Land of the Taj Mahal

Land of the Taj Mahal (1952)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Another good entry in MGM's TravelTalks series has James A. Fitzpatrick going to India where we learn that the place was under British hands until 1947 when it broke into India and Pakistan. We learns about the importance of the sea port and how customs are currently changing but the people there still remember their past. We start off in Bombay where we see their famous gardens where they show off the farms and animals and especially the beloved elephant. We also see the Bombay racetrack, which we're told gathers up every kind of race and creed. We then stop in Delhi where we see some religious temples as well as how the city operates including a look at movie advertising. Seeing how the theater owners advertise their new movies was pretty funny to see. Fans of the MGM series will certainly want to check this one out as we're told some nice information but of course the visuals are once again the real selling point. The Technicolor really brings the city and the clothing to life and makes this worth watching if you have eight-minutes to kill.

It's a ten minute James A. FitzPatrick Traveltalks. The journey starts in Bombay with a garden and a horse race. It goes to Delhi where it finally touches on something like street life. There is the government troops, a dance troupe, and finally a quick visit to the Taj Mahal. Despite getting independence in 1947, this short still makes India look like a jewel in the British crown. It's very colonial. It's historic in its way.

Fifteen years after INDIA ON PARADE, James Fitzpatrick sent the Technicolor cameras back to India for a look at the land after independence. Gone are the bejeweled elephants, but we do get to see the well-to-do at their leisure, at the horse races, dancing and, of course, going to the movies. Bollywood was not the major force it is now, but was it wise for Hollywood to even acknowledge its competitor? Wasn't there a Loew's theater to put on view in an MGM release.

One thing unchanged from the earlier Traveltalk is the ending with the Taj Mahal. Fitzpatrick's narration concerning it is a paraphrase of his discussion in the earlier movie. Perhaps it was the same speech he gave his rich and elderly customers at the travel agency he also ran. Maybe that is the answer to the mystery of why he always sounded like he was talking to people who were hard of hearing: they usually were.