British Pathe

An Associated British Pathe Series.

CONGO HARVEST - WEALTH OF THE WORLD

Logo of hand holding a globe. Africa - various scenes: Jungle, trees, swamp, elephants, a deer, a monkey, a snake, snow-capped mountain, fast flowing river, barren landscape. Man beating drum. Camera pans around...

An Associated British Pathe Series.

CONGO HARVEST - WEALTH OF THE WORLD

Logo of hand holding a globe. Africa - various scenes: Jungle, trees, swamp, elephants, a deer, a monkey, a snake, snow-capped mountain, fast flowing river, barren landscape. Man beating drum. Camera pans around an African village. Camera pans along a row of seated African natives. The witch doctor dances in the centre of the group. A waterfall. Wildlife. A small paddle boat on a river. MS the natives and white safari man on-board. Men carrying boxes on their heads through the jungle. Several vies of the Conga river. Man climbing palm tree and cutting down the fruit. Boy fires bow and arrow. Men carry palms through the jungle. A man lights a fire by rubbing sticks together. Natives at work extracting palm oil from fruit by traditional methods.

Painting of William Lever (later Lord Leverhulme). A map of the Belgian Congo. The "white man" in consultation with tribesmen. CU the faces of tribes men. CU a handshake. Various scenes as the villages build a mill: Unloading goods from a barge, carring boxes through the jungle, workers on the site. Belgians, Britons and the men of the Congo work together. Men haul a huge boiler using ropes made from creepers. Palm trees. Women carrying baskets of fruit on their heads. Market trading. The bosses do deals with the locals.

Trees falling - clearing jungle. Men carrying burning torches. They set fire to trees and bush. Clouds of smoke. A view of large area of tree trunks not burned away. The tree trunks are levered and moved. Palms are planted.

Map of the Congo showing copper mines, roads, airports etc. Aerial shot of palm fields. Palm trees from the ground. African children at school sing a song and hold their fingers in the air. Older children going to school and doing physical exercise in playground. Classroom scenes, learning to write and type. Diving and swimming in a river.

Trucks carrying men to work in the plantations. Recruiting staff. Some have goats or dogs with them. Men are weighed and have their chests checked by doctor with stethoscope. Money is counted. Thumb print marks their receipt. Food being issued and clothes. Houses for the workers.

Men at work in the plantations. Working in mills, typing, woodworking etc. Trucks carrying fruit. Shovelling coal into furnaces. Factories and machines processing trees to make palm oil. Freight trains and ships.

School scenes. Mathematics lesson. Men picking up their wages. Mountains. Families in the jungles. Medical care for the local children. Doctors and nurses. Lake. Traditional music and dance. A child yawns. End titles: "Wealth of the World Series... in Association with Sofidoc and Film Centre. Music Composed and Conducted by Francis Chagrin".

This seems to be a duplicate of 1677.05. Check for best quality.

Note: with hindsight the commentary for this film seems rather patronising and jingoistic. The local people are described as being "backward" and of not being able to exploit the potential of their country's resources without the help of the white man. Safety print exists.