Made in 1945 or 46, this extraordinary 16mm silent home movie shows a visit to the war-torn Philippines by a U.S. military officer. The film begins with a flight aboard a propeller driven aircraft from an unknown base to Manila. At 1:35 the aircraft lands at an unknown airport before the journey continues by plane and then by boat. By 2:51 the flag of the Philippines is seen, and it appears this part of the film was shot from a boat. At 3:00 a large Spanish-style structure is seen, which at 3:13 is revealed to be heavily damaged. This building appears to be the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

At 3:20 another ruined building is shown, possibly the Manila Main Post Office which was built in 1926.More ruined structures are shown nearby, evidence of the fierce fighting that occurred during the liberation of Manila. At 3:52 the University of Santo Tomás Main Building is seen. This was the first earthquake-resistant building in the Philippines, constructed in 1925.

At 4:00 the San Agustin Church in Intramuros is shown, its facade pockmarked with bullet holes. At 4;21 are some shots that appear to possibly show walls of Fort Santiago. Wide swaths of empty land are shown, possibly cleared debris zones. At 4:30 some U.S. personnel are seen followed by shots of children, possibly orphans under care of authorities.

At 5:15 the film moves to a more rural area, and local inhabitants are shown posing with U.S. soldiers at 6:43, and dancing at 9:00. At 10:23 a visit to a village is shown with locals posing for the camera. At 11:37, a “bird dog” type liaison airplane is shown, tail 418000. This is probably a Stinson L-5 Sentinel. The flight over the Philippines seen at 13:40 and following shows various buildings, some of which appear to be abandoned U.S. forts and bases and might include the ruins of Corregidor. At 14:45, Manila is once again seen this time from the air, with the central post office building visible at 14:48. The film ends with some shots of Manila traffic and a Jeepney at 15:11.

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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