitement as the fishing party reels in eight large fish in rapid succession. The fish flop around on deck. Seven more large tuna fish are hauled aboard. After the big catch, six men stand at rest with their fishing poles upright (4:55). Another school of leaping dolphins races toward the camera as a reel of film runs out. A distant sailboat (5:33). The rocky coastline of the Channel Islands, possibly the Two Harbors region. Two men at the helm. The man in the fedora sleeps in the sun (6:10). Catalina Island. More backlit crew members (6:51). A nude man washes his hair (7:27). The approaching island’s coastline, covered in a thick forest of trees. More footage of the men aboard, in various states of dress (8:10). Another passing ship carries a pinnace or light fishing boat (8:35). A man walks along a sandy beach. Another man appears to point a rifle at something in the trees. Another strolls along with a walking stick (8:38). A view from the island’s coast shows the anchored fishing boat in the distance. Glimpses of the beach, swimming (8:53). Something stirs in the treetops (9:06).
Catalina Island is located about 29 miles south of Long Beach, California, and is known as an “angler’s paradise” to this day. It was developed into a tourist destination by William Wrigley Jr. (of chewing gum fame), beginning in the 1920s. Today, the majority of the island is administered by the Catalina Island Conservancy.
