[CHARLES LINDBERGH and ANNE MORROW with LOCKHEED SIRIUS in LOS ANGELES (Print 1) 1930]

This short, silent newsreel shows Charles Lindbergh and his new wife Anne Morrow Lindbergh arriving in Los Angeles by biplane. The purpose of this trip was to pick up their new Sirius monoplane, which they would then fly back to New York.

Lindbergh became the first true global celebrity—and sparked a worldwide craze for flying—with his 1927 nonstop solo flight from New York to Paris in the custom-built Spirit of St. Louis. With that plane donated to the Smithsonian Institution the following year, and with Lucky Lindy’s de-facto role as the global ambassador for aviation expanding by the month, he needed a new, more versatile plane to suit his expanding horizons. He turned to Lockheed which was already known as an innovative designer and manufacturer of some of the world’s finest and fastest aircraft.

Lindbergh wanted his new plane to be able to make a nonstop flight across the United States, as well as scout new air routes to China. It was up to Lockheed to invent the technology to meet his needs. Lindbergh’s list of custom touches included a tandem cockpit with dual controls and sliding canopy to accommodate him and his co-pilot—his seven-month’s-pregnant wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The fuselage needed to be big enough to allow for full use of parachutes in case they needed to make a mid-air exit. Room also had to be made for state-of-the-art navigation equipment and a small generator that could power the Lindberghs’ electrically warmed flight suits.

Lockheed chief engineer Gerard Vultee designed the Lockheed 8 Sirius based on Lindbergh’s specifications. Slightly smaller than the Spirit of St. Louis—just shy of 43 feet to the St. Louis’s 46—the Sirius was capable of traveling 185 miles per hour compared to the St. Louis’s top speed of 133 mph. It was delivered in April 1930, and within days Charles and Anne embarked from Los Angeles, arriving in New York City 14 hours, 45 minutes, and 32 seconds later—breaking the previous record by 3 hours.

This 1940s color travelogue film about Provence, France was produced by Simmel-Meservey Distributors. Provence is a geographical region in southeastern France. A map of France opens the film (:40-1:00). The Romans first settled the area. The broken stone columns and seats of the amphitheater are seen in the ruins of the Arles Roman Theatre. Tombs are along the Avenue of the Dead (1:01-2:05). Later buildings used parts of the earlier Roman buildings. This includes the St. Trophime Cathedral, built in the 12th century around an earlier church (2:06-2:20). The granite Arles Obelisk was once part of the Roman circus (2:21-2:42). The architecture inside and out of the St. Trophime Cathedral is shown (2:43-3:07). Camargue is a mostly marsh area located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Rhone delta. Fields of rice are shown and a smiling man with his horse in a field of crops (3:08-3:54). The Provencal Gypsy Festival dates to the 12th century. During it, pilgrimages are made to the Church of Les Saintes Maries de la Mer (3:55-5:00). Camargue is known for black bulls and white horses, which take part in the pilgrimage (5:01-6:00). Celebrating the three Mary’s who legend says landed there, the pilgrims wear costumes representing these women (6:01-6:30). The religious procession winds through the narrow streets, carrying the statues from the Church to the sea. There the Archbishop proclaims a blessing on the sea and the people. The white horses with their riders enter the water and return to the place the three women are said to have landed. The procession returns to the Church to end the festival (6:31-8:25). Aigues-Mortes is a medieval walled city built by King Louis IX as a port of departure for the Crusades. A statue of him stands there overlooking the city, which is panned by the camera (8:26-10:48).