Paris to China: 1932 Journey

This 1932 silent travelogue, Paris, Times Square, China, etc., opens with a fragment of Nomad Pictures’ Ports of the World, directed by Sir Oswald Winfield and shot by Robert Bloch in black-and-white 16mm, before shifting to amateur footage. Paris unfolds with the Odeon cinema’s “Direct Au Coeur” marquee and bustling streets, some in Kodacolor. A woman reads Life magazine shipboard, then Times Square glows in Kodacolor—RKO Mayfair’s “The Conquerors” and Palace Theater’s “The Kid From Spain” shine. A Chinese city’s vivid life closes this pre-war patchwork of global snapshots, blending professional and personal lenses.