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Duhem (Ray)Panama by Air (Reel 4) (1914)

Part of a six-reel film on the construction of the Panama Canal.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Duhem (Ray)
Sponsor: N/A
Audio/Visual: Si, B&W
Keywords: Panama Canal; Central America; Civil engineering

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: Brent Blue - - December 21, 2008
Subject: Why This Movie Is Significant!
This movie is the first motion picture shot from an aircraft. It is remarkably steady since it was taken with a hand crank camera from an open cockpit aircraft at about 80 miles an hour.

I have the only intact six panel poster for the movie in Jackson WY. Anyone in the area is welcome to drop by Emerg+A+Care to see the poster.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - January 13, 2004
Subject: Wee! Panama by air!
In Part 4 of a sure to be a riveting series, we see blurry, bland images of Panama while the canal was being built. About the only thing that is interesting about this film is the private dock the town of Colon built for itself. At the very end, quite by magic, the plane they were riding in gets into technical problems, instead of crashing to the ground, they make it out alive, oh happy happy joy.

Reviewer: Christine Hennig - - January 11, 2003
Subject: Panama by Air
This is mostly dull, blurry aerial footage of the newly-built Panama Canal, with historical interest about all that can be said for it. But it has an unexpectedly exciting ending, as the plane runs out of gas and plunges 800 feet into the ocean. Fortunately, the pilot was able to execute a safe water landing and lots of Panamanians help pull the plane out of the water. At the very end, we get to see the Panamanians mugging for the newfangled movie camera. This ending gives us a glimpse of a time when film, airplanes, and the Panama Canal were all new, which makes the film more interesting than it had been up to that point. A 1914 film.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.

Shotlist

Panama By Air Reel 4 of the six reel film produced by Ray Duhem in 1914. Rob Fowler was the pilot and Duhem photographed the canal by air from Atlantic to Pacific. This reel covers the area from the Culebra Cut to the point where the plane runs out of gas (the propeller stopping is on the film) and comes down in Gatun Lake