[1930s HOME MOVIES ALFALFA FARM & COWBOY RANCH]

Filmed in 1938 or 1939 by an unknown American traveler, this 16mm silent home movie shows life at a farm and horse ranch. The locations are unfortunately unknown. The film begins with shots of a well dressed family posing in front of a lake -- the men are wearing ties on the trip! At :49 horses, possibly wild horses, are shown grazing in a field. At 1:08, a somewhat primitive Farmall Regular or Farmall F-20 type tractor is seen at work on a farm. (The Farmall Regular, or just the Farmall, was the first in the Farmall line of general-use row-crop tractors manufactured by International Harvester. The Regular was the first affordable tractor that could be used for plowing, stationary threshing, or cultivating. The F-20 is a medium-sized two-plow row crop tractor produced by International Harvester under the Farmall brand from 1932 to 1939, with approximately 148,000 produced.) At 1:28, a team of horses is used to harvest hay or alfalfa. At 2:39 a hay stacker is shown in use. At 3:59, underexposed shots inside a farmer's house. At 4:59, the crop is moved by a tractor. At 5:19, a man poses with a duck that he's hunted. At 6:09, cowboy rides on a horse, and shots of young girls sitting on horseback. At 6:40, wider shots of the farm property including farm house, stracks of alfalfa or hay, and more. At 7:17, a toddler boy is shown on camera playing with his father. At 8:30, long shots of a herd of cattle. At 8:28, cowboys are gathered and light a fire, so as to brand the herd. At 9:03, branding irons are shown in the fire. At 9:17, a cowboy on horseback moves the cattle, while at 9:52 steers are roped and branded. At 10:26, a group of women and girls watch the cowboys in action. At 10:37, two bulls lock horns. At 10:49, cowboys water their horses at a small pond, which is serviced by a windmill driven pump. The film continues with various shots of cowboys relaxing, riding horses, and so on. At 12:10, horses are shown grazing. At 12:40, family scenes. At 13:04, a beautiful American Quarter Horse, and other horses are paraded for the camera.