British Pathe

Titles read: "ROUND THE WORLD IN 80 HOURS! PATHE NEWS ENCIRCLES GLOBE BY NEW BRITANNIA-AND-COMET SERVICE".

Various locations of events.

Several shots of passengers boarding a Britannia aircraft at London Airport. Pathe cameraman Pat Whitaker smiles and waves then goes aboard with his...

Titles read: "ROUND THE WORLD IN 80 HOURS! PATHE NEWS ENCIRCLES GLOBE BY NEW BRITANNIA-AND-COMET SERVICE".

Various locations of events.

Several shots of passengers boarding a Britannia aircraft at London Airport. Pathe cameraman Pat Whitaker smiles and waves then goes aboard with his camera. L/S of the plane taking off. Captain at controls in cockpit during flight. Aerial shot of the sea.

Steward prepares meals in kitchen; C/Us of unappetising food in a foil tray in the fridge and on the work surface. Two male passengers eat their airline meal in their seats. Aerial shots of (Newfoundland?) coastline and New York skyscrapers. Whitaker films out of window. Several street scenes in New York, United States of America. Neon lights at night around Times Square. In shop windows we see goods imported from Britain - Sheffield silver, pith helmets and weather glass.

Ground to air shot of aeroplane. Aerial shot of Rocky Mountains. Whitaker looking out of window. Aerial shot of San Francisco Bay. M/S of Golden Gate Bridge. Several shots at scene of small fire in the city. Fire brigade arrive at the building and put on equipment. A fireman overcome by smoke is lifted down by stretcher. Crowd stands outside to watch. Frightened Siamese cat is thrown from the burning building; fireman fails to catch it.

Britannia takes off. Pat Whitaker and another man asleep in their airline seats. Captain and first officer at controls during night flight. C/U of radar screen. Pilots look at a map. Night shot of Honolulu airport. Three Hawaiian girls wearing leis wait for the flight; one puts a garland around the neck of a crew member and kisses him. General view of Honolulu by day. Surfers, sunbathers and canoeists on Waikiki Beach. L/S of Pearl Harbour. At the sunken hull of the battleship Arizona is a memorial to those who died in the Japanese air raid of 7 December 1941.

US flag is hoisted and saluted by three sailors. Sequence of Japanese archive war film showing the raid on the United States Navy at Pearl Harbour. Ground to air shot of Britannia. Pat Whitaker sits reading newspaper on board. Top shot of Tokyo. Street scenes; people look at lion cubs in pet shop window; customers in a department store; boys try out toy guns. M/S of the monorail (overhead railway) going round. Shots of the Buddha of Kamakura. General view of a block of Japanese flats. Inside we see a family eating (traditional Japanese food, clothing and decor).

Exterior shot of factory. Inside we see people working on production line making cameras. People at work on Japanese shipyards. Crowds wave flags as Comet plane leaves Tokyo airport. First officer wears oxygen mask at controls. Aerial view of Hong Kong harbour. M/S of people on boats. Street scenes; people wander about; refugee from Red China sitting in gutter. Back on the plane Whitaker mops his brow (looking a bit jet lagged).

L/S of the Gateway to India. General view of Bombay. At Karachi airport an English air hostess chats to her Indian counterpart. Man drives donkey cart past plane at airport - good contrast in forms of travel. Shots from plane as we take off. C/U Captain at controls. Aerial view of Baghdad. Street scenes; local women in robes, Arab boys drawing water from well and pouring it into a trough for cattle to drink from. Group of camels.

Back on the Comet we see aerial shot of the Alps. Pat Whitaker films out of the window then makes notes in a book. Aerial view of London Airport. Comet coming in to land. Pat comes out of the plane wearing souvenir clobber picked up on his around the world trip. He comes down the stairs carrying a native shield and spear plus his camera, wearing a Stetson hat, kimono and Hawaiian lei and smoking a cigar.

Great brochure, cuttings and notes on file.