[1940s HOME MOVIE VISIT TO GAY MANOR HOTEL, VIRGINIA BEACH]

Genre: home movie

Year Published: 1940s

Creator: Arthur Arling

Description:

This mid-1940s home movie shot by Arthur Arling, a well-known Hollywood cinematographer, shows his wife at various sites around Virginia Beach and Colonial Williamsburg, possibly on their honeymoon. Arling was an Academy Award winning cinematographer known for his work on Gone With the Wind and The Yearling. This home movie begins with the Gay Manor Hotel in Virginia Beach, Virginia (0:14), then pans to a woman (believed to be Arling's wife) in a black swimsuit sunbathing on a towel, presumably Arling’s wife (0:30). She sits up and smiles at the camera. A view of the Atlantic Ocean, with beachgoers relaxing under umbrellas and in the water (1:45). An American flag (1:57). Patrons at a beachside restaurant, the Beach Cavalier Club (2:36). Arling and his wife drink some beers (3:01). Arling’s wife enters the Williamsburg Inn Dining Room (4:03). The camera pans over buildings and grounds of Williamsburg, including the Bruton Parish Episcopal Church (5:44); the church was established in 1674 At 6:38, Arling's wife pretends to have a romance with a scarecrow. Views of his wife by a swimming pool and houses in Colonial Williamsburg (7:01). She sticks her head and hands in a wooden pillory (7:36); Arling sticks his feet through the holes. The Governor’s Palace (7:56). The camera zooms in on the royal crest, which reads “Dieu et Mon Droit” ("God and my right,” the motto of the United Kingdom monarch) (8:08). The front gate of the Governor’s Palace (8:37). The Williamsburg Inn (9:07). Another view of the Governor’s Palace (9:26); Arling’s wife walks through the gate. The film ends with a view of swimmers at the Williamsburg Inn pool (11:00).

Complete Record: This mid-1940s home movie shot by Arthur Arling, a well-known Hollywood cinematographer, shows his wife at various sites around Virginia Beach and Colonial Williamsburg, possibly on their honeymoon. Arling was an Academy Award winning cinematographer known for his work on Gone With the Wind and The Yearling. This home movie begins with the Gay Manor Hotel in Virginia Beach, Virginia (0:14), then pans to a woman (believed to be Arling's wife) in a black swimsuit sunbathing on a towel, presumably Arling’s wife (0:30). She sits up and smiles at the camera. A view of the Atlantic Ocean, with beachgoers relaxing under umbrellas and in the water (1:45). An American flag (1:57). Patrons at a beachside restaurant, the Beach Cavalier Club (2:36). Arling and his wife drink some beers (3:01). Arling’s wife enters the Williamsburg Inn Dining Room (4:03). The camera pans over buildings and grounds of Williamsburg, including the Bruton Parish Episcopal Church (5:44); the church was established in 1674 At 6:38, Arling's wife pretends to have a romance with a scarecrow. Views of his wife by a swimming pool and houses in Colonial Williamsburg (7:01). She sticks her head and hands in a wooden pillory (7:36); Arling sticks his feet through the holes. The Governor’s Palace (7:56). The camera zooms in on the royal crest, which reads “Dieu et Mon Droit” ("God and my right,” the motto of the United Kingdom monarch) (8:08). The front gate of the Governor’s Palace (8:37). The Williamsburg Inn (9:07). Another view of the Governor’s Palace (9:26); Arling’s wife walks through the gate. The film ends with a view of swimmers at the Williamsburg Inn pool (11:00).