Great Disneyland Home Movie

[lashbear]

from http://www.archive.org/details/barstow_disneyland_dream_1956

In July 1956, the five-member Barstow family of Wethersfield, Connecticut, won a free trip to newly-opened Disneyland in Anaheim, California, in a nationwide contest. This 30-minute amateur documentary film tells the fabulous story of their fun-filled, dream-come-true, family travel adventure, filmed on the scene at Walt Disney's "Magic Kingdom" by Robbins Barstow.

Lucky Kids !!!! I'm so glad they made this film ! :cheers:

ETA: The Disneyland footage starts at 19:39 - there's a lot of pre-ramble, but some good vintage shots of Universal, knotts and Hollywood in 1956

[NickO'Time]

From what I have seen, this is the best family film documenting a trip from that era.
I had seen this one a few months ago, very cool!

[flippyshark]

I agree, this is a terrific, and very impressive, family film. I do wonder what their actual trip was like, since so much of this is clearly staged and pre-arranged. If I had been one of those kids, I would have been thinking, "for Pete's sake, put down the camera and just let us go on the rides already!" And it's cool that they got all their neighbors and even their postman to participate. I have a hard time imagining that happening in today's world.

[Gemini Cricket]

Winner winner, chicken dinner!

That's was so very cool.

I love how creative the parents were and how magical they made the entire trip for their kiddies. So awesome.

A lot of amazing footage of DL. So nice to see that a great deal of it hasn't changed since it opened.

Makes me want to go there today... Hmmm.
:)

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Interesting "amateur" video. How did they get all those set up shots?

Awesome piece of history :snap:

[Not Afraid]

I want one of those TWA Bags.

So, who filmed this thing? The whole family is always pictured in the shots.

[JWBear]

I want one of those TWA Bags...

Here you go! (http://shop.ebay.com/items/_W0QQ_nkwZtwaQ20bagQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZR40QQ_mdoZ)

[Not Afraid]

HA! I already found them. Not bad prices either.

[Kevy Baby]

Anybody remember what the acronym TWA stood for?

Teenie Weenie Airlines

[lashbear]

So, who filmed this thing? The whole family is always pictured in the shots.
I suspect Disney....

Anybody remember what the acronym TWA stood for?

Teenie Weenie Airlines
Reminds me of the rude joke...

Hostess: Would you like some of our T.W.A.Coffee ?
Man: No, but I'll have some of your T.W.A.T


:rolleyes:

[The Original OC Adventure]

Is this really a home movie? It looks too professional.

[Ghoulish Delight]

I suspect Disney....

Or Scotch tape.

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

Sounds like they got Stan Lee as narator!

[Gemini Cricket]

The narrator pronounced Catalina as "Catal-eye-na".
:D

[Moonliner]

* sniff sniff *

I agree, something smells a bit fishy here....

The "credits" for the film list "BTA Films and Video"

A google on them turns up an entry in the "Orphan Film Symposium (http://www.nyu.edu/orphanfilm/)" at the NYU Cantor film festival. A festival that focus on creative uses for orhpaned film.

And this email address: RobbinsB@aol.com

Robbins (listed as the narrator) is also the Director Emmeritis of the Cetacean Society International.

And that lead me to this: article (http://www.boingboing.net/2008/04/20/robbins-barstows-spe.html)about this movie and his other endevors....


all my life I have been an ardent amateur filmmaker, starting at the age of 12, in 1932, making family chronicles, travelogs, and other documentaries. I am submitting on your posted form another archive.org link which I think you will also enjoy -- a teen-age, fictional, Tarzan story which I made in 1936 with my two younger brothers and some neighborhood girls -- "Tarzan and the Rocky Gorge."

Actually, if you go to archive.org on the internet, and search for "Barstow Travel Adventure," you will find a listing of 8 of my personal travel documentaries, including Disneyland and Tarzan, which can be played anytime by anyone.

[Kevy Baby]

I haven't viewed the movie yet, but if it were actually semi-professionally made (and NOT made by Disney in any way), would it be any less cool to see?

[Moonliner]

I haven't viewed the movie yet, but if it were actually semi-professionally made (and NOT made by Disney in any way), would it be any less cool to see?

Not at all, I figured it was all a con. A promotional film put out by Scotch.

I'm happy to say that, from what I was able to find, it looks like the real deal. There was a contest, they did win it, they did take the trip in 1956. These are home movies.

The narration came much later (but that's obvious from the film) and there was obviously some heavy editing done, but all in all, it's cool.

[Ghoulish Delight]

They have footage of the family getting off the plane. There is no way it's 100% their own personal footage.

My bet is that they were filmed by Scotch or Disney as contest winners and they had their own camera (or maybe one provided by Scotch/Disney) and they were given a copy of the "official" footage. Robbins seems have have taken it all, edited it and narrated it. Nothing fishy about that at all, no different than adding some of the souvenier photos taken by Disneyland CMs to your photo album. But this there is definitely footage in there that was not shot by the family.

[Pirate Bill]

That is a very cool video.

And they even have high(er) resolution versions available for download. Sweet! I'll have to download when I get home.