VAGABOND
Sign in to track this film in your collection or want list.
Description: This is a color episode of Bill Burrud’s “Vagabond” series from the late 1950’s, focusing on New Orleans landmarks and the customs of the Mardis Gras Carnival celebration. A seagull soars. (0:07). Waves crash on a sandy beach with footprints (0:15). Title card (0:28). The French Quarter in New Orleans (0:44). A female nightclub barker with red lipstick dances in a long skirt. A man passes by (0:52). Crowds packed shoulder to shoulder outside Stein Bros. (1:00). Parade floats: A golden dragon and horses pulling a seashell chariot (1:08). A man in silver makeup bounces a feathered headdress. (1:15). Men and women wave from a balcony (1:22). A boy in a bicorn hat shines an elderly man’s shoes (1:27). Ships at harbor and water birds (1:29). Our host appears with a red mask (1:49). Host moves to a painted map of Louisiana and another mask (2:10). Aerial shots of urban architecture downtown (2:45). Creole or “French Colonial” style buildings (2:59). Aging architectural features (3:18). A serious man in a black beret strolls slowly (3:57). St. Louis Cathedral from afar (4:09) and in close up (4:21). Equestrian statue of General Andrew Jackson (4:35). The Cabildo (4:50). Jean Lafitte’s Old Absinthe House and signage (5:17). Lafitte’s Rendezvous, a blacksmith shop founded in 1810, has become a bar. Its tiled roof needs repair (6:01). Street signs: Pirate’s Alley (6:32). A caricature artist sketches a portrait of a silver-haired woman. (6:52). A courtyard filled with diners (7:22). Pat O’Brien’s restaurant. A sign: “Famous New Orleans French Market: Doughnuts and Coffee” (7:41). Wide shot of Café Du Monde (7:52). A horse in a pink hat pulls a surrey style carriage (7:57). Ornate french ironwork (8:12). Trees and bricks in a graveyard. Tombs and mausoleums (8:32). Street sign: Bourbon St. and Orleans St. (9:09). A man and a woman walk past a hunched man with garbage (9:16). A sign: “Neatly furnished rooms $5.00 up. No female impersonators allowed. Colored Only” (9:24). Street signs: Bienville and Basin St. (9:37). A woman speaking from a balcony (9:51). The shoeshine boy twirls a brush with a flourish (9:58). Signs of burlesque clubs: “Playboy Lounge, Kalantan, Dream Rooms Cocktail Lounge” (10:22). Neon sign montage: “Girls Girls Girls, View Carré, Johnny’s Pirates Den, Diamond Jim Moran’s food for kings, Famous Door, Sahara, El Morocco, Adam Comeaux’s Lounge - Bar” (10:49). People dressed in Zulu costumes wave at a riverboat. (10:58). White tourists point and leer (11:11). Men in Zulu regalia and grass skirts on parade. Some men appear in blackface (11:17). A black woman sits atop a float populated by black children in formal suits and ball gowns (12:11). Host in studio (12:46). A marching band (13:13). The parade king (13:36). A lobster costume and a fanged devil’s head (14:02). “Noah’s Ark” and “Wizard of Oz” costumes (14:10). Toddlers eating popcorn (14:26). A shirtless man in glasses, wig, and tutu dances (14:53). A patriotic “Uncle Sam” float (15:42). Milling crowds (15:54). A woman and man in pseudo Egyptian garb, men in drag smoking and drinking (16:29). Float riders throw party favors into the crowd (17:43). Paraders carry flaming and sparking torches at night (18:31). A medieval float (19:40). Empty New Orleans street scenes in daylight (20:11). A ship unloads cargo (21:00). Stacks of imports, trains leaving a station (21:22). The General Beauregard Equestrian Statue, flowers and oak trees in City Park (21:55). Storyland, a children’s theme park, draws families, offers rowboats (22:12). A young woman feeds and pets ducks (23:55). Our host dons and removes the red mask (24:33). End credits (25:17). Bill Burrud was a television host and producer best known for his travel shows, which he called "traventure" television. to describe the programs he intended to produce. KTTV in Los Angeles purchased his series The Open Road in 1951. In 1954 he founded Bill Burrud Productions and produced a series of pioneering programs that included True Adventure, Vagabond, Wanderlust, Animal World, Islands in the Sun, Wonderful World of Women, Safari to Adventure, Treasure, and Natural Wonders.
Complete Record: This is a color episode of Bill Burrud’s “Vagabond” series from the late 1950’s, focusing on New Orleans landmarks and the customs of the Mardis Gras Carnival celebration. A seagull soars. (0:07). Waves crash on a sandy beach with footprints (0:15). Title card (0:28). The French Quarter in New Orleans (0:44). A female nightclub barker with red lipstick dances in a long skirt. A man passes by (0:52). Crowds packed shoulder to shoulder outside Stein Bros. (1:00). Parade floats: A golden dragon and horses pulling a seashell chariot (1:08). A man in silver makeup bounces a feathered headdress. (1:15). Men and women wave from a balcony (1:22). A boy in a bicorn hat shines an elderly man’s shoes (1:27). Ships at harbor and water birds (1:29). Our host appears with a red mask (1:49). Host moves to a painted map of Louisiana and another mask (2:10). Aerial shots of urban architecture downtown (2:45). Creole or “French Colonial” style buildings (2:59). Aging architectural features (3:18). A serious man in a black beret strolls slowly (3:57). St. Louis Cathedral from afar (4:09) and in close up (4:21). Equestrian statue of General Andrew Jackson (4:35). The Cabildo (4:50). Jean Lafitte’s Old Absinthe House and signage (5:17). Lafitte’s Rendezvous, a blacksmith shop founded in 1810, has become a bar. Its tiled roof needs repair (6:01). Street signs: Pirate’s Alley (6:32). A caricature artist sketches a portrait of a silver-haired woman. (6:52). A courtyard filled with diners (7:22). Pat O’Brien’s restaurant. A sign: “Famous New Orleans French Market: Doughnuts and Coffee” (7:41). Wide shot of Café Du Monde (7:52). A horse in a pink hat pulls a surrey style carriage (7:57). Ornate french ironwork (8:12). Trees and bricks in a graveyard. Tombs and mausoleums (8:32). Street sign: Bourbon St. and Orleans St. (9:09). A man and a woman walk past a hunched man with garbage (9:16). A sign: “Neatly furnished rooms $5.00 up. No female impersonators allowed. Colored Only” (9:24). Street signs: Bienville and Basin St. (9:37). A woman speaking from a balcony (9:51). The shoeshine boy twirls a brush with a flourish (9:58). Signs of burlesque clubs: “Playboy Lounge, Kalantan, Dream Rooms Cocktail Lounge” (10:22). Neon sign montage: “Girls Girls Girls, View Carré, Johnny’s Pirates Den, Diamond Jim Moran’s food for kings, Famous Door, Sahara, El Morocco, Adam Comeaux’s Lounge - Bar” (10:49). People dressed in Zulu costumes wave at a riverboat. (10:58). White tourists point and leer (11:11). Men in Zulu regalia and grass skirts on parade. Some men appear in blackface (11:17). A black woman sits atop a float populated by black children in formal suits and ball gowns (12:11). Host in studio (12:46). A marching band (13:13). The parade king (13:36). A lobster costume and a fanged devil’s head (14:02). “Noah’s Ark” and “Wizard of Oz” costumes (14:10). Toddlers eating popcorn (14:26). A shirtless man in glasses, wig, and tutu dances (14:53). A patriotic “Uncle Sam” float (15:42). Milling crowds (15:54). A woman and man in pseudo Egyptian garb, men in drag smoking and drinking (16:29). Float riders throw party favors into the crowd (17:43). Paraders carry flaming and sparking torches at night (18:31). A medieval float (19:40). Empty New Orleans street scenes in daylight (20:11). A ship unloads cargo (21:00). Stacks of imports, trains leaving a station (21:22). The General Beauregard Equestrian Statue, flowers and oak trees in City Park (21:55). Storyland, a children’s theme park, draws families, offers rowboats (22:12). A young woman feeds and pets ducks (23:55). Our host dons and removes the red mask (24:33). End credits (25:17). Bill Burrud was a television host and producer best known for his travel shows, which he called "traventure" television. to describe the programs he intended to produce. KTTV in Los Angeles purchased his series The Open Road in 1951. In 1954 he founded Bill Burrud Productions and produced a series of pioneering programs that included True Adventure, Vagabond, Wanderlust, Animal World, Islands in the Sun, Wonderful World of Women, Safari to Adventure, Treasure, and Natural Wonders.
Transcription
[Music] whoever you are wherever you may be this is a story for you or all those endowed with the spirit of a vagabond [Applause] [Music] there's beauty and graciousness in architecture and in life where we travel it's dingy too in some ways though with its honky-tonk atmosphere they call it and not without good reason the paris of america or here once a year occurs the carnival of a lifetime with enough gaity and pageantry to make it the greatest show on earth there's much much more to see though and learn in this great melting pot of the midwest located on the mighty mississippi it served as the guardian of our mid-continent during wartime the gateway to latin america in peacetime so eat drink and be merry is the unofficial motto of this great southern metropolis join us and see why as vagabond goes to new orleans for mardi gras hi everybody welcome to vagabond i'm bill bird now this mask is symbolic of one of the really great events in our country every year mardi gras time where's mardi gras located well new orleans is famous for its mardi gras because here at uh the great confluence of the mississippi and the gulf of mexico is new orleans now the city of new orleans stands for many things to many different people of course the beautiful streets the interesting things that you can see but every year when mardi gras comes the city goes wild with excitement with fun and all kinds of things yes new orleans means fun excitement and romance so join us then as we take you to new orleans at mardi gras time new orleans has the largest metropolitan area of the deep south with a population of some eight hundred thousand the third largest in area in the entire united states and it's the kind of a city which intrigues the adventure the wander inspires the poet lures the tourist they call it the american paris [Music] and well they might for like paris this is a city that's worn and old where stones have been hollowed by the press of feet where the ancient and old-fashioned gables sag where doorways locked so tight take on the appearance of vaults hiding untold treasures of a glorious past old windows like a pair of tired eyes stare at the street below the narrow twisting street which may seem just plain ugly to some but which to others is romantic and exciting as one of our fellow wanderers explained it we know these cities love them well because they seem to us like old men who grow more feeble and yet more wise with the passage of time with nothing much to do but much to tell and so we have come to new orleans to tell you and show you why so many people consider this the most intriguing city in all america the first church of new orleans was erected by the founder cyrdi bienville on the site where the present st louis cathedral now stands [Music] while it was the french who founded new orleans it was general and the jackson old hickory who for once and for all made new orleans an american city when he overwhelmingly defeated the superior british forces at the battle of new orleans in 1850 in startling comparison the british had 700 killed and over 1400 wounded while andy lost just 13 men and 30 wounded the city of new orleans which first flew the american flag from the balcony of the cabildo in 1803 was fully established as an american port unlike many other american cities however it's never lost its foreign flavor as evidenced by this apartment house the first of its kind ever built and still in use the one place which has remained intact more than any other section of the city is right here whoever comes to new orleans must come here whether you be just a wanderer like ourselves or a more famous person such as jenny lynn walt whitman and oscar wilde theodore roosevelt or enrico caruso yes this is it the famous french quarter via only about a mile square it's located in the downtown section of the city although a great mixture of classes and races live here now it derives its name from the fact that the french-speaking people originally settled here when the city was founded in 1717. the famous pirate jean lafitte operated this blacksmith shop with his brother in the french quarter as a front for their smuggling activities some historians dispute the fact that lafitte actually used this place but it still makes a good story the old building with its broken plaster and soft brick walls and colorful slate roofs is a notable landmark [Music] in remembrance of those pirating days one of the streets still known as parrot's alley physically the old french quarter has changed very little despite the passage of time [Music] one of the modern innovations is the bohemian atmosphere a sort of greenwich village where poets and playwrights and artists live and work [Music] if it's atmosphere these artists are looking for they can certainly find it here in this historic and yet almost dingy section of this city and if it's good eating you want you can also find it in the french quarter in a hundred different colorful restaurants such as brennan's and of course no trip to new orleans would be complete without stopping at antoine's where you eat some of the world famous specialties such as oysters rockefeller or pompano there are hundreds of restaurants all specializing in french creole spanish or italian dishes after dinner and a trip to the theater or a walk around town you can then go to the french market for coffee with this kind of an environment you can readily see why they call this the american paris a ride in an old-fashioned surrey is appropriate here but no matter what you do when you come here probably the greatest single attraction is the place itself although the people have changed considerably the buildings the architecture the physical appearance of the french has remained much the same [Music] the graveyards are strange because of the fact that it's close to sea level the graves have to be built above ground some cases unfortunately some of the impressive crips and tombs and mausoleums have been broken into [Music] it seems strange that despite a century of immense changes all around it much of the french quarter of new orleans remains unaltered especially the people a great melting pot of dozens of different races and colors and creams [Music] one can almost feel the symphony of life as it goes on unchanged through the years in the french quarter [Music] huh the french quarter is also not without its honky tonk atmosphere those golden days of swashbuckling he men and satin clad young ladies who strolled daily through the romantic atmosphere arm-in-arm or languidly sip mint juleps on the porch of a creole mansion are gone forever today a wiggling waitress trying to get a little trade for her boss's bar is now the fashion of the day the tempo of the time the nights in new orleans are a conflict of sight sound and emotion jazz the blues bright lights wild laughter in the morning zulu the king of the africans is coming [Music] and now we're ready to begin the event which new orleans is probably most famous for the mardi gras how did it all begin well first of all the carnival of mardi gras louisiana style has been celebrated ever since 1699 when pierre iberville came up the mississippi river and founded louisiana remembering that mardi gras was being celebrated in france he gave that name to a place just 12 miles from the river's mouth [Music] [Applause] of course it took many years for the pageant to assume the form it does today [Applause] here we see queen zulu riding by when her husband came through the new basin canal at 10 o'clock this morning that was a signal for the long carnival of mardi gras day to commence what is this world-famous pageant really like it's almost unbelievable [Music] well up to now you've seen new orleans at its quiet moments because mardi gras hasn't yet started you've seen the the historical background join the feet the french quarter the beauty and and the the wonderful things there are to see in the city itself but prepare yourself because that temple increases as mardi gras begins the whole city bursts with excitement [Music] it's mardi gras time in new orleans ruling overall is rex king of the carnival and lord of misrue altogether scores of organizations form their own parade each with their own king but rex monarch of the day of carnival itself is the only king who's not masked people dress in all kinds of costumes [Applause] this is undoubtedly the most colorful festival in all america young and old join in on the fun while the older folks parade the kids enjoy some popcorn this young fellow doesn't seem too happy about sharing it with his sister though [Music] the day of mardi gras occurs annually exactly 40 days before easter not counting sundays the overall carnival season opens officially on january 6th each year and is marked by a succession of elaborate private balls then the actual mardi gras starting two weeks before fat tuesday climax is the carnival season with a series of street parades in which thousands upon thousands of people participate such as we're watching right now pointy crawl is not for any particular race or religion or age group it's for everyone to enjoy [Applause] groups parade through the streets during mardi gras day all business stops everyone joins in the festivity and pageantry wearing their masks from dawn to dusk when the masks are taken off it's a hectic but a happy time [Applause] [Music] [Applause] with their colorful costumes and zany addicts everybody has quite a time [Applause] besides the gate and glamour of what many consider to be the greatest show on earth mardi gras is also a full-time business for many new orleans residents some three millions of dollars are spent each year by the private non-profit organizations which stage this two and a half month pageant every year the seventy elaborate dances which begin two nights after christmas and end on mardi gras night range in costs from five to thirty thousand dollars and the score of parades run as high as fifty thousand dollars apiece while many watch from the balconies and windows of homes and office buildings the best place to view the proceedings is right on the street where you can mingle with the crowds and feel the real spirit of carnival [Applause] all during the festival various gods and goddesses are honored such as moments the god of laughter ridicule and mockery hermes the playboy of the mythological gods and adonis the pretty boy who venus fell in love with probably the most popular at least with the uh folks who like to live it up a bit is comas the god of festive joy and merc who is never without his wine cup eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die that's the old omar khayyam philosophy which prevails at mardi gras time now the pace of the parade the hectic activities doesn't slacken during the night the average parade consists of 20 different floats with the masked captain of the organization with his aides riding on [Applause] horses one float is reserved for the king one for the title or theme of the parade and the remaining 18 interpret the theme with their glittering ornaments a very important part of each parade consists in throwing favors from the floats whether it be trinkets or beads it's considered good luck if you happen to catch one of them to make the blokes as brilliant as possible the gold and silver leaves are attached in such a way as to reflect the greatest amount of light from the sun by day [Applause] at night they're turned downward thereby catching the bright glare of the torches or flambos as they're called [Applause] the end of the comas parade and ball signifies the conclusion of the wonderful weeks of mardi gras [Applause] new orleans returns to normal while this may be a great metropolis of merrimack and fun men can't live on laughter alone there's work to be done [Music] especially down at the dock where inhabitants of old new orleans are as proud of their heritage and traditions as the residents of the french quarter with the great mississippi river making the harbor crescent shaped new orleans was once called the crescent city this great american port is the most efficient in the nation second only to new york in dollar volume serving as the outlet for the bread basket of the world in our own midwest new orleans leads the nation in the export of corn wheat flour and cotton it ranks high in the export of farm machinery and motor vehicles [Music] it also ranks high in the import of rubber leads all other harbors in the import of sugar molasses burlap jute and hemp bananas and coffee are also big shipping items on these massive docks and trains eight trunk line railroads connect the port with a rich mid-continent and every large city in the united states [Music] except for the civil war period new orleans has continued to reign as america's second greatest port the statue of general beauregard situated here in the immense city park of new orleans a peaceful restful place for the entire family to spend a pleasant afternoon especially after the hectic mardi gras period now that the the grown-ups have had their share of fun with us on vagabond it's time for the kids to take advantage of the frivolity which this city is so famous for and what better place could they do it than right here at children's storyline a king-sized storybook the amusement project was built with the financial aid and guidance of park director harry batt all of the legendary characters of children's legends can be found in giant size in the park from the ever-present elves to the famous uh rub-a-dub dub three men in the tub [Music] poor humpty dumpty has probably taken more falls than a punch drunk prize fighter but he's still in one piece for everybody to look at [Music] any grown-up can have some fun here and most of them do but it's still primarily for the children and that's the main reason for pointing it out so as on all of our shows you can have an overall picture of the place we're visiting now for the young lovers in our audience especially those who might come to new orleans during the romantic mardi gras season we have this suggestion if during the previous night your companion became enthralled with a spirit of mardi gras and made grand declarations of love and admiration well you might as well take them for a stroll the next day in the park if he or she still feels the same way then like the city of new orleans itself it will be a romance that has a lasting permanent effect well we had some gosh darn much fun that we just had to bring some of mardi gras back home with us you do the same thing too if you ever visit new orleans during mardi gras time perhaps you'd like a few tips about going down there make your reservations well in advance of mardi gras time because most all the hotels motels and what have you in new orleans are crowded you can write the new orleans chamber of commerce they'll be glad to pass any information along with you well if you've enjoyed mardi gras in our party with us if you've had fun being with us then you have the true spirit of a vagabond [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you
1 user has this film:
Periscope Film
No related films.
Original permalink · Record added: 2025-01-23 17:20:50