Directed by Arthur Cohen, “Steel Bands — Tropical Music” presents the Calypso singer Lord Inventor and a couple of the bands of the island of Trinidad. Lord Inventor was also known by the name Lloyd Merchant. This film was likely sponsored in part by Pan Am, which operated flights to the Piarco Airport in this era.
(:06-:22). Sunny, tropical beach. Lots of waves. People jump into a pool. A band plays, everyone in the band is African, they sing a song about Trinidad. Women walk the beach. A statue of Christopher Columbus who discovered Trinidad. A guard carries a rifle on duty. Aerial shot of Trinidad. People talk and smile. Women hold flowers. Children take off their shoes and enter a building (:23-2:26). Smiling women. Trinidad Airport. Jets at the airport. A Pan American jet. Ships in a busy port. Ships drop cargo down. A ship in the port. People in the marketplace. Fruits and vegetables for sale. Cars drive around. A man plays a steel drum (2:27-3:49). Men play steel drums as people listen. Children listen, men sit in balconies and stare down. The drum playing continues in the street. Animals wander the street, people smile, laugh, and have a good time (3:50-5:48). People continue to listen as the steel drums are played again and again in the streets. Tourists and locals wander the city. A woman dances with a basket on her head. Boys limbo. A Caribbean man plays drums while people limbo under a stick on fire. Women dance and then limbo under the fire. The limbo gets lower and lower until people touch the ground. People on bikes. Cars drive by. A church with children running near it. Buildings in Trinidad (5:49-8:29). End credits (8:30-8:33).
We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example like: “01:00:12:00 — President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.”
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 and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
