This color Northwest Orient Airlines film encourages travelers to visit the Orient of the 1950s and opens with scenes from Tokyo, Japan, including parks and tourists enjoying a traditional Japanese dinner and performance. At mark 01:39, the neon lights of the city fill the screen as night falls and Tokyo really comes to life with scenes of more theatrical productions. The narrators tells us of other interesting destinations including Kamakura, Enoshima, Lake Hakone, Chibba, Nikko, and Osaka, with those locations accessible via rail or train. In Kamakura (mark 04:05) we see temples and shrines and later Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park (mark 04:43) and Lake Hakone (today known as Lake Ashi), as well as Mount Fuji. Following a look of ornate temple architecture, the travel film shows you more of the country’s scenery from waterfalls to farmland before visiting a castle in Osaka (mark 08:00) and touring that city before being reminded at mark 08:28 that Northwest Orient Airlines makes regular trips to Korea, Calcutta, Formosa, Bangkok, Manila, and Hong Kong, which is the next stop in the film. A stop in Manilla is next (mark 11:30) with views of Corregidor and the Bataan Peninsula across Manilla Bay. The narrator explains the culture of Manilla before being told of the availability of trips to nearby cities such as Cebu City, Dipolog, and Zamboanga (mark 16:13) and we see those cities from both the air and the ground as well as scenes of a traditional wedding (mark 19:05). The film closes with scenes of native fishermen preparing to head out for a day on the water.
Northwest Airlines was incorporated in 1926 as Northwest Airways. The company began service on October 1, 1926, as an airmail carrier between the Twin Cities and Chicago. Passenger service was inaugurated in July 1927. Northwest expanded its service through the Dakotas and Montana to Spokane and Seattle, Washington, in 1928-1933. The company was reincorporated as Northwest Airlines, Inc. in 1934. For many years the company used the name Northwest Orient Airlines for advertising and marketing purposes.
During World War II the company set up and operated a military cargo route to Canada, Alaska, and the Aleutian Islands.
In 1946 Northwest Airlines was awarded a route to Alaska, and the “Great Circle” route to the Far East. Scheduled service to the Far East began July 15, 1947, with stops in Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, and Manila. The company reached the East Coast in the late 1940s, and began the first transcontinental air coach service in 1949.
Northwest participated in the Korean Airlift from 1950 to 1953 during the Korean War.
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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
