Released in 1955 by Louis de Rochemont, this newsreel style educational film is part of a documentary series “Our Times”. It was directed by Peter Hopkinson and John Halas. Hopkinson won an award from the Overseas Press Club for “Best Reporting from Abroad on Foreign Affairs” for this film. It was made as the old order was in retreat and Nasser had taken over as Prime Minister.The film begins with a quote about the Suez Canal followed by a close shot of Lockheed Constellation airplanes at 00:40 as the narrator begins to explain how nations are connected. The narration then transitions from discussing the United States airways to maritime fleets, emphasizing the fact that over ninety-nine percent of all international cargo is carried via waterway (01:05-01:55). At 01:57, a discussion of land barriers prior to the 19th century begins. The Isthmus of Suez in Egypt and Panama created these obstacles of land masses making trade routes extremely long, forcing traders to go around Africa and South America with an especially lengthy trip around the Cape of Good Hope. As trade and export across the globe expanded, a link between the Red Sea and Mediterranean was needed to shorten trade routes (02:06-03:53). Dating back to 2,000 B.C. from the Temple of Karnak in Egypt, the search for a passage through such a land barrier was already underway, evidenced by stone reliefs depicting pharaohs and the Nile River eventually connected to the Red Sea under Ptolemy II before being forgotten centuries later (04:06-06:03). In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt to construct a new canal, failing but leaving his engineer Lapeer’s work to be helpful for future canal endeavors. Animated and pictorial footage continues to illustrate that many further attempts were made to connect these waterways, including attempts by such figures as Ferdinand de Lesseps of France using concessions made by Mohammad Sayeed and declarations of the Suez Canal’s neutrality in what was then called Constantinople (07:24-12:22). The film turns to the construction in Panama beginning at 12:24. Originally called Port Tewfik, the entrance of the canal is now known as the Suez Port. The Panama and Suez canals were envisioned as ways to open the world to all the nations (18:00-19:05).
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