" CITRUS THE GOLDEN FRUIT" 1950s SUNKIST ORANGE GROWERS PROMO FILM CALIFORNIA CITRUS FARMS 99104

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“Citrus-- the Golden Fruit” is a mid-20th century documentary about the production and sale of citrus grown in the western United States, made through cooperation with Sunkist Growers. The film is produced by John A. Haeseler, written by Frank Orme and narrated by Marvin Miller. The documentary begins by showing various citrus groves in the foothills of a mountain range (0:28-2:09), later identified as the Sierras, which borders Nevada in California’s San Joaquin Valley. Multiple camera shots and angles display oranges and blossoms on trees, as well as aerial footage overlooking whole groves of citrus. While the narrator then describes the two different types of western oranges, the film displays Valencia oranges clustered on a tree in summer (2:25), a farmer picking the Navel variety in winter (2:30), and white blossoms sharing the branch with Valencia oranges in spring (2:36). Both varieties are also held side-by-side to display their similarities and differences (2:53). From 3:11, the documentary reveals the growing process of oranges, starting with the heavy equipment that prepares the field. The land needs to be cleared and leveled with various machines, and then at 3:47 a ripper is shown digging into the ground to break it up and prepare it for planting. Farmers are seen later in nurseries for the young citrus plants (4:14) and display the process of budding (4:22-5:17) before the new trees are seen dug out of the nursery by a special machine (5:20-5:51) to be replanted in the groves individually by farmers (5:53-6:08). At 6:08, the film shows the irrigation system for a citrus grove, including the canal, the source of irrigation water (6:12); the pump taking the canal water into tanks (6:20); and underground pipes running water into outlets around the grove’s edges (6:29). To explain the heating needs for protecting the oranges in cold temperatures, a wind machine (6:43) and flame heaters (6:53) are also shown. The next portion of the film follows the processing journey for oranges. It begins at 7:13 when a farmer picks the oranges into crates, which are then loaded onto a truck and taken to a packing house (7:37). The film shows the oranges going through the cleaning bath (7:55), spinning scrub brushes (8:00), cold water sprayer (8:09), brass rollers to drain the water (8:15) and warm air dryer (8:21). Lastly, the oranges pass by workers who inspect them and hand-pick the fruit suitable for packaging in cartons. At 8:56, a factory worker chooses oranges from the conveyor belt to put into a Sunkist carton. The documentary then investigates lemons in a similar way. It shows aerial views of the lemon groves (9:12), farmers picking lemons from the trees (9:49), and lemons being taken to the cooling floors of a packing house for storage (10:10). At 10:15, factory workers inspect the lemons before the lemon counting machine is shown at work (10:46). While the crates of lemons are loaded into shipping containers outside, Seaboard Lemon Association is seen displayed on the side of the Sunkist packing house. A worker oversees ice being loaded into the refrigerated shipping container at 11:07. Between 11:45-12:08, the film shows a cargo ship being loaded with an overseas lemon shipment in Los Angeles Harbor. To conclude the film, a family shops for oranges at a Sunkist display in an American supermarket (12:16). A young boy is shown eating an orange at 12:31, and from 12:40-13:25, oranges are shown cut and prepared in various forms for eating, drinking, and fun. The film’s final moments display familiar aerial images of the West’s citrus groves (13:27).
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com