Motion Picture MP2005-15
Administrative Information
Promotional film about the beauty and history of Meramec Caverns in Stanton, Missouri. Noted aerologist Lester B. Dill is featured.
SD-quality copies of already digitized motion pictures are available for $20, and HD-quality copies of already digitized motion pictures are $50. Copies of motion pictures not already digitized will incur additional costs.
SD-quality copies of already digitized motion pictures are available for $20, and HD-quality copies of already digitized motion pictures are $50. Copies of motion pictures not already digitized will incur additional costs.
This item does not circulate but reproductions may be purchased.
To request a copy of this item, please contact truman.reference@nara.gov
Please note that this video belongs to a different video collection than the items available to be borrowed by teachers, from our Education Department.
Shot List
- Reel 1
| 00:00 | Music plays as the main titles flash over background footage of a country road. The narrator exults in Meramec Caverns’ natural beauty and historical significance. | |
| 00:30 | A simple roadmap showing the caverns’ location in Stanton, Missouri appears superimposed over a scene of the Meramec River. After the map disappears, the river scenes continue. | |
| 00:48 | Line-drawing and painted illustrations begin as a visual accompaniment to the narrator’s brief early history of the caverns and the people who used it, covering the Ozark Indians, Jacques Renault, Spanish miners, Civil War soldiers, Quantrill’s Irregulars, and the Jesse James gang. | |
| 02:36 | The narrator’s account of Jesse James’ escape from Meramec Caverns leads into a description of more modern exploration of the caverns beginning in 1933. Illustrations give way to actual footage of the caverns. This section focuses on noted caveologist Lester B. Dill and his surveys of the caverns. Visitors to the caverns are shown with Dill acting as a tour guide. | |
| 03:14 | A tour for the viewer begins with Lombego Alley, a stairway that leads to the lower levels of the caverns. | |
| 03:34 | The narrator describes wax figures of Jesse & Frank James on the first level of the cavern. Close-up on James gang artifacts found in the cavern. | |
| 03:52 | The tour group is shown going upstairs to the next level, a high, domed chamber which can be used as a ballroom or auditorium. | |
| 04:50 | The Mirror River and a waterfall on the submarine level are described. | |
| 05:37 | The tour proceeds to the upper levels. The camera shows driftstone formations and mineral deposits. Formations known as The Devil’s Bathtub, Onyx Mountain, the Echo Room, and Crystal Lake are highlighted. | |
| 07:11 | The narrator explains the phenomena that create stalagmites and stalactites such as the ones found in Crystal Lake. Children are shown touching the formations. | |
| 07:41 | The Wine Room is described with its ball-shaped wall formations that resemble bunches of grapes and unique three-legged table (the world’s only natural onyx table), followed by what is known as the Entrance to Paradise. | |
| 08:54 | A part of the caverns known as the Theater Room is revealed. It has a formation called the Stage Curtain, the largest cave formation in the world. The tour is shown exploring the underground theater. | |
| 10:19 | The narrator gives details on camping, boating and other activities located on or near the caverns’ park. A car is shown towing a trailer, followed by a family fishing and a canoe being carried. | |
| 10:39 | Print reads: “Meramec Caverns. Dept. T.V. Stanton, Mo. 63079.” The narrator gives this address as the one where viewers can write for more information. Titles follow: “The End” and “Feeback/Studna Productions. Kansas City, Missouri.” |