Hawaii & Beyond: 1938 Journey

This circa 1938 silent reel, Hawaii, blends personal travelogue with commercial Hawaii footage in black-and-white 16mm. It opens with lush Hawaiian vistas—likely Waikiki or volcanoes—cut from a studio film, then sails toward San Francisco’s skyline from the ocean. Chinatown’s alleys and Barbary Coast’s gritty charm unfold, with street signs at Kearny and Pacific. Ramona’s Marriage Place in San Diego, a tunnel POV, and Coolidge Dam near Globe, Arizona, with parked cars and pans, follow. Driving POVs cross a Mississippi River bridge from Missouri to Illinois, pan Chicago’s skyline from the Museum of Science and Industry, and capture a Shriners parade. Two in rain hoist “From Sunny California” signs, tying this cross-country odyssey together.