The lives of Appalachian mountain people in a depressed area of Kentucky, and how they cope with poverty and maintain their traditions and dignity through music. Farmer Shepherd's family house in Old House Branch, Harlan County: Women by the window of a house look out. Farmer Shepherd and his daughters walk up the path towards the house. A dog follows them and barks. Farmer Shepherd, who works in the big company mine, waves as he approaches the house. The family seated inside. A girl with a kitten. A boy plays the banjo and sings. Framed pictures on the table. dog on the patio, path leading to the house. A girl on the path, a boy milks a cow, women and young girls peel corn cobs. A woman lays the table, girls with cats enter the house. Pictures on the wall inside. The family seated for supper. They eat and talk. Utensils hang on the wall. They put away the utensils after the meal. Daisy, Kentucky: Unemployed construction worker, Roscoe Holcomb walks up a path with his family. They approach their house amidst the mountains. Holcomb works on the farm. A woman dances to music with a little girl. People on a dance floor dance the twist to the tune of a band playing in the background.
Narrator, Lewis Nordyke, recalls seeing farm families passing through Dalhart, Texas, on their way West, to escape the dust bowl and start anew in California. Farmers and their families traveling in trucks. They stop and make camp for the night. Two farmers in conversation. Woman feeding a baby. Woman drying clothes. Girl sleeping. Journey starts again, with trucks piled high with belongings driving on roads. A sign marked with 'Arizona Welcomes You' can be seen as they pass through the Inspection office. Entering California, a board marked 'Needles welcome You to California'. Farmers go through inspection process in California.
A training film on preparation of anti air craft search light equipment for combat use. Men at work with each piece of battery's equipment. Views of power plant, sound locators and searchlight. Men prepare for action for communication and transportation.
Celebration of Easter in different parts of the world. Christians during a Sunrise Service in the Cathedral-like majesty of Yosemite Park. A huge gathering in Hollywood Bowl for the Sunrise Service. President John F Kennedy with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy and their two children attend a private service at Palm Beach. Pope John XXIII extends his blessings "To the City and to the World". Before that, around 500,000 devotees attended the Mass in St. Peter's Square. Easter Parade in Fifth Avenue of New York City. The street is jammed by a huge crowd of spectators.
Film begins showing a man riding a horse past some cattle grazing, in Tex during World War 2. A large windmill is turning nearby. A boy visiting from England, dressed in western clothes, waves to the rider as he enters an enclosure. The boy envisions the cowboy wearing a six gun. He rides alongside the cowboy as they go to inspect and repair barbed wire fencing. Closeups of barbed wire fence and cattle grazing in various areas. The cowboy, wearing a gun belt, uses the but of his pistol to hammer on a fence post. The two ride to an area labeled: "Check Plot No. 5." The cowboy climbs through barbed wire fence into the area where he takes and records measurements. Next, men are seen riding on harvesters, pulled by horses, cutting grasses. Another rides a tractor pushing a pile of harvested grasses atop a screen through which it passes onto a larger pile. The young boy sits on his horse looking glum. Next, cowboys begin a roundup of cattle. A horse-drawn wagon passes by, filled with harvested grasses. The driver throws lots of it on the ground to provide fodder for cattle when snow prevents them from normal grazing.
At beginning, film shows wild horses being herded into a corral on a ranch and farm in Texas, during World War II. Cowboys select several horses for "breaking." A cowboy adjusts a saddle on a horse. He then goes to a fence where a visiting boy from England sits. He helps the boy to mount the horse. The boy rides out of the ranch enclosures with several cowboys. Cattle grazing on the sparse land. A cowboy watching over the herd. Cowboys setting up a camp with horse-drawn wagons and cooking supplies. They take food and coffee cooked over an open fire. Closeup of one sitting and eating from a metal plate. Others also eating their meals.
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