U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Wasp (CVS-18) underway in the Atlantic Ocean. POWs (Prisoner Of War) are being returned to Naples, Italy after World War II. Men lay on bunk beds. A man sits on a bed. Several men read and stand near the bunk beds. Barbers cut hair of men on the deck. A group of POWs stand in the background.
Film begins showing location of New York City on a world globe, at the mouth of the Hudson River on the East Coast of the United States. It transitions to an aerial view of the Southern tip of Manhattan Island at the junction of the Hudson and East Rivers and slowly shows views moving Northward along the Hudson River. Piers along the Hudson are visible. Scene shifts to above those piers, looking South at the cluster of Manhattan skyscraper buildings, and beyond to New York Harbor, the borough of Queens, and Brooklyn, and beyond to Long Island in the misty distance. Next the skyscrapers are seen from Queens,across the East River. A large ocean liner is seen underway in New York Harbor, among ferry boats, barges, and tugboats. The Statue of Liberty is seen in the background. An animated map shows regions around New York and traces the Hudson and Mohawk valleys into the Great Lakes. The map is then overlaid with numerous lines representing transportation routes by lend, water, and air. View of Brooklyn Bridge, wharfs, and Manhattan skyline in hazy background. Seagoing freighters loading and unloading at New York's piers. A truck and other cargoes being moved by cranes. Passenger trains moving in the New York city area. View of the famous Beaux-Arts style Penn Station by architects McKim, Mead, and White, at West 34th Street and Eighth Avenue, in Manhattan. Train station interior crowded with travelers and commuters. Commercial aircraft taxiing at a New York area airport. Closeup of two young children watching the planes. Passengers deplaning from a large aircraft. Sign for Peruvian International Airways atop an airport building. A Swissair passenger plane being serviced. Passengers boarding a TWA Lockheed Constellation airplane. A family watching airplanes from an airport observation deck. The Lockheed Constellation starting its engines. A Douglas DC-4 aircraft taxis out and takes off, as several boys watch from the observation deck. Closeup of another group of boys watching planes from the observation deck. Aerial view of Manhattan skyscraper buildings from an overflying airplane. Traffic on streets at Times Square. The Astor Hotel at the left and the Times building straight ahead. Several other street scenes in Manhattan, crowded with pedestrians. A view residential apartment houses along Park Avenue. Views of African Americans crowding the sidewalks in Harlem. Views of "Little Italy" in the lower East side of Manhattan, where Italian restaurants and other businesses are seen. Chinatown is seen with some of the business signs in Chinese. A man of Chinese heritage reading a letter. Asian American children playing together in a neighborhood. New high rise apartment buildings are seen replacing older homes in parts of Manhattan. Mothers wheeling their children on sidewalks in one of the new neighborhoods.
A film on the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. Image of Adolf Hitler speaking at a rally earlier in the war, with translation of some of his words superimposed on the image. Stone heaps in a European city following bombing in World War 2. A sign for Hazelaarstraat (area of Amsterdam, Netherlands.) Rubble of destroyed buildings. The ruins of a church. Closeup views of address numbers in a city, including 6, 24, and 40, each followed by scenes of rubble and twisted metal. Woman emerges from a cave dwelling with a young child. A sad woman holding a young child. Close-up view of a rat emerging from a hole in a wallboard, walking directly toward camera position. Person placing a blanket on a crying baby. A sign board on a street reads, "Danger: Typhus carried by lice." Children (possibly Italian) gathered with water vessels near a well, collecting what appears to be dirty water. A boy lying in a hospital bed, with images of Christ and Italian writing above bed. Hand taking down a hospital chart record. "Napoli" visible on chart implying Naples, Italy. Hungry men, women, and children in Greece, living in poverty, are seen scavenging for food from trash cans. Sign on wall behind reads, "ΚΟΣΜΙΚΟΝ." Arms of women holding water pitchers, standing in a group waiting for water. A desperate looking woman holding a half-clothed sleeping child in her arms. A young boy holding the leg of an adult and crying. A carriage of a undertaker or funeral service driving away on a street.
The Games of the X Olympiad held in Los Angeles, California. Women participate in the springboard diving contest during the summer olympics of 1932. A large crowd gathers to watch the games and cheer. Georgia Coleman does a layout back somersault dive into the water, then three other dives. Closeup view of a smiling Georgia Coleman, springboard diver. Next diver shown is Dorothy Poynton on the high dive, followed by closeup shots of Dorothy after her dives. Swimmers participate in the swimming championships, including American Eleanor Holm in competition with Bonnie Mealing from Australia in the Women's 100 meter backstroke. Closeup shot of Eleanor Holm outside the pool. Americans take the lead in the games. Men participate in the 2000 meter 8 oar she crew shell boat race. American team is made up of team from the University of California. The crew shell race underway on Alamitos Bay in Long Beach California. The University of California team surges at the end to beat the team from Italy. Oil rigs and oil derricks seen in the background on shore behind the cheering crowd watching the race. The men's crew team from the University of California Bears pose for cameras on shore after their victory.
The Mont Blanc tunnel being built in France. View of snow covered peak of Mont Blanc and gondola on steel cable ascending mountain. French and Italian workers inside the tunnel celebrate the completion of the tunnel from Chamonix, on the French side of the mountain, to Courmayeur, on the Italian side, cutting the road travel distance between Paris, France and Rome, Italy by 125 miles. Italian and French officials celebrate during the ceremony. Civil Engineer and Professor Loris Corbi, head of the Italian team, greets André Borie, the lead French Civil Engineer. Workers celebrate and drink champagne to toast the achievement.
Ongoing parade for the Miss Universe contest in Long Beach, California. United States sailors marchin with flags of various countries during a parade. Miss Universe contestants participate in Long Beach parade. Miss Belgium Lucienne Auquier waves from her float. Miss Brazil Maria José Cardoso and Miss Canada Elaine Bishenden smiling. Crowds clapping as Miss Germany Marina Orschel waves and pouts her lips to them. Miss France Anita Treyens and Miss Italy Rossana Galli blowing kisses to the crowds. Miss England Iris Alice Kathleen Waller waves to the camera. Miss Japan Yoshie Baba, Miss Holland Rita Schmidt, and Miss Venezuela Blanca Heredia, waving to the crowd.
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