Letter to A Pilot

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Moving Image:Letter to A Pilot
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Letter to A Pilot is a short film from 1950 released on 16mm. It is held in the Prelinger Archives collection.

Great footage of airline operations circa 1950. Stock shots to be logged.

21:27:55:28 VS, CU disembodied hands shuffle through mail; cuts to same letters in mans hand, man walks away from camera, sits in chair, children playing on floor; mother sends children to bed, little boy and girl kiss father goodnight; man opens letter. Man sitting at couch, with typewriter on coffee table begins to type out letter.

21:29:11:14 VS aerials of airplanes flying above the clouds. Aerial above 1950s TWA plane.

21:29:33:03 Woman at desk wearing antique phone headset answering calls; CU woman writes notes on paper and places paper on conveyor line; notes comes out of shoot and is picked up by female telegrapher who then types out the note.

21:30:02:15 VS man walks up to check-in counter at airport, counter is lined with model airplanes; woman hands man his ticket; Bus pulls up to airport; people exiting TWA gate onto runway; LS TWA Constellation airplane; Lockheed Aircraft in Burbank, California; great shot inside planes being built inside giant Lockheed production warehouse; VS pieces of Constellation airplane during assembly in Lockheed plant; great shot flight gear test in warehouse, MS man gives thumbs down. Constellation plane taking off of runway.

21:31:41:11 Stewardess walks down center aisle in airplane toward camera to serve lunch.

21:31:56:27 Great shot male and female taste testers for airplane food eating in test kitchen; various people takes bites then make notes. Three women in kitchen packaging airplane food; VS women in kitchen cooking, baking, and plating airplane food; CU disembodied hands load food, including cartons of Carnation milk into pushcarts ready for flight attendants to serve food in; forklift delivers food to door on the tail of the plane; aerial of Constellation plane in air; man hands tray to stewardess; CU man looks out window; VS aerial of the Grand Canyon, aerial of plane flying above the Grand Canyon.

21:34:54:17 Back of students in aviation school classroom, teacher at blackboard writes on board with chalk; Aviation school students gathered around table, teacher for a demonstration takes drag of his cigarette, CU man exhales smoke over vent, light beside vent goes off.

21:35:24:16 Teacher and group of students gathered around large working model of airplane engine.

21:35:31:00 Doctors using stethoscope listens to various parts of shirtless man s chest.

21:35:35:26 Aerial of plan in air, patchwork of farmland below; pan over from back of pilot to co-pilot in cockpit; aerial of TWA plane flying over mountainous area divided by large river.

21:36:06:16 Moving camera tracking two pilots walking up sidewalk toward camera; pilot talks to two stewardesses; pilots check-in at flight control, pilots taking notes; two pilots meet with meteorologists; CU disembodied hand of meteorologist holding pencil draws clouds on altitude map; VS pilot preparing for flight; pilot facing camera looks out window to watch plane land; plane landing on runway; TWA plane taxiing on runway; men unload luggage from plane; flight engineer inspects planes flight gear, then climbs on top of the plane, men are refueling the plane, flight engineer checks plane s oil; TWA plane pulls into hangar; VS dozens of workers take apart plane in hangar piece by piece, engineers checking parts, gears, engines, propeller. VS in airplane upholstery shop; workers in sheet metal shape working on skin and fuel tanks of plane; men testing airplane radio equipment, electrical system, panel of blinking lights, plane instruments are checked in shop; instruments is placed on oscillating test machine to tests instruments in simulated flight conditions.

21:42:22:07 Men in shop polishing and inspecting airplane propellers. Pan over TWA plane in hangar. Great before shot, with stripped down airplane interior, and after shot of freshly upholstered plane interior. Plane backs out of hangar; propellers start; VS in cockpit before and during take-off; CU pilot speaks into radio requesting taxi clearance, CU man air traffic control clears plane for take-off. Pilot receives signal to take off in Star of Paris plane; pan over various men working in air traffic control; VS in cockpit during take-off, pilot, co-pilot, and flight engineer run through checklist and set plane instruments; CU disembodied hand flips switches, plane takes off. Great aerial shot of plane in air.

21:46:46:10 CU Radio Compass instrument on airplane control panel.

21:48:15:06 CU Fasten Seat Belt and No Smoking sign turn on; text just below sign reads Cigarette Smoking Only; two women fasten their seatbelts, one in aisle sit puts out her cigarette; aerial shot of plane flying through clouds; stewardesses hand passengers their coats; great aerial of TWA plane beginning its descent into New York City, Manhattan skyline in background; great shot from inside flight gears as wheels are lowered, TWA plane lands at LaGuardia Airport; cute little girl unbuckles her seatbelt; passengers exit plane, man waves to pilot, LaGuardia terminal in background; pilot in cockpit leans out window of Star of Paris and waves.

Letter to A Pilot
Produced byRKO-Path , Inc.
Production
companies
RKO-Path , Inc.
Distributed byRKO-Path , Inc.
Release date
1950
Running time
22:48
LanguageEnglish
Thumbnail
ewid: 3091 | Fresh | || dopt: {{{dopt}}}