Old New Orleans

I just saw James Fitzpatrick's "Old New Orleans", one of many short documentaries produced under the series "Traveltalk" in the 1930s and 40s. Thanks to Turner Movie Classics for showing these historical short films. "Old New Orleans" is a delightful and nostalgic look back in time. Thie short documentary should be considered a priceless gem by movie and history buffs alike. It doesn't hurt that I love the city of New Orleans. After having visited that city several times, I loved this film's showing of the city some 60 years ago along with its brief history. Shown are landmarks including St. Louis Cathedral, the Cabildo, Cafe Du Monde, the French Market, Canal Street and the Roosevelt Hotel. Views of 1940 "modern downtown" is wonderful along with shots of the paddle-wheel steamer Capitol and cotton bails being moved on the famous New Orleans docks. I strongly recommend this film and it's "sister", "Modern New Orleans".

This film short was shown on the TCM network as a filler, right after the 1947 movie "New Orleans" featuring Satchmo Armstrong and his band.

Even though it was made in 1940, it was filmed in glorious color. It takes a quick look at a number of famous New Orleans features, the ones I first saw in the 1950s as a young boy. It first looks at Jackson Square, the Cabildo, and Pitate's Alley, discussing the history of each. Pirate's Alley is especially memorable for me, because in the early 1980s a 5-mile weekend fun run ended in Pirate's Alley.

The film also looks at the French Market, at that time mostly unchanged over the years. When I was a young boy in the 1950s, my dad and I would go to the French Market and buy fresh produce to sell in our store almost 200 miles away. Today the French Market has been converted to cheap curio booths, and has lost most of its old charm.

Cafe Du Monde, at the end south of French Market, is still there today, not too different. We always go there for coffee and Beignets.

Quite a bit of the film's short running time is spent on famous New Orleans restaurants like Antoine's and Broussard's, which were still quite popular into the 1990s. Also the Court Of Two Sisters.

Fine scenes of City Park and the Dueling Oaks are shown, as well as St Louis cemetery and the history of the above ground burial customs. The film ends with the steamboats on the Mississippi River, still a symbol of New Orleans. One can still, in the 21st century, book boat trips up river.

Old New Orleans (1940)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Nice entry in MGM and James A. FitzPatrick's TravelTalks series takes us to New Orleans and as the title suggests we really start to realize that the place certainly pays homage to its past. We start off learning some of its history including the fact that it was first owned by Spain and then France before heading to the United States. From here we see the Cathedral of St. Louis, the original French Market as well as the restaurants Antoine's and Broussard's. Overall this is another pleasant entry in the series with once again the Technicolor serving as its greatest aspect. New Orleans is such a familiar city to everyone that it's fascinating seeing certain landmarks and seeing how they looked then compared to today. It's also a little creepy watching this short today considering Hurricane Katrina and how much things have changed. We also get to visit City Park where we learn about the various gun/sword battles that were fought there in the name of love and we also get to see the legendary St. Louis cemetery. History buffs will certainly enjoy this short as well as those who want to see what the great city once looked like.

Traveltalks visits this American icon while Europe is burning with war. Many of the old buildings are still around today although there is a difference when old cars are zipping pass. The problem with this is the music. They are not using the great jazz musicians from the city. They are using the standard boring classical travelog scores. They do show some of the food, but they don't do it that well. The modern visuals of food porn has not yet been perfected although today's chefs may be interested in seeing the old presentations. They visit a cemetery and there is a great river boat spewing out thick black smoke. We don't always consider that black smoke permeating everywhere in the olden times.

James A. Fitzpatrick sends Robert Carney to run the Technicolor cameras , which seems to be set almost entirely in the French Quarter, where people stand around in antique costumes, mourning the antebellum world.

I spent a week investigating the French Quarter a few months ago, and it's little changed. The City has preserved the area as a tourist trap, and the restaurants are still there; even if every place seems to sell pralines and beignets (invariably described as 'the best in New Orleans' -- try the beignets at the Cafe Du Mond, for the bragging rights and diabetes -- the locals know they're in the tourist trade.

Fitzpatrick seems to stumble over his narration a few times. Perhaps he should read it before recording.