This 1961 color promotional film produced by the Miller Brewing Company follows a couple on an Alaskan trout fishing trip that also includes beers, bears, and propeller-driven aircraft at Katmai National Park (TRT: 28:04).
A bottle of Miller High Life beer next to a footed pilsner glass with gold rim. Pouring sudsy beer into a Miller branded glass, “The Champagne of Bottled Beer” (0:07). Joe, an “average fisherman” is introduced at a crowded fishing hole with a cap and rod (0:27). Joe gets a bite on his line, but reels in a shoe. Joe has an idea (0:50). Aerial photography and opening titles: “Fishing the 49th,” directed by James R. O’Riley, written and produced by Fenton McHugh. Thanks: Northern Consolidated Airlines, Crestliner Boats (1:29). Joe and his wife Sally at Anchorage International Airport. Boarding a Northern Consolidated Airlines Fairchild F-27. Spinning propellers, a marshaller, taxiing. A jet takes off (1:58). Anchorage, Alaska, viewed from the air. Snow-capped Mount McKinley as seen from the plane. Narration: “Rugged and untamed” (2:58). An Alaskan couple, Teddy and Rose Marie, greet their “cheechako” visitors upon arrival (4:24). A jeep drives to a fishing lodge. Log cabins and squirrels at play (4:50) Anxious fishermen await their female companions with a beached motorboat and tackle at the ready. A lightweight pumice stone (5:56). The women arrive and the boat departs (6:46). The Naknek River. Men fish wearing waders (7:41). Sally casts and quickly gets a bite, but loses a rainbow trout. Her husband laughs at her, but fails just the same (8:35). Another bite. Sally reels in the first catch of the day (9:29). Arctic grayling fishing near a waterfall. A fly fishing rod is demonstrated by Teddy, who catches and releases a fish with careful handling (10:04). Joe’s turn with an open reel spinning rod. He takes in a larger grayling, then turns it loose (12:14). A full line of the day’s catch dissolves to a dinner table. Bottles of Miller High Life are poured into glasses for all (13:19). A sunset in the “Land of the Midnight Sun” (13:50). An elderly man, an “old Alaskan sourdough,” tells fish stories to Joe, who boasts, and Sally, who dozes (14:02). Feeding a ground squirrel (14:51). Trout fishing at Funnel Creek, a tributary to Moraine Creek. “It’s a little like having 10 pounds of dynamite on your line” (15:25). Trout in the water. Using a net to catch a big one (16:08). Kodiak bears are spotted nearby. A bruin hauls away a large trout (16:54). Montage: Trout jumping on fishing lines. A bountiful haul of fish (17:51). Sightseeing in a privately chartered twin-prop amphibious plane. The pilot indicates sweeping vistas and hillsides. The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes in the path of Mount Katmai’s 1912 eruption (18:48). Volcanic sand, mountains, craters (19:36). Fishing for arctic char with large, barbed baits. Hooking a 14-lb char. Joe casts next (20:24). Another trophy char is captured in dramatic underwater closeups (22:30). The trip in summary and montage. Natural wonders and good fishing (23:40). Pan-fried fish over an open fire (25:41). Cans of Miller High Life are served. Joe points out a waterfall (26:30). The return flight home. Narration: “…The heart of America’s last great frontier” (27:03). End titles with Miller logo (27:42).
This sponsored film was created by the Miller Brewing Company and offered free “for club or group entertainment,” as advertised in fraternal men’s publications such as Elks magazine. This particular film was billed as “game fishing in the splendor of the Alaskan hinterland.”
The Miller Brewing Company was founded in 1855 by Frederick Miller, and remained a family business until 1966, at which point it was purchased by Philip Morris (now Altria). After changing hands multiple times, the company was acquired by Molson Coors in 2016.
According to the CDC, excessive alcohol use is responsible for more than 95,000 deaths in the United States each year. Alcoholism is a leading cause of preventable death in the United States.
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
