Florida Wildlife and Beaches, 1957 | Ted's Adventures (8mm home movie)

Florida in 1957: a roadside attraction with a sign reading "World's Largest Civil War Collection", a sunset over a lake, a squirrel, a big flock of pale birds, an alligator on a bank, an egret, fishermen, a thatched hut, a road sign for Miami, then palm-lined bayside roads, white hotels and a long stretch of beach. There are no title cards in this film. When and where: Florida wildlife and Miami Beach in the week before Christmas 1957, or just after: an alligator, egrets, palm-lined bays and art deco hotels. Ted wrote that police told them to leave Miami if they wanted to camp in the car. Dated from the route order and his memoir. What is in the film: 00:00 Two flags on a timber building with a sign "World's Largest Civil War Collection", then a sunset over a lake and a small campfire at dusk 00:21 A grey squirrel on the ground and in a tree, then a large flock of pale birds on a lake, some in flight 00:40 An alligator lying on a bank among water plants, then a smaller one in dark water 00:52 A white egret on an island of reeds, then a river bank 01:07 A young man in a white T-shirt at the water's edge with a rod, a hand holding a small fish, and two men fishing with long poles beside a road 01:21 A thatched-roof hut among tropical plants with a jetty, then a road sign "Miami 41, Miami Beach 47, Key West 172" 01:31 Palms along a bay, with a skyline of white high-rise buildings across the water 01:44 A man standing on the roof of the party's dark car with a tripod, beside a fire hydrant and red tile roofs 01:54 White art-deco hotels along a street, then a beach with windswept palms, a lifeguard tower and sunbathers 02:32 Parked cars, including a large pink and white 1950s car beside the party's dark car, under the palms 02:45 White and pale-blue multi-storey hotels across the water, a hotel tower with lettering, a curved canopy and stepped white buildings 03:17 A wall with a large painted mural, a man climbing a leaning palm trunk and falling to the sand, and a man with a coconut and a glass with a straw None of the hotels or beaches is named on screen. If you recognise any of them, please say so in the comments. The next film in the playlist: Daytona Beach to the Okefenokee Swamp. Filmed on 8mm by Edward "Ted" William Mills (born 1934, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia) on his travels through the USA and Mexico. Part 7 of 9 in the playlist "Ted's Adventures: USA and Mexico 1957". The full two-hour film:    • Ted's Adventures: Canada, USA, Mexico and ...