This color educational film is about “The Brandies of California”. The lavishly produced film was funded by the California Brandy Advisory Board for promotional purposes. It features a score by Hollywood composer Basil Poledouris and music by The Association. It was directed by Sargon Tamimi, who is best known for directing the feature film “Return from the River Kwai”. Copyright is 1973.
Opening: farm and a vineyard. Barrels. A home that looks like a castle. Title: The Timely Spirit – The Brandies of California (:07-:47). Old map of California, California was a land rich in sunshine and soil. Spanish Padre. Old photographs of people with barrels and making wine. Ship at sea. People were needed in California. James Marshall discovered gold on the American River in 1848. Immigrants swarmed to CA. Thousands flocked seeking fortune. Luckless miners turned to agriculture. Charles Coller, crated international and domestic markets for brandy. General Henry Naglee created Naglee Brandy. E.J. Lucky Baldwin liked fast women and made brandy. Baldwin posing with women. Old photographs show people in California during these old times (:48-3:07). San Joaquin Valley today in CA. Brandy grapes require sun and moisture. River flowing. Grapes on the vine. A truck drives down a dirt path between grape vines. Close on grapes. A man checks on the grapes to determine the good time to pick them. Men work and pick the grapes. Grapes in bins are dumped into a tractor and hauled away. Tons of grapes are put onto a truck and removed. They are sent by trucks to brandy distilleries (3:08-5:01). A man in a truck. A core sample is taken to determine the grape’s sugar content. Grape are deposited into modern crushers. A man eats and watches grapes pour. A man checks the grape’s alcoholic heart. A man opens an oven where a flame is. Brandy making is a science. Chemists in the lab. Barrels of fresh brandy. A man makes a barrel. Brandy is placed into the barrels (5:02-6:50). Barrels are rolled and then lifted by a device onto a shelf. Two years is required for the brandy to age only in a barrel. Barrels of brandy in a warehouse. A man checks the brandy and smells it. Brandy is poured out and taste tested. A taster has numerous glasses around him as he tastes everything. A chemist works on the brandy (6:51-8:28). Bottling is when it is ready. A bunch of bottles are slowly filled with brandy. A bartender pours brandy. The bartender mixes drinks. Couples play tennis. They then have brandy after playing. Grapes hang from the vine. A man has brandy at a bar. Men and women drink. A man drinks, a woman plays a guitar. Brandy is served, people eat and drink on a boat. A man polishes his car, a red & black MG convertible, circa the 1950s. Grapes on the vine. A woman scoops a drink from a bowl into a cup. People are talking and having fun. A man picks grapes, he smiles (8:29-11:26). End credits (11:27-11:59).
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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
