UNDERWATER SPEARFISHING

Year Published: 1944

Format: 16mm

Description: Dating to 1944, this film "Underwater Spearfishing" was produced with assistance by Captain Hal Messinger, a diver of some renown. It shows free divers training, and the successful hunt for a manta ray. The film was released by the Sea-Net Company of Los Angeles, an early manufacturer of free diving and spearfishing equipment, including spear guns, rubber masks, and fins.. This equipment was in demand as the growing community of post WWII divers went in search of food from the sea, such as abalone, lobster and fish. The film was shot in Yucatan, Mexico using something called "the Photodive device for underwater photography", and narrated by Don McNamara. The cinematographer and director was Charles T. Trego. The film features Apolonio Castillo (1:38), a famed Mexican swimmer and diver who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics and 1952 Summer Olympics in butterfly stroke. Castillo was a close friend of famed filmmaker Ramón Bravo, and taught the photographer and underwater filmmaker to dive. (Castillo tragically died while attempting to located retrieve the bodies of two murdered Americans from the Bay of Acapulco. Castillo suffered rapid decompression during the dive and never recovered.)PeriscopeFilm 702K subscribers Videos About Support Us on Patreon

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Transcription

foreign [Music] foreign [Music] way it was the beautiful sort of day you'd dream about in fact so beautiful apollonio had decided to take a stroll in the market ah yes first it's a little snack of watermelon [Music] ah but it's too warm in the marketplace fishing's better [Music] and sleeps even better than fishing as far as apollonio is concerned foreign wow here's a type of fisherman apollonio never heard of before [Music] hey maybe he's dreaming oh sir it's an underwater spear fisherman there are lots of them in the lakes and rivers and on the coast of America and his gift to our sleeping fisherman now there's a way to catch the fish my lad come on over here and I'll show you what it's all about [Music] now first of all you can't see anything underwater without a mask the water in contact with your eyes acts as a distorting lens badly blurs your vision by wearing a sea dive mask they shouldn't become sparklingly clear just like looking through an aquarium window no but decided to show apollonio something new one of the latest and most thrilling of sports spearfishing underwater [Music] apollonio is taking the spear gun [Music] button will use his puffy Hawaiian sling spear [Music] okay let's go down after him [Music] now we'll let those go apollonio not much good meeting then foreign [Music] there's the first victim ah there's Senor Barracuda that well-known tropical gentleman he's a weary one and one of the puppets to spear best way to approach a fish is from a rear angle often you can sneak up and let him have it before he knows what it's all about watch this one nope under the Rocks there's so many of them get away [Music] see something ready aim fire and contact what's this baby fight foreign comes up to the surface over the side [Music] look at him gold that's the sort of fish that demands really strong equipment Melania gets him up to the surface of Tarpon this time as game of fish that swims the Seas getting quite a bag there boys well what's next on the piscatorial program find another good spot hey come here come here the old man called something really doing here what is it foreign I'll supervise them in here in the boat let's go man you've really got to get at this one with heavy equipment give me that heavy harpoon those huge Wings pack unbelievable power they got him and he starts on his way foreign [Music] something really heavy there now to be lifted up to the surface right as those wings of his and doesn't want to come [Music] foreign [Music] a little more power now as we get into the boat and give a good pull and I'll become to break the surface a little hook in one of those wings of his give us a little more power a little more purchase [Music] foreign ER he has in the boat with us while he's still alive [Music] and there he is ladies and gentlemen 300 pounds of living Dynamite [Music] I have the large Stinger under his tail and we've got to get rid of that right away and there goes the knife no more singer on that baby [Music] [Music] you have their boys you can be really proud of that one foreign


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