Created in 1952 by an unknown filmmaker (apparently named “Williams”) this film is titled “Iranian Snapshots”. The film shows an American effort called the “Point Four Program” to create films in Iran, including films about health and agriculture. Point Four also assisted with other modernization and development goals. According to the narration at the (gag-oriented) start of the film, it was shot by a crew from Syracuse University including Skip Loudermilk, Dick Kennedy, John Humphries, Frank Ferguson, Joe Buddy, Joe Gallagher and others. At :55 the crew is shown swimming in a pool and at 1:28 drinking champagne.
At 3:13 the film crew is shown working in villages near Tehran. At 5:47 they are shown making a film about the care of chickens. At 6:40, a barber uses hand clippers to trim a client’s beard. At 7:33 a village street is shown and the narrator speaks about how the Syracuse crew is working to make films, spray DDT, drill wells, and help the people. At 8:10 a well in a village is shown. At 8:33 a sign indicates that a well pump was given to the people of Iran by the U.S. Department of State. At 8:40 the pump is shown in operation. At 9:25 lunch is served to the volunteers. At 10:50 a truck drives over a dirt road and at 11:10 on the Shah Reza Blvd. in Tehran. At 11:55 Persian language soundtracks are shown being recorded on tape recorders. A Mansfield type film viewer is shown being used at 12:12 to edit and sync film soundtracks. At 12:33, a Kodak 16mm Cine Special film camera is shown being prepped for filming. At 12:49 the Cine Special Kodak is placed in a blimp for filming. At 13:43 the clapperboard is slapped in a test of the sync sound system.
The Point Four Program was a technical assistance program for “developing countries” announced by United States President Harry S. Truman in his inaugural address on January 20, 1949. It took its name from the fact that it was the fourth foreign policy objective mentioned in the speech. he program was carried out with the countries whose governments concluded bilateral agreements with the US government regarding aid under the program, and the TCA established field missions within those countries, which worked to improve agricultural output and distributed technical know-how on improving the economy in general. The first government to do so was the government of Iran, on October 19, 1950.
According to an article, the Syracuse film program was active in Iran under Don G. Williams, who in 1949 was approached about the possibility of undertaking work under the umbrella of U.S. International Aid.
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