Cheering Cuban crowds seen celebrating Fidel Castro's successful overthrow of Batista, in 1959, in Havana, Cuba. Fidel Castro with Nikita Khrushchev outside Hotel Theresa in Harlem, New York City, before meetings at the United Nations building in New York City, during the opening of the 15th General Assembly (September 19, 1960). View of Castro walking in front of UN building entrance. View of Soviet Navy ships carrying missiles from Cuba, back to the Soviet Union, in 1962. Nikita Khrushchev gesturing and talking outside a building. Newspaper photograph of Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko conversing with U.S. President John F. Kennedy, who is seated in his rocking chair at the White House.
Film opens with bongo drummer playing and other Cuban musicians playing instruments while dancers in fetching costumes dance and enjoy themselves. Scene shifts to view from water of Havana skyline and then to automobile traffic on a busy street in a commercial district of the city. A Busy street crowded with pedestrians on sidewalks. Cuban workers leaving an industrial plant at shift end. Smoke pouring from three tall smoke stacks in background. Large machines employed in a factory. A construction worker in the cab of earth moving equipment. A field worker rotating a long wooden boom by hand. Men cutting sugar cane with machetes. A farmer opening gate to allow water into an irrigation network. View of water rushing into the irrigation ditches and entering the area of crops. A farmer using cattle to pull his plow. Cattle entering a stockyard. Shoppers at an open-air market filled with all kinds of fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products. Families of poorer people in rural areas outside of Havana. They live in shacks ahd are photographed with their small children. Next, two uniformed members of the Cuban National Police (Policia Nacional de Cuba) are seen. (The narrator mentions that Cuban people lived for 60 years under a succession of corrupt and often dictatorial leaders.) View of men in a line being monitored by a National policeman. Fulgencio Batista y ZaldÃvar is seen next to his wife, Marta Fernández Miranda, as they cast ballots in the 1952 Presidential election. Glimpse of several Cuban National Police lined up looking over a wall. Next, members of Fidel Castro's resistance movement are seen silhouetted against the sky, as they walk, carrying arms, in the mountain regions of Cuba. Fidel, himself is silhouetted as his men walk past him. Views of Castro's men moving through the rugged mountain terrain as shots are being fired. The combat becomes more intense. The views are from the Castro forces as they engage in fire fights with Batista forces (unseen). Machine guns are heard, and an explosion occurs. More views of the Castro forces using a machine gun and small arms. Scene shifts to a public square in Havana as it fills with people celebrating the downfall of Batista on 1s of January, 1959. Crowds surround Fidel Castro as he arrives in Havana. The crowds cheer him wildly. as the hero, and liberator of the Cuban people. Castro addresses the crowds from a balcony, promising them elections, land reform,freedom and the rights guaranteed under the Cuban Constitution of 1940. Glimpse of a copy of that document. View of Manuel Urrutia raising his hands to acknowledge the crowd, when he was named President on January 3rd, 1959. Fidel Castro arriving in New York City and greeted as a Cuban Nationalist hero. Castro waving to crowds of admirers. In Washington,DC, he is seen placing a memorial wreath at the Statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln memorial. Castro speaking at a press conference in Washington,DC. Speaking from a podium, in English, he states emphatically that he is not a communist. Castro is seen later, back in Havana at a large political gathering, where he and Che Guevara along with other revolutionaries, engage others in publicly broadcast discussions and debates. A barefoot boy is brought into the center of the proceedings, where he points an accusing finger toward someone (not clear who that person is). View inside a newspaper printing plant, as Narrator states Castro began attacks on the Press resulting in the demise of the Free Press, and its takeover by government run newspaper "HOY." View of Hoy sign in front of a newspaper building. Communist propaganda seen dominating papers and magazines at a news stand. Small bust of Lenin seen for sale.
A film titled 'Castro, Cuba and Communism: Danger on Our Doorstep'. Black and white smoke arises from amidst an industrial area in Cuba. Cuban political leader Fidel Castro addresses his followers at various gatherings after the 1959 revolution in Cuba that brought him to power. Large crowds gather to welcome and listen to him at the venues. Aerial view of the Cuban coast, monuments in Cuba, luxurious hotels and important landmarks. A fruit seller, farmers cut sugar cane, a truck carries produce. People gamble at a Casino in Cuba before their closure. Docks on the coast of Cuban ports. Leeward Point Field airport at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay. Pilots and officials during a discussion at the airport. U.S. aircraft parked on the airstrip.
Early activity of rebel leader Fidel Castro in Cuba, soon after overthrow by rebels of the Batista government. February 1959: A monument in Venezuela. Cuban rebel leader Fidel Castro arrives in Venezuela. He is greeted as he disembarks from the aircraft. An enormous crowd gathered to welcome him as the Cuban liberator. He greets the people from an open jeep. A large crowd in the University auditorium. Fidel Castro receives an honorary degree at the University. Castro receives a public welcome in Central Park, New York. Castro addresses the crowd. Back in Cuba: Executions by Castro's men begin. People gathered on the streets. A rebel points out to bloody marks made on walls and ceilings during executions. A man shows torture marks on his back. Castro's rebels talk to a lawyer during the trial against Fulgencio Batista. The rebels display evidence in the form of instruments for torture, weapons, skulls and remains. A rebel talks to the press. Colonel Cornelio Rojas, Batista's Commander in prison. He is led out of the prison and onto the streets by soldiers. He salutes and shouts as the rebels shoot him. The rebels stand and observe. Rojas lying on the ground after his execution. Fidel Castro's men pass verdicts during trials of Batista's supporters. Men testify and are interrogated. Batista's Lieutenant on trial, his appeal is heard and denied, the death sentence stands. He is taken to a secluded place, he writes a note to his wife and son, and asks permission to give the orders to fire, himself. He is led away for execution. A large crowd gathered to celebrate the success of the revolution. People wave the Cuban flag. A monument in Havana. Cuban flag on a building. Antonio Nunez Jimenez takes charge of the Agrarian Reform Institute. He addresses a gathering. Castro seated listens to him. Farmers demonstrate to express their joy at the agrarian reforms. The decree signed by Fidel Castro. Ernesto Che Guevara with his comrades. Communist supporter, and the new President declared by Castro, Osvaldo Dorticos Torrado, talks to a crowd.
January 1, 1959: People on the roof with flags. Cuban people come out onto the streets to celebrate the fall of President Fulgencio Batista. People in cars cheer and celebrate and on balconies they wave. They break and burn the belongings of the Batista government, raiding government buildings and burning government material. They attack and destroy buildings and casinos run by Batista loyalists. View of smashed and wrecked casino equipment. Unrest among a crowd. A man smashes a telephone. A stampede on the streets. Anarchy takes over with no government in place. People fight in the streets. A woman is lifted and restrained by two men. Men from mobs and gangs fire weapons from behind pillars. Medics and civilians help the wounded. Castro names Manuel Urrutia Lleo as the President of the Provisional Government of Cuba. Urrutia at a press conference. Photographers and cameramen capture the event on film. A reporter questions him. Wrecked building, aircraft and bridges. People celebrate on the streets. The number '26' for the 26th of July Movement painted on people's foreheads, helmets and clothes. The rebels enter Havana. Che Guevara is seen. A convoy of captured tanks and trucks. Fidel Castro arrives on 8th January 1959. The civilians hail and welcome him and his men. Fidel Castro waves out to the people from an open jeep. Photographers and cameramen record the event. Fidel Castro promises democracy and elections to the people of Cuba. People applaud. Castro write on a paper on the hood of a car. Castro spends the nights at Camp Columbia. Castro with his bearded anti-communist rebel commander Camilo Cienfuegos at the podium. Castro drinks during the celebrations. He addresses a large crowd. Rebels on trucks and tanks pass through the crowd as they cheer and welcome them. The rebels wave to the enormous crowd.
Views of people from various countries of the world and of South America about the Cuban revolution and rule of Fidel Castro in Cuba. A motorcade on roads of Havana. Groups of people cheer after Fidel Castro comes to power overthrowing Dictator Fulgencio Batista on January 01, 1959. A Venezuelan expert talks about Castro after the success of revolution. Huge crowd cheers for Castro as he addresses a crowd. Court hearings of opponents of Castro and other leaders. Execution of leaders by gunshots. Cuban communist leader and a judge sent to exile by Batista return to Cuba. Italian experts talks about Castro and his policies. Colleagues of Castro, and people arrested by Castro after revolution.