Columbia River Country program brochure
COLUMBIA RIVER COUNTRY
By Francis R. Line
77 Patrician Way
Pasadena 2, California
SCENERY– The Canadian Rockies and the Pacific Northwest are among the most important scenic areas on the continent; COLUMBIA RIVER COUNTRY shows them both. In Canada the film, in glowing color, shows:
Banff and Jasper National Parks; Kootenay and Yoho National Parks; the Columbia Ice Fields; the Big Bend wilderness area ; Glacier and Revelstoke Parks – all part of the Columbia story. In the U.S., snecial scenic sections include Lakes Roosevelt and Chelan; the Ft. Hood country; Columbia River Highway; the fabulous Oregon coast. Important to note however, is that scenery does not interfere with the main theme — the story of the River.
BIOGRAPHY OF A RIVER– Lesser known among America’s great waterways, the Columbia is America’s second river in volume, the nation’s greatest powerhouse, the world’s 1st fresh salmon stream, the greatest River of the West. The Columbia starts in Canada, flows 200 miles north into wilderness, doubles back on itself into the U.S., courses across a Washington Wonderland, skirts Oregon’s great beauties, crashes through the Cascades, touches Portland, and throws itself into the Pacific on a thrilling coast. The film shows all these things. As a breath-taking story of the River, it uses techniques to humanize the subject until the Columbia becomes a glowing, living personality. IT IS A VITAL AMERICAN STORY, SIGNIFICANT AND ENORMOUSLY EXCITING.
PEOPLES OF THE RIVER– Line films are always vibrant with PEOPLE, and COLUMBIA RIVER
COUNTRY is no exception. That one room school in the Canadian wilds; the lonesome trappers; the ferry-boat folk; the hardy settlers along the stream in Canada; the Doukhobors; the Ukranian village with the lovely daughters; the Washington ranchers- young peonle starting new lives; the power People; the families who live on the barges, which are their homes; the Indians to whom the River is life itself; the lighthouse tender by the sea, THIS FILM IS AN IMPORTANT SAGA OF PEOPLE,
NEW FILM TECHNIQUES– Francis Line’s former films have ploughed new furrows in the field of motion picture techniques. His SHEEP, STARS, AND SOLITUDE has become one of the most-copied films in America. SOUTHWEST STORY employed new camera methods to achieve desired results. COLUMBIA RIVER COUNTRY forges ahead in these respects. Just one of the innovations, definitely important and effective is the:
INTRODUCTION– Line comes onto the platform, talks exactly two minutes, then the picture starts. His introduction, by which he sets the stage and establishes his contact with the audience, is ON FILM, IN GLOWING KODACHROME, as it should be in a motion picture lecture. This method captivates the audience at once; Prepares them for the thrills ahead.
HUMOR. The Line brand of humor is famous. It is a part of himself; it is woven into the fabric of the film, not forced, but alwaysthere to make an hour and a half seem like thirty minutes.
ADVENTURE- COLUMBIA RIVER COUNTRY is the story of Francis and Helen Line’s 1400 -mile journey from the Columbia source to the sea. They walk, canoe, go by bus and mountain ttwo-weekavel by skow, side-wheeler, ferry, motor boat, grain barge, and ocean liner; by car, streamline train, and airplane. There is high adventure, variety every mile, but a continuous story always.
BUT THE AUDIENCE CAN DO IT TOO. The Lines travel the river the hard way, to achieve
their purpose. But they show how every family in America can make the full 1400-mile journey of the Columbia in their own automobile, safely yet thrillingly, in a glorious two week vacation. This feature of the film is important.
“COLUMBIA RIVER COUNTRY” IS A BIOGRAPHY, IN GLOWING COLOR, OF A MIGHTY RIVER
See the World with Francis Line . .. Human Interest .. Adventure .. Color