Castle Films presents “The Whale that Became a Star” (:09-:16), a souvenir documentary produced in 1960 by Castle Films at the Marineland of the Pacific. The film features Bubbles the pilot whale, who died in 2016 at Sea World, which was her home after Marineland closed. Pilot whales, which have rounded heads and mouthlines that curve upward to resemble a smile, are part of the dolphin family and are smaller than orcas, or killer whales. Pilots live in pods of 20 or 90 animals, and are about as intelligent as dolphins. Weighing roughly 3,000 pounds (1,360kg) and measuring 15 feet (5m) long, Bubbles was considered the “grande dame” of SeaWorld. She was known for her ability to jump out of the water and spin at great speed. Her death in her mid-1950s, roughly ten years short of the average lifespan of a similar whale in the wild, rekindled calls by animal rights activists for Sea World to stop holding whales and other sea creatures in captivity.
Film begins at Marineland with a dolphin show. A dolphin jumps through hoops and into the air. People watch the festivities. A dog is in a boat with a tiny life jacket. Fish such as eels are examined by spectators through glass. Seahorses, stingrays, sea turtles, small sharks (:17-1:50). A fishing boat from the Marineland fleet is shown out at sea, hoping to “capture whale for their circus”. Dolphins are spotted at sea. A pilot whale pod is found. The men on the boat try and catch a whale in a net. They fail. They try again and this time it works, the net has caught a whale (1:51-3:08). A rubber raft is unrolled to create a floating dry dock. The boat heads back to the dock with the whale. Whale is covered with a wet blanket to prevent sunburn. The whale is placed into a tank at Marineland. The whale swims but doesn’t eat since it was moved from the sea (3:09-5:03). A diver goes into the water to tempt the whale with bits of squid. Children watch. After many days, the whale finally eats squid. A man blows a whistle and feeds the whale. The whale’s name is Bubbles. Bubbles is fed. People watch the show. Dolphins make noises. Dolphins play basketball. Bubbles debut. Children clap (5:04-7:15). Dolphins do high jumps. Bubbles does jumps and a barbell trick, she is becoming a star. She leaps high into the air to retrieve food, a big splash for Bubbles. Two other whales join Bubbles. Children wave at the whales and the whales wave their fins back (7:16-8:25). End credits (8:26-8:29).
Marineland of the Pacific was a public oceanarium and tourist attraction located on the Palos Verdes Peninsula coast in Los Angeles County, California, USA. Architect William Pereira designed the main structure. Opening one year before Disneyland, many considered it California’s first major theme park. It was also known as Hanna-Barbera’s Marineland during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Marineland operated from 1954 until 1987, when it was purchased by the owners of SeaWorld San Diego. The new owners moved the popular killer whales and other animals to their San Diego facility and abruptly closed Marineland. Much of the infrastructure was left abandoned for nearly 20 years before the Terranea Resort was built on the site.
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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
