This Kodachrome color sponsored film produced by Irving Harley Productions for Pan American World Airways’ “Wings to…” series employs the animated cartoon character of “Clip, the spirit of travel” to tout Pan Am’s convenient travel options. Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Jamaica, and Cuba are featured and exoticised from a U.S. perspective, with a blonde woman finding friendly company, and narration frequently mentioning pirates (TRT: 24:34).
Propeller engines on a Pan American airliner. Opening titles: “Wings to Cuba and the Caribbean, A Hartley Production” (0:06). A blonde woman in a nightgown reviews travel brochures in a living room (0:22). An animated cartoon character, “Clip,” appears atop her radio console, resembling a cross between an airplane, a hood ornament, and a 1930’s cartoon bug. The woman expresses interest in a two-week West Indies vacation. Clip dances and flies across a map from San Juan to the Virgin Islands, Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba (0:35). Clip shoots lightning bolts from his fingers. With the magic of stop-motion pixilation, a full wardrobe appears (1:41). A Pan Am Clipper plane (NC88896) boards passengers on a runway using an airstair. Clip gives an O.K. signal. The plane taxis for take off (2:08). The clipper in flight. Narration invokes “lusty buccaneers” (2:54). Landing in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Passengers disembark for a Pan Am “guest house” (3:10). Forts of Old San Juan. The battlements of a historic Spanish fortress, San Felipe del Morro. Closeup on a sentry box at Bateria del Carmen (3:36). An urban street scene. Modern architecture. Casa de España social club. A waiter serves drinks (4:11). The Clipper flies on. Bluebeard’s Tower, the port city of St. Thomas from afar, in closeup (4:43). The 99 Steps, a tall staircase wreathed in flowers (5:37). The Clipper’s engine. Islands below. Narration mentions the history of the slave trade. Trinidad’s northern mountain range. Our star speaks to a pilot at Piarco International Airport. A man introduces himself. The couple boards a chauffeured “woody” station wagon (5:55). A doorman greets them at a resort hotel. Inside, a duo sings a calypso song about American Clippers (7:52). Montage: Trinidad’s shipping ports, urban centers. “The Bonanza” market bazaar (8:47). A mosque. Piccadilly Street. A steel drum band plays. Clip appears. Unamused, he plugs his ears (9:21). Jungle groves, mountain roads. Palms in the foreground, beach in the background (10:13). The woman enjoys a beach picnic with two men (10:47). Sugar cane growers cut stalks with machetes (10:54). Calinda stick fighting, colorfully dressed carribean dancers accompanied by a seated band (11:16). Next stop Jamaica. Downtown Kingston. A trolley style streetcar, 1940s automobiles. A white helmeted policeman directs traffic (13:24). The Myrtle Bank Hotel. Jamaica’s regiment band gives a concert. Flowering trees in Hope Gardens (13:59). An acoustic trio of guitars, banjo and marimbol (15:00). The woman and her companions board a bamboo raft on the Rio Grande. Clip reappears, again dismissing the native customs (15:23). Lagoons, mountains, and tourist resorts. Montego Bay. High divers in slow motion (16:17). Young dancers and a string band entertain diners on a waterfront terrace. The gentleman friend offers a place to stay in Havana (17:24). A Cuban couple greets them at the airport (18:30). The foursome boards a cab with their luggage. Cuban street singers with guitars, maracas (19:08). Modern automobiles pass historic architecture. Montage of landmarks: Paseo del Prado, the Presidential Palace (now the Museum of the Revolution), El Capitolio, Spanish colonial architecture with sidewalk arcades. Shops: “Curiosidades, Artículos Para Fiestas” (20:02). A boy demonstrates a novel orange peeler. A flower vendor. Tilework (20:54). An English-speaking tourism officer of the National Police (21:25). The equestrian statue of General Maximo Gomez. Castillo De Los Tres Reyes Del Morro and its lighthouse (21:35). A busker performs “La Paloma” by clapping his hands over his mouth (21:52). Hotel Nacional de Cuba. Wrought iron balconies. Man-made waterfalls. A woman guitarist sings (22:34). A crowd of tourists relax at a seaside resort. A beach with thatched umbrellas (23:44). End titles (24:23).
