NOTE: the film actually starts at 1:15. Before that is a long Pan Am leader.
Pan American Airlines’ short promotional film Israel, directed by famed filmmaker Andre de LaVarre, presents a marketing campaign for Pan Am vacations. The film begins with a Pan Am travel agent assisting a customer with finding a trip, and the customer selects a brochure for Israel. Over the credits are images of a Pan Am four-engine airplane, probably a DC-4. The film then cuts to scenes of the Negev Desert (02:25), followed by shots of Be’er Sheva (02:46). Bedouin men and women get water from this small town, and they buy or sell food at its market. Outside the ancient ruins of Ashkelon (03:43), a shepherd tends to his flock (03:21). In Jerusalem, the viewer is treated to scenes of the narrow streets in the old city (03:59). Visitors can visit the Tomb of King Herod (04:29) and the catacombs of the Sanhedrin (04:46). North of Jerusalem, on the coast, sits Akko (05:00), an old crusader city. Moving east, the film takes viewers to Mt. Carmel (05:11), Nazareth (05:27)—with its famed Mary’s Well (05:41)—and then to the River Jordan (05:50), where flows into the Sea of Galilee (05:55). Religious sites dominate northern Israel: there is Cana (06:07), where Jesus performed his first miracle; and the shore (06:16) on the Sea of Galilee where Jesus multiplied the loaves of bread and baskets of fish. The ancient ruins of Capernaum (06:41) are also located on the Sea of Galilee. The film then goes back to Jerusalem with a shot of the King David Hotel (07:18), before taking viewers to Israel’s Mediterranean Riviera (07:52), with its sandy beaches and tropical-like waters. Israel’s booming port in Haifa (09:01) is indicative of the country’s booming population. Industries work to keep up with the growing population’s demands. While some Israelis live in urban centers, others choose to follow in the footsteps of the early Jewish settlers and live on a kibbutz (10:11), a communal farm cooperative. Not all communities are based in agriculture: collectives of artists populate the colonies at Safed and Ein Hod (11:42). The film concludes the tour of Israel by showing Jewish Israelis celebrating Shavout (12:10), a celebration of the grain harvest and commemorating the handing down of the ten commandments, by playing music and dancing the hora (12:50).
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