Glimpses of the National Monuments of Arizona, ca. 1938-1942

Descriptive Transcript

Descriptive Transcript

Title card: US Department of Interior seal

Blue book titled “Arizona’s National Monuments” resting on a Navajo rug on the floor.

A girl laying on her stomach on the rug opens the book. Although the girl is not identified, it is likely that she is Nattalie Dodge, daughter of Natt N. Dodge who created the film. She turns the pages and looks at the book. Scene shifts to the open pages of the book showing a map of Arizona with roads and national monuments marked on it. Pages of the book turn. Close up of the map pans up towards northern Arizona where a cluster of national parks and monuments are marked on the map.

Scene shifts to a close up of a door in a white building. A woman in an NPS uniform (gray shirt, green skirt) comes out the door. Although the woman is not identified, she is probably Sallie Pierce Brewer. Sign on the side of a white building reads, “Tumacácori National Monument.” Scene shifts back to the map in the book where a hand holding a blue pencil points to Tumacácori on the map.

Low white building with an American flag flying on a flagpole in front. Although it is not identified in the film, this is the visitor center at Tumacácori. A man waits in front of the doors. The woman ranger comes out, greets him, and they walk inside together. Scene shifts to a view of the Tumacácori mission out a window, seen past a shadowy model of the mission in the foreground. Outside, a woman walks into the mission. Views of the plants and flowers outside the mission.

Scene shifts to a wooden sign reading, “Pipe Spring Natl. Mon.” The book map is reintroduced, and the pencil now points to Pipe Spring. Outdoor scene of a stone building beyond large trees.  Different angles of the stone building exteriors.

Scene shifts to a sign reading, “Saguaro National Monument.” The book map is reintroduced, and the pencil now points to Saguaro. Outdoor scenes showing saguaro cacti stretching off towards the mountains in the background. A close-up scene showing a black car parked among tall saguaro cacti. Close up views of flowers on saguaro and other cacti. A view of an osprey sitting on a saguaro.

Scene shifts to a sign reading, “Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.” The rest of the sign is cut off. The book map is reintroduced, and the pencil now points to Organ Pipe Cactus. Outdoor scene of a man and woman walking along a trail among tall organ pipe cacti. Close-up of flowers on a cactus. Another man walks towards a large cactus. He reaches out to touch it and then walks around it.  Close up views of yellow, red, and white flowers on different cacti, some with insects crawling over them.  The woman from earlier briefly reappears, walking away from a cactus before the scene returns to flowers on cacti and low bushes. Yellow, purple, and orange flowers are seen.

Scene shifts to a man near a stone building with a cistern in front then quickly transitions to the Arizona flag fluttering on a flagpole. Scene shifts to a pelican sitting on a rock in front of a lake. A boat with about 15 people on it rides low in the water, pulling a small dingy behind it.

Scene shifts to a sign reading, “Casa Grande National Monument. Prehistoric Ruins. Free Guide Service. 8:00am to 5:00 pm. National Park Service. US Department of Interior.” The book map is reintroduced, and the pencil now points to Casa Grande. Different views of Casa Grande Ruins under a large protective roof.

Scene shifts to a wooden sign reading, “Tonto National Monument.” The book map is reintroduced, and the pencil now points to Tonto. Views across trees towards cliff dwellings at the base of a cliff. Difference views of the cliff dwelling walls, roof timbers, and setting.

Scene shifts to a wooden sign reading, “Montezuma National Monument.” The book map is reintroduced, and the pencil now points to Montezuma. View across trees towards a cliff dwelling at the base of a cliff. A park ranger appears at the top of a ladder in the cliff dwellings and climbs down it. Several visitors follow him down the ladder. The ranger points out features of the cliff dwelling construction from the bottom and top of a wall. Scene shifts to a river. A park ranger and three male visitors walk into a low stone, vegetation-covered building signed “Museum.”

Scene shifts to a wooden sign reading, “Tuzigoot National Monument. Keep to the right. National Park Service. Department of the Interior.” The book map is reintroduced, and the pencil now points to Tuzigoot. View of low walls on top of a hill. A park ranger and a man and woman walk along the top of stone walls. Changing views across the different stone structures, visitors, and ranger under a deep blue sky.

Scene shifts to a panning view of a yellow wooden sign reading, “Canyon de Chelly National Monument Headquarters. Information. National Park Service. Department of the Interior.” The book map is reintroduced, and the pencil now points to Canyon de Chelly. Views of rock formations and a canyon. A horse-drawn wagon carries several people along the bottom of a canyon as tow women walk behind. Scene shifts to the cart stopped an all the people standing looking at a ranger and another man at the hood of a pick-up truck. Scene shifts to a view of corn growing before the perspective changes to an aerial view of the fields. Views of cliff dwellings in the side of a tall canyon with striped rocks. Rangers standing below one of the dwellings.

Scene shifts to a wooden sign reading, “Navajo National Monument” and “Betatakin 15” with an arrow pointing left.” The book map is reintroduced, and the pencil now points to Navajo. A view across the landscape gives way to closer views of cliff dwellings. A ranger riding a horse goes past a wooden sign pointing to Betatakin towards a tall cliff. He is wearing the sun helmet (pith helmet) approved for warm weather rather than the standard ranger flat hat. Scene changes to a ranger walking uphill among cliff dwellings. The camera pans among the dwellings. Another exterior view of the cliff dwellings in the cave wall. In a shadowy scene, a ranger climbs down the cliff below the cliff dwellings on a long wooden ladder. A second person follows.

Scene shifts to a wooden sign reading, “Prehistoric Cliff Dwellings. Walnut Canyon National Monument” with an arrow pointing left. Below the arrow reads, “United States Dep’t. of the Interior” and “National Park Service.” The book map is reintroduced, and the pencil now points to Walnut Canyon. View of the cliff dwellings across the canyon. About ten children approach the stone walls. Two park rangers outside a low dwelling. Another view of the stone dwelling.

Scene shifts to a wooden sign reading, “Wupatki National Monument.” The book map is reintroduced, and the pencil now points to Wupatki. Wooden sign reads, “Wupatki Ruin” with an arrow pointing right. A girl stands next to a seated teenager or young man as they look across stone ruins. Although not identified in the film, the girl is the same one from the film’s opening scene, suggesting she is Nattalie Dodge. Her dress blows in the breeze as she point to features in the distance. They walk along a path among the stone structures to a wooden ladder. They climb up it and enter one of the structures. They stand near one of the structures.

Scene shifts to a wooden sign reading, “Sunset Crater Only a Thousand Years Ago this Perfect Crater Spewed its Cinders.” The book map is reintroduced, and the pencil now points to Sunset Crater. Views of the crater from various vantage points. A man stands next to a large rock discussing it as the camera pans over this head towards other rocks. A wooden sign reads, “Ice Cave” with an arrow pointing left. A few into a rocky cave in the ground. The girl believed to be Nattalie Dodge, and the teenage boy climb out of the cave opening.  A woman walks around a rocky spiral entrance around the cave. A close up of five cinders of different shapes as a hand turns two over.

Scene shifts to a sign that reads, “Petrified Forest National Monument” with arrows and mileage pointing to other locations and gate opening and closing times. The book map is reintroduced, and the pencil now points to Petrified Forest. Scene quickly changes to a girl and young man standing next to a petrified log. A woman sits on another petrified log nearby. Other visitors mill by on the trail. A man in a suit walks up to a large, petrified tree. Views across the desert. Two men look at a petrified log resting on top of rock which has been eroded away except for where it holds the log. Close up views of petrified wood. Different views of petrified wood and stumps, including polished specimens. Two rangers kneel on the ground as another ranger and two men look on. One of the man’s hands brushes away dirt to reveal a fossil specimen. View of petroglyphs on a rock face. View of a sign for “Painted Desert” at Petrified Forest National Monument. Different views across the landscape of the Painted Desert under cloudy blue skies.

Scene shifts to a park ranger kneeling in front of a sign that reads, “Chiricahua National Monument Headquarters 2 mi.” with an arrow pointing left. The book map is reintroduced, and the pencil now points to Chiricahua. View across large expanses of yellow flowers to the mountains beyond. Views of rock formations in a valley. A close-up of a hand holding round rock pebbles. A ranger sits on a rock wall looking out at hoodoos and pinnacle formations. A ranger and visitors climb near a balanced rock formation. View of a rock formation in the shape of a duck.

The book map is reintroduced, and the pencil now points to Grand Canyon. Rock sign reading, “Grand Canyon” with an arrow pointing left. The girl believed to be Nattalie Dodge and the teenager/young man from earlier in the film stand at the rim of the Grand Canyon. Nattalie and two boys about her age plan along the edge of the canyon. Views of the canyon, including a cross made of logs in a stone altar. A mule train carries people along a winding trail up the canyon.  More views of the canyon.

Description

Silent color film featuring photography by NPS Naturalist Natt N. Dodge who created many of the earliest NPS color films. Park signs serve to identify Tumacácori, Pipe Spring, Saguaro, Organ Pipe Cactus, Casa Grande Ruins, Tonto, Montezuma, Tuzigoot, Canyon de Chelly, Navajo, Walnut Canyon, Wupatki, Sunset Crater Volcano, Petrified Forest, and Chiricahua national monuments and Grand Canyon National Park. Subjects include plants, visitors, rangers, buildings, cliff dwellings, geology, and paleontology.

Duration

19 minutes, 22 seconds

Credit

NPS History Collection film by Natt N. Dodge (HFCA 2486)

Date Created

08/28/2023

Copyright and Usage Info

View Usage Information Multimedia credited to NPS without any copyright symbol are public domain. Multimedia credited with a copyright symbol (indicating that the creator may maintain rights to the work) or credited to any entity other than NPS must not be presumed to be public domain; contact the host park or program to ascertain who owns the material. « Hide Usage Information