This film is part of Free
Java
An episode of the MGM's 1930s travelogue FitzPatrick Travel-Talks, following a ship en route to Java, taking in the sea port of Batavia (modern-day Jakarta).
Overview
An episode of the MGM's 1930s travelogue FitzPatrick Travel-Talks, following a ship en route to Java. The film begins with a ceremony around the crossing of the equator, staged in honour of Neptune. Views of the sea port of Batavia (equivalent to modern-day Jakarta) detail the Dutch canals that were originally built for transportation, then used as a municipal laundry. The film also shows A fishing village in the older part of Batavia and the botanical garden at Buitenzorg.
James Anthony FitzPatrick (1894–1980) was an American producer, director, writer and narrator. In 1930 he began filming travel documentaries, and he became known as ‘The Voice of the Globe’. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) distributed the series which was entitled ‘FitzPatrick Travel-Talks’. These programmes are notable for preserving cityscapes, before the emergence of skyscrapers or international hotel chains, and for recording how people lived at the time.
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