This 1940s black and white compilation of newsreel footage edited by newsreel photographer Eugene W. Castle and distributed to consumers for home projection by his company Castle Films features highlights from the world of sport, including fishing, track & field, kayaking, water skiing, and motor racing (TRT: 9:48).

Logo leader: “Castle Films Presents.” Titles: “The Sport Parade, Edited by Eugene W. Castle, Sport Spellbinders” (0:06). A team of eleven tuna fishermen rapidly haul large fish from the sea and into the hold of their fishing boat, somewhere in the Galapagos (0:24). A crowd watches six runners at a racetrack as they sprint from a starting block and jump over high hurdles (1:14). Hurdlers splash into puddles of water in an obstacle course at regular speed and in slow motion (1:29). A long jumper leaps toward the camera. Again in slow motion (1:57). A high jumper clears a bar in slow motion. A series of pole vaulters follow. One wears a “San Francisco” tank top (2:16). A man on skis races down a constructed ski jump and onto a sand dune near a beach, finishing by entering the water. A series of wipeouts and crash landings follow (3:13). A team of waterskiers launch from a dock with mixed success. Water skiing footage shows one-legged stunts, jumps from a ramp, and a sea plane flying overhead (3:47). A kayaker paddles a kayak down a wooden ramp and into whitewater rapids. Skillful paddling helps to navigate the craft as it dodges rocks in the stream. A flat-bottom boat also shoots the river rapids (4:53). A speedboat race with small crafts and outboard motors. The boats speed around buoys in a waterfront race course (5:47). A boat crashes into the shore, narrowly missing the cameraman, and flying into a parking lot of 1940s automobiles. The damaged boat, the “Sea Hag” (6:10). Jockeys ride horses in a steeplechase at a racetrack. Three horses clear a hurdle, while two others fall, spilling their riders. Slow motion footage shows a horse tumbling in a somersault. Spectators watch from the stands (6:20). Motorcycle racers speed uphill on a dirt path, spinning out at the crest of a hilltop. Onlookers narrowly dodge the out-of-control bikes as they spin end-over-end (7:22). A “jalopy derby” of hot rod type automobiles shows an off-road race, with various tin-paneled vehicles careening through a rugged obstacle course of hills and mud puddles (8:18). “The End” with the Castle Films logo (9:38).

Castle Films was founded in 1924 by newsreel photographer Eugene W. Castle, who made a name for himself with footage of the Hidenberg explosion. In the late 1930s, his company pivoted to releasing one-reel 8mm and 16mm prints of edited newsreel material for home exhibition, establishing direct distribution through camera stores and magazine advertisements. A controlling stake in the company was purchased by Universal Pictures’ “United World Films, Inc.” and from that point, Castle began distributing cutdowns and excerpted highlights of Universal movie classics. The company folded in the early 1980s with the advent of home video.

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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