Overnight To Nassau is a 1940s promotional film by Pan American World Airways, marketing the short flight times on Pan Am’s fleet of DC-3 Clipper Ships to a variety of destinations. In this film, Pan Am boasts that a trip around the Caribbean is now “as close to your home as your Sunday afternoon picnic ground” with the clipper ship. However, the plane shown in this film is Pan Am’s DC-3 (the DC-3 fleet operated 1937-1948). People board Pan Am’s DC-3 (00:18) in preparation for a flight to Nassau. After takeoff (00:39), travelers are treated to aerial views of Miami (00:55), Miami Beach (01:22), and, finally, the Bahamas (02:30) and Nassau (03:10). After only seventy minutes of flight time, the plane lands. The film takes viewers on a quick tour of Nassau, starting off with visits to Fort Fincastle (03:55), the scenic coast (04:15), Nassau’s harbor (04:40), and a market. Viewers see locals weaving hats (05:56). The old streets of Nassau (05:27) still have its old-world charm, complete with horse-drawn carriages. Vibrant flora and fauna (05:50)—such as Poinciana, oleander, bougainvillea, and passion flowers—adorn the island. There are a number of excellent hotels to stay at, including the British Colonial Hotel (06:54) in Harbor Front Gardens and Hotel Montague (07:20). At the beautiful Paradise Beach (07:28), visitors enjoy the water and sands, and participate in a number of activities, ranging from swimming and sailing (08:11) to racing flamingo class boats. Golfers enjoy the greens at the Bahamas Country Club (09:00), but most of the island’s activities are on the water. Waterskiing is growing in popularity (09:41); the sport’s pioneer, D’Arcy Rutherford, skis through Nassau’s canals and demonstrates skiing a slalom course (10:43). Deep sea fishing expeditions (11:10) for marlin are another favorite pastime, though reeling in a marlin (11:58) is tough work. At the village of Adelaide (13:55), visitors can see the ruins of the island’s plantations and slave huts, and meet the descendants of Adelaide’s slaves. Locals make shell and fish scale jewelry (14:48) or collect and export sponges (16:08). Take a cruise on a sailboat (16:40), and leave Nassau for neighboring Treasure Island (16:50) to see the footprint of the Bahamas’ pirate history. Fort Jack McCutcheon (17:10) and an ancient pirate canon (17:40) remind visitors of the men who once controlled the area. Farther on is Sandy Cay (18:10), a small sandy island. On the south end of Andros Island (18:51) is a large colony of flamingos. Baby flamingos (19:12), looking nothing like their colorful parents, play on the shore near the nesting grounds (19:27) where they were born. The film ends with footage of beautiful Nassau sunsets (20:04).

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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.com