A Word for the Greeks

Greek Animal Rescue

March 2017 •English

A gravely ill, abused three-legged stray dog, abandoned in an industrial desert at Aspropyrgos, a town near Athens; a London based charity whose mission is to help the neglected animals of Greece; a group of young volunteers who patrol Aspropyrgos and nurse the strays – these are the characters of the film, in a nightmarish place, a hellhole for many abandoned animals. Does the sick three-legged hound stand any chance of getting adopted, becoming healthy again and running across the fields of Essex? Why are the Greekies, the strays from Greece, so popular when it comes to being adopted abroad? With an unexpected ending, the film tries to discover whether there is any hope for the doomed dogs and for a doomed area outside Athens.

Merida and Campeche

November 1945 •English

This Traveltalk series short visits two of the most important cities on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula.

I am from Siam

August 1931 •English

A short documentary about Thailand, formerly known as Siam.

The Land of Auld Lang Syne

August 1950 •English

This Traveltalk series short takes us to Edinburgh, Scotland. We learn the importance of religion, science and the arts here and see various historic sites including Edinburgh Castle.

Glimpses of Morocco and Algiers

August 1951 •English

This FitzPatrick Traveltalk short visits the cities of Casablanca, Rabat, and Marrakesh in Morocco, as well as the city of Algiers in Algeria.

Picturesque New Zealand

January 1952 •English

This Traveltalk series short visit to New Zealand starts in Auckland, a bustling, modern city. Next is Christchurch, home of Canterbury University, where rowing teams participate in a regatta. Nearby is Lake Wakatipu, which inspires artists to put their impressions on canvas. We then visit Rotorua, a city famous for its geysers, hot springs, bubbling mud pools, and other geothermal activity. At Ferry Springs there is lots of trout for fishing. Later, a group of natives performs a canoe dance.

Life in the Andes

February 1952 •English

The Andes Mountains travel the western side of South America. Unlike many other mountain ranges of their altitude, the Andes do support human life on their high altitude slopes. Modern life is slowly making its way to the high altitude Andes, but the natives for the most part continue with the traditional ways of their ancestors, growing limited crops such as beans and potatoes - where the crop originated - raising sheep and pigs, and living in crude huts. The llama is the most useful of their work animals. The most conspicuous aspect of the native dress is their derby hats, the origins which are unknown. Further down the slopes, agriculture and ranching is more productive and is carried out by descendants of the Spanish settlers. There is a famous lake district in the Chilean part of the Andes, where resort hotels are located.

In the Land of Giants and Pygmies

January 1925 •English

IN THE LAND OF GIANT PYGMIES, a diary of Aurelio Rossi's 1925 trek into the immense Belgian Congo, preserves a long-gone-Colonial-era wonder at natural resources, "primitive" tribes, customs and costumes in Europe's cast African possessions, and implies that the "dark continent" could benefit from the "civilizing" influences of home.

Samos - The Faces of our Border

April 2021 •English

Pretoria to Durban

September 1952 •English

This Traveltalk series short gives a glimpse into South African history, albeit from a white person's viewpoint. South Africa is a union of four separate states: the Transvaal, the Orange Free State, Natal, and the Cape Provence.

Calling on Cape Town

November 1952 •English

This Traveltalks short visits Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa.

Delightful Denmark

June 1953 •English

This travelogue begins with the vast agricultural wealth of the country, whose farmers can produce four times the amount required to feed the country's population. As such, the export of these agricultural products is a vital part of the country's economy. This agricultural tradition extends to its food consumption, as Denmark's vast array of open faced sandwiches is world renowned. It also extends to flower production and the Dane's love of flowers, which are sold in public markets. Denmark has a strong social support system, as witnessed by the free and mandatory public schooling, free medical services for expectant mothers and children, the provision of cooperative housing and housing for seniors, and the provision of old age pensions without premiums.

Seeing Spain

October 1953 •English

This Traveltalk series short looks at four of Spain's most famous cities, Granada, Seville, Toledo, and Madrid, with an emphasis on the Moors and their influence on the country.

Looking at Lisbon

December 1953 •English

This quick look at Lisbon begins with aerial footage of the port city as the off-screen narrator provides some history of a seafaring, colonizing nation, of destructive earthquakes, and of contemporary construction. Then it's on to famous buildings and monuments, a look at female fishmongers who ply neighborhoods with baskets of fish on their heads, a survey of two nearby resort areas, watching a town's annual running of the bulls, and a visit to a bullfight, where the bulls are not killed.

Memories of Australia

June 1943 •English

This Traveltalk series short visits Australia.

Land of the Mayas

January 1946 •English

This Traveltalk series short visits the village of Chichicastenango, Guatemala and emphasizes the influence of the Mayan culture on its people. It shows how the residents intermingle ancient religious practices with Catholic teachings. Narrator James FitzPatrick introduces, and greets on camera, Father Ildefonso Rossbach, a Catholic priest who ministers to the local population in the village and outlying areas.

Ontario: 'Land of Lakes'

February 1949 •English

This Traveltalk series short visit to the province of Ontario begins in Ottawa, Canada's capital, then proceeds to Algonquin Park, Toronto, and Niagara Falls.

Land of Tradition

January 1950 •English

This Traveltalk series short visits an array of locations associated with England's heritage. Included are Runnymede, Windsor, Ascot, Lincoln, Wells, Salisbury, Glastonbury, and the ancient Stonehenge site.

Pastoral Panoramas

April 1950 •English

This Traveltalk series short highlights rural areas of England. We stop at the village of Bradford-on-Avon, with its thatched roofs, also Stoke Poges, the burial place of British poet Thomas Gray.

Czechoslovakia on Parade

June 1938 •English

This FitzPatrick Traveltalk series short looks at Czechoslovakia before World War II, including images of bridges, churches, and castles in Prague, also a non-military parade through the city.