PANAMA AND THE CANAL ZONE

Year Published: 1930s

Format: 16mm

Description: "Panama and the Canal Zone" is a short educational film that utilizes footage provided by the Cunard Steam Ship Company, which operated ocean liners that plied the Caribbean route in the 1930s. At the time it was made the Canal was considered a tourist attraction -- an engineering marvel of great importance to the United States. The film begins with footage of a church or cathedral in Colon, and scenes shot in the Canal Zone. At 1:00 a ship, presumably one of the Cunard vessels, is shown transiting the the Gatun Locks. (Note: There are twelve locks in total along the Canal. A two-step flight at Miraflores, and a single flight at Pedro Miguel, lift ships from the Pacific up to Gatun Lake; then a triple flight at Gatun lowers them to the Atlantic side.) At 2:46 the Gaillard Cut, also known as the Culebra Cut, is shown. This is a man-made valley that cuts through the Continental Divide. At 3:11 are shots of Panama City.

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