“Bold Journey: Return to Ethiopia” is a black and white travelogue TV show from the late 1950s that tells the story of Mr. and Mrs. Butler, adventurers from Evanston, Illinois, who travel to Ethiopia to visit Mrs. Butler’s childhood home in Ethiopia. Sponsored by Ralston Purina Company, the film features an interview between Jack Douglas and the Butlers, who then narrate the first hand footage from their travels.
Jack Douglas and the Butlers on set (0:10). Afar nomad with spear (0:36). Intricately carved box of Ethiopian royalty (0:39). Aerial shot of wild game running (0:41). Ad: Ralston Purina Company, Lee Goodman (1:34). Interview begins (3:00). Mrs. Butler speaks Gullah (4:57). Passengers board perhaps TWA 1950s “Connie” Jet at New York Idlewild Airport (John F. Kennedy) (5:17). Illustrated map of Africa: Cairo, Addis Ababa (5:26). View mountainous terrain, Northern Ethiopia (5:31). View fertile plateau (5:40). Sign in Aramaic and English (5:39). Street view from hotel room (5:52). Downtown business district; busy, metropolitan (5:58). Newspapers in different languages: Aramaic, English, Arabic (6:03). Transportation: Horse-drawn cart next to 1950s VW Beetle (6:11). Motorized tuktuk (6:17). Men on horseback (6:23). Donkeys carrying produce (6:28). Men carrying goods on shoulders, back, and heads (6:44). Antelope returning from watering hole (7:11). Danakil/ Afar village seen from sky (7:27). Rock-Hewn Church of Lalibela (7:44). Mizan Teferi: home of Charlie Haspel on tree lined mountain side (8:13). Charlie delivers Christmas mail to his family (8:26). Tin hut clinic (8:47). Scottish doctor Campbell Miller examines a young patient (8:56). Charlie’s DIY hydroelectric plant in shack for electricity and tap water (9:41). DIY turbine (9:58). Jagged rocks and mountain tops (10:13). People walking along road in desolate area (10:22). Tunnel with name of Mussolini scratched out (10:29). Pedestrian traffic, camels, vendors at Bati Market, Danakil Desert (10:35). Topless Danakil woman in black robe covers her face (11:03). Danakil weapons: spear and machete (11:20). Camera pans mountainous and fertile terrain (11:44). Obelisk of Axum Siyum (11:49). People gather on banks of Mai Shum – Queen of Sheba’s swimming pool (12:18). Throne stone coronation area (12:28). Man stands besides old crowns of Ethiopian Royalty (12:34). View of rock formation – Debre Damo Monastery (13:15). Hiking the mountain to reach the monastery (13:32). Another commercial with Lee Goodman (14:42). Monks greet Mr. Butler outside Coptic church structure at top Debre Damo (16:11). Stone house home of monks (16:46). Stone reservoirs with water supply (17:00). Interior of Douglas C-47 Skytrain transporting people and cargo to Gore (17:12). Various huts and shacks make up the airport (17:36). View of rocky, dirt road as the Butlers head into Gore town (17:49). Italian electrician fixing generator (17:59). Electric lines for street lamps (18:04). Rain beats down on galvanized-iron roofs (18:14). Plane takes off from Gore airport: view of jungle in valley below (18:29). Fog on mountainside, hut structures (18:55). Life mountainside village: morning prayer, going to school (19:21). Young boys receive haircuts (20:09). Making injera: mortar and pestle to prepare flour (20:23). Heating dough on hot plate (20:45). Dipping bread in stew (20:56). Drive to Dembi Dolo on rough terrain (21:15). Men of village nap under tree on straw mat with wooden neck rest (21:56). Women get water from Baro River (22:15). Close-up of woman’s decorative scar tissue (22:26). Crocodiles in Baro River (22:39). Drumming ceremony and dance (23:05). Man arrives to village on foot to deliver telegrams and messages (23:51). Haile Selassie I exits perhaps Ethiopian Airlines Convair 240 (24:15). Ethiopian Orthodox Mass (24:35). Groups of people dancing freely (25:14). Close-up of Haile Selassie I in office in royal palace (25:41). Ethiopian flag in wind (25:46). Mr. Butler shows Jack Douglas Ethiopian fly swatter (26:12). Final commercial with Lee Goodman (27:57). Next episode preview: Jungles of Amapá National Forest in Brazil (28:20).
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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
