This black-and-white documentary film from 1953 focuses on the booming frontier town of Las Vegas, Nevada, and the factors that account for its success. The documentary-style newsreel was part of a short-lived “March of Time” TV show, which was produced by Time Inc. and first aired in 1953, as Las Vegas was experiencing its post-war boom. The documentary takes the viewer on a tour of Las Vegas and highlights the hotels, casinos, legalized gambling, liberalized divorce laws, and marriage rules that sparked its rise to fame, as well as the nearby Hoover Dam, natural scenery, and atomic testing areas. Many of the locations seen in the video, such as the El Rancho Hotel, Desert Inn, and Flamingo Hotel, were newly opened at the time and remain iconic landmarks of Las Vegas today. The narrator also provides a perspective on the gambling industry and casinos of Las Vegas at a time in history when gambling remained prohibited in almost every state.
(00:20) Opening sequence: “The March of Time” TV show main title
(01:22) A car with a banner “Just Married” drives through Las Vegas
(01:32) A sign for the Golden Nugget, which opened in 1946
(01:59) Footage of atomic bomb testing in the distance
(02:19) Title: “Las Vegas: Frontier Town of Two Centuries”
(02:41) Fremont Street
(02:50) A tourist gazes at the city
(02:58) Sign for Hoover Boulder Dam
(03:07) A car drives past Hoover Dam, built in the 1930s
(03:16) It controls the Colorado River and provides irrigation
(03:35) Interior of the dam
(03:42) Aerial shot of the dam and tourists
(03:48) A boat cruises Lake Mead, the largest man-made lake
(04:01) People jet-ski
(04:07) Skyline of Las Vegas
(04:10) Lit-up sign for the Pioneer Club, a historic casino
(04:50) Interior of a casino
(05:11) Gambling chips
(05:17) Gamblers enjoy slot machines
(06:09) He collects his winnings
(06:32) Men play Faro, a gambling game using cards
(07:11) People shoot craps
(07:52) Gamblers throw their dice
(08:19) A game of blackjack
(09:40) Men collect their winnings
(10:18) Gamblers use a roulette wheel
(11:10) Close-up of a roulette wheel
(12:07) The sheriff of Clark County discusses the legalization and taxation of gambling
(12:58) A Western Airlines plane arrives
(13:23) El Rancho hotel
(13:25) Flamingo Hotel
(13:33) The newly-opened Desert Inn
(13:38) The pool at the Desert Inn
(14:10) Sign for Tule Springs Ranch
(15:05) Visitors enjoy the dude ranch
(15:55) They ride horses through the desert
(16:15) and sing “Home on the Range” around a campfire
(17:34) A woman claims her Nevada state residency
(18:14) The short six-week residency is routine
(18:22) It allows access to more liberalized divorce laws
(19:00) Las Vegas Courthouse
(19:09) A woman finalizes her divorce
(19:24) Wedding Chapels on 5th street
(19:43) There is no waiting period required
(20:44) The newlyweds embrace and drive to their nearby honeymoon
(21:24) First National Bank had a booming business
(22:00) Titanium Metals plant in Henderson, Nevada
(22:14) Titanium was in great demand
(23:05) United States Atomic Energy Commission
(23:45) The testing ground, Camp Mercury, is an hour’s drive away
(24:12) A security checkpoint
(24:41) Scientists and soldiers prepare for the atomic experiment tests
(25:35) The A-bomb is dropped as part of a nuclear test. Most likely this is part of Operation Upshot–Knothole, a series of eleven nuclear test shots conducted in 1953 at the Nevada Test Site.
(25:43) A mushroom cloud is visible
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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
