[1954 NEWS MAGAZINE OF THE SCREEN]

[Music] the news magazine of the screen living glimpses of history in the making presented as a public service by The narraganset Electric Company part of the New England Electric System in West Branch Iowa birthplace of Herbert Hoover Main Street puts on banners bunding as the 30th President of the United States Returns on his 80th birthday his step is still steady despite his four score years the two room white frame Cottage where he was born is as he left it an orphan of nine he sees pictures of his blacksmith father and school teacher mother the simple Furnishings recall his humble childhood thousands come to the party complete with cake paying homage to the blacksmith's boy who became president a living lesson of Democracy in [Music] America the president of a foreign land singman Ree of Korea visits Harry Truman America's 32nd president re tenders the former Chief Executive the Everlasting gratitude of his people for American Aid in fighting communism Korea says Sigman re will never forget in Washington the 83rd Congress passes into history members of the House of Representatives say goodbye to Congressional colleagues meanwhile house page boys give speaker Joe Martin a special send off with a handshake Republican leader Nolan and Democratic leader Johnson end Senate debate Vice President Nixon initials the final bills rying to Denver with Mrs Eisenhower America's 33rd president joins Congress in taking a vacation [Applause] at Lowry Air Force Base General spra welcomes the chief executive despite his holiday tie it's a working vacation for President Eisenhower man completes Nature's fa liting at Niagara Falls Dynamite is placed at Prospect Point undermined by the spectacular rockfall reported in last month's news magazine alone tree since Fallen clings precariously by its roots as the preparations are completed and the workmen warn the crowds away before the first blast is set off a second [Music] blast a man-made chains in the face of Mighty [Music] Niagara rolling out on the road is a revolutionary new vehicle the 5ton Rhino a sight to startle the soul of any [Music] motorist the Rhino's new type Wheels give such a grip that it won't tip on Hills the wheels also help it plow through underbrush like a tank although its engine is no more powerful than an automobile water is no barrier where it's shallow the wheels do the work in deeper it floats from propelled by a jet Arrangement the more the wheels sink in the greater the grip turning through mud like a happy rhinocerus the Revolutionary [Music] Rhino the Army's newest Wonder on Wheels is called high Herman an experimental device for exploding landmines resembling a farm disc herrow it can be maneuvered easily when hooked to the front of a tank does it work watch with its steel claws High Herman sweeps a battlefield path of safety these are the first motion pictures ever made of a pilgrimage to Mecca the sacred Muslim Journey that many of us had heard about the Mystic right that for a thousand years has beckoned millions of muhammadans to the birthplace of their religion within a city a city of tents Springs up many colorfully decorated an archway frames Mecca photographed by a Muslim cameraman for unbelievers are forbidden to enter the pilgrims many aged and some unable to walk are fulfilling the call of their faith that they make at least one journey to Mecca in their lifetime in the heart of the mysterious City stands the massive black mosque where Muhammad once preached it is the most sacred place of worship in the religion he founded in the 7th century and which now has more than 500 million followers the spired city welcomes almost 200,000 pilgrims every year all coming to dedicate a new their faith filling the mosque called the cup they kiss a black stone said to have been given Abraham by the angel Gabriel the ceremony reaches its climax as the Muslims Mill past a white stone pillar throwing seven pebbles at the devil in the name of their God [Music] Allah an ages old act of worship against a background of Eastern Majesty a Craftsman works with skill and care and an intricate art 5,000 years old the art of creating mosaics Guided by his original design he selects bits of stone breaking them into small chips marble is frequently used also colored glass or enamel the chips are then embedded in a cement each chip carefully placed to follow the master design as the artist places by hand each of the thousands of individual chips he slowly creates a mosaic Mosaic comes from the Latin and it was in ancient Rome that mosaic art flourished early Christians adopted it for religious art because of the resplendant colors of the little chips from churches in Rena Italy come careful copies of famous mosaics like this sensitive portrait of an early Saint each Stone chip plays its part in the art of the Mosaic which like the durable stones that make it has weathered the test of time a spectacular sight in the sky is the Scorpion America's most powerful jet Interceptor its wing tip pods carry a deadly sting high powered [Music] Rockets a flood of rockets leaves One Wing pod in this slow motion demonstration of Firepower here's how the Scorpion's pilot sees it as the Rockets burst riddling an area bigger than a football field carrying 104 Rockets any one of which can destroy a bomber the Scorpion is the Air Force's most heavily armed Interceptor a pilot and radar man can fly it in any weather guarding the American [Music] Sky a strange sight is the helicopter that carries its own hanger someone just attaches the sling and there she goes the first time an aircraft has flown off with its hanger this demonstration by the Marine Core shows how lightweight structures can be flown quickly to the front lines if needed the hanger framework is made of extruded magnesium girs a type of shelter that may eventually replace the centuries old tent The Hanger is easily landed after which the copter flies off to land [Music] itself there is plenty of room in use a plastic canopy covers the framework hanger a revolutionary military development to abandon ship in the sky the pilot is catapulted out seat and all a pull of the Escape ring explodes a cartridge driving the seat from the bomber at the proper moment a timing device separates jumper from seat it's all automatic a fantastic sight in the sky when he bailed out he was traveling 500 M an hour having slowed down his automatic parachute opens and it's a happy Landing in this air age when man is striving to go faster and faster here's a really new invention a plane that will go slower and slower these Wing slats Let The Helio Courier loaf along at 30 mph its amazing range is from 25 to 160 past the George Washington Bridge in New York The Helio Courier cruises far below its top speed the pilot Cuts speed to below 30 and even the truck underneath can out distance the Slowpoke overhead coming in the plane demonstrates an almost postage stamp Landing another feature of the versatile Helio Courier the Navy's Pogo plane is making Sky history the pilot rides on his back and here it is the first vertical takeoff ever made by a fighter aircraft the plane climbs straight up can hover overhead like this and designers say that after further test it will also level off and fly horizontally at more than 500 mph a tail First Landing for the Pogo an amazing new sight in the sky [Music] this is John Landy who has run the mile faster than any man who ever lived his record time of 3 minutes and 58 seconds is the latest achievement in the centuries old guel between man and the mile man against the mile a supreme test of C of human will of determination the goal had been the 4minute mile the dream that had Through The Years beckoned the world's swiftest Runners England's Walter George was fleetest of all milers in 1884 his record time 4 minutes 18 and 4/10 seconds an American Thomas kif lowered George's Mark in 1895 to 4 minutes 15 and 610 seconds 18 years passed before John Paul Jones another American bettered Kif's time but within 2 years Norman Taber had erased Jones's Mark with a clocking of four minutes 12 and 610 seconds Taber and Jones had pushed man closer than ever before to the Miracle 4minute Mile finland's faav normi took up the pursuit after World War I blazing the way toward track's greatest goal 1923 Pavo normi 4 minutes 10 and 4/10 seconds a world record for the famous flying fin crowds in Europe and America were to cheer Normie often as he smashed record after record 1931 Jules LOM 4 minute 9 and 2/10 seconds after 8 years with lom's Record Man had moved a second nearer the 4minute barrier 1933 Jack Lovelock 4 minutes 7 and 6/10 seconds at Princeton New Jersey Lovelock born in New Zealand educated in England came racing down the home stretch to place his name on the role of Mile record holders on this day in 1933 Sports immortality cloaked Jack Lovelock 1934 Glenn Cunningham 4 minutes 6 and 810 seconds the king of America's milers had returned the world's record to the United States track fans hailed the courageous Cunningham whose legs had been so badly burned as a boy that doctors said he would never walk much less run again but run he did faster than any man before him Glenn Cunningham 1937 Sydney wooderson 4 minutes 6 and 410 seconds a new record and a new Champion Britain's slightly built little Speedster Sydney wooderson first to congratulate the British star was Walter George his name all but forgotten in the half century since his own record run 1942 ha and Anderson 4 minutes 6 and 2/10 seconds Sweden's ghg and Arie Anderson running onew here chased one another closer and closer to the 4minute mile countless other world marks at many distances were to fall before Gund [Music] hay 1945 Gund hag 4 minutes 1 and 4/10 seconds with flowing strides he moved toward the Miracle Mile though less than 2 seconds away hag could come no closer the 4-minute barrier still stood like Everest challenging and frightening 1954 Roger banister 3 minutes 59 and 410 seconds this is it a shy 25-year-old doctor racing into a Sports alltime Hall of Fame bannister's Long Legs eat up the yards but his temples throb and his lungs suck fire as he throws all his strength into his Jewel against the mile until flinging himself across the Finish Line Roger banister collapses Man's first 4minute Miler 1954 John Landy 3 minutes and 58 seconds only 6 weeks after bannister's historic race the challenge that defied Runners for centuries is toppled Again by the 24-year-old student it's a new record as he crosses the finish line and Unforgettable moment for John Landy now the stage is set for The Duel of History's first 4-minute MERS at the British Empire games in Vancouver Canada it's a two-man race from the very start Landy is out front and setting a toret pace threatening to run another Miracle Mile suddenly banister arms flapping and hair flying pours it on cutting land's lead with every jet propelled stride bursting past the Australian banister blazes on in a Savage Drive punishing himself to the limit of human endurance in his desperate Dash sprinting toward the finish line he sweeps to victory in the mile of the century his time is a spectacular 3 minutes 58 and 810 seconds Landy too cracks the 4-minute mark Triumph takes its toll as banister sags almost unconscious Breaking Free from wellwishers he struggles down the track toward his rival and the two masters of the mile Embrace banister and Landy they Challenge Sports greatest dream and made it come true the Mystic Seaport Marine Museum preserving the spirit of seaf fairing days in early America nestled on the Mystic River in Connecticut the museum is a reconstruction complete with ships of a Yankee sea port in the Golden Age of s it is a symbol of all the little ports which a century ago sent forth the Iron Men in wooden ships that sailed the Four Winds and the Seven Seas with a Pioneer Spirit the Hardy sailor steered America toward her Destiny as the greatest Maritime nation in the world Seaport Street paved and cobbled is lined with recreated shops like those which serve the seafaring sons of Mystic and the ships of her stored past are birthed in a Serene Snug Harbor the sailing Joseph Conrad is one of the 19th century barks that carried the American flag to the remote corners of the watery World though her spars are stripped and her days of Glory gone her sight still stirs the imagination a youth training program makes the Mystic Museum a Living Museum of the sea not just a collection of Maritime Antiquities Girl Scout Mariners working and living aboard ship learn firsthand qualities of character that sprung from the sea traditions of the past soon the girl Mariners are scrambling up the rigging perhaps not as skillfully but with the same enthusiasm as The Men Who manned the Conrad a 100 years ago mes call is as welcome today as it was then sharing a closely knit comrad ship the girls develop initiative responsibility and self-reliance the traits that stamped the Yankee Sean and still live on at Mystic [Music] Seaport the pulse of the Conrad and her sister ships were their sales and naturally every port had its sailem maker like the Waterfront shop operated by Charles mallerie inside were swn by hand the sails which caught the winds that drove the ships in an era when Engine driven vessels were still a dream tens of thousands of square fet of sturdy C were needed to outfit the 19th century ships the salemaker stove had to hang suspended from the ceiling clearing the floor for laying out of the sale being swn also on Seaport street is the shop of AJ Peters ship smmi and whcra manufacturer the marine version of The Village Blacksmith still another Mystic Landmark founded in 1824 is the Plymouth Cottage company here bales of hemp and Manila fiber were spun into rope of all sizes the raw yarn passed from the so-called bobin frames into the forming plate drawn through the plate the yarn was later Twisted into strands these could be tied to the waists of the men who stepped backward along the old Plymouth rope walk down the ramp the men moved until the strands They Carried reached the required length a colorful collection of figureheads and ship models provide a panorama of America's Maritime Fleet from President Monroe to McKinley the figureheads are all that remain of their ships long since vanished from the high seas this one is from some nameless ship of 1820 another recalls the Brigantine Atlanta the figure heads were painstakingly carved many by hand this from the Frederica built in the 1870s ranging from the bizarre to the Beautiful the figure heads lend Another Touch of authenticity to the museum at Mystic the row of ship models one of the world's finest collections include virtually every craft to float a century ago the Speedy Clippers the passenger packet chips and the Stout trailers like the Sunbeam shown here in lifelike detail murals on the wall pay tribute to the Wailing men who risked death in landing their catch far from the ship lash to a sea giant thrashing wildly for Freedom the Whalers hung grimly on and when the whales Fury was spent the men claimed their prize the seaport keeps alive the memory of their voyages in an even more dramatic way the Charles Morgan last of the wooden wailing ships is an honored exhibit during her 80 years of service ending in 1920 she earned more than $2 million on Deck are the tri works the ovens over which whale brubber was boiled to try or test the oil after the tried oil had been stored away the scraps and impurities were fed into the fuel beds in the oven to keep the fires burning below are the quarters of the captain who commanded a crew of 36 men and boys his bed like a hammock could RAR with a ship in rough Seas for the men of the Morgan for all men who have gone down to the sea in ships the farflung oceans are Frontiers which demand courage skill and Faith with all three as companions Americans have sailed out to answer the call of the sea this is one of a series on current affairs presented as a public service by The narraganset Electric Company part of the New England Electric System