1950s NATO - PRODUCED ICELAND DOCUMENTARY FILM REYKJAVIK 64684

This short documentary from the 1950s NATO-produced The Atlantic Community film series focuses on the island nation of Iceland. The film touches on various aspects of life in Iceland, including the terrain, industries, and social life. The film opens with shots of each NATO member’s flag waving in the wind before cutting to a statue of a Leif Eriksson (01:32). This is followed by shots of volcanic rock (02:00), an aerial shot of Iceland’s mountains and glaciers, and footage of the country’s rivers and waterfalls, including Gullfoss (02:44). Construction of a hydro-electric dam on a river begins (03:14). A woman cooks with a pot in a hot spring (03:44); women wash clothes in another hot spring. Women and children harvest food in one of Iceland’s many greenhouses (04:10). A boy moves milk containers at a dairy co-op (04:40). Soil experts evaluate land (05:13), and a young man helps harvest hay (05:32). Two boys ride Iceland ponies (05:50), bringing hay down from the highlands. Iceland ponies are rounded up (06:22) and herded up a road and into corrals. Men move sheep onto a plane (07:25) for transport to market centers. Textiles turn wool into cloth (07:58). Women walk along a shopping street in Reykjavik (08:23); there are more shots of the capital city’s streets and the port. Icelanders ride a plane to get around the island (08:58); a plane flies over a town. Fishermen haul in a net on a deep-sea trawler (09:34). Women wave to a fishing boat passing by as they salt herring (10:10). Cod are put on heated drying flats (10:35), which are heated by natural steam from geothermal sources. Children walk past a fishing boat (11:25). Kids play on a playground (11:41), and others run from the school house to a hot spring-fed swimming pool (11:55). Young boys get artificial sunshine during school hours (12:12), and students in the classroom are served cod liver oil. The film then shows scenes of Iceland’s parliament (13:48), where men sit in session, Icelanders leaving a building in a city (14:14), and people gathering outside (14:48) to celebrate independence from Denmark. Men and women calculate North Atlantic weather patterns (15:35), then broadcast the information to other members of NATO. The film concludes with an aerial view of one of Iceland’s small cities (16:38), a harbor, mountains, then finally the statue of Leif Eriksson.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit www.PeriscopeFilm.com

[@sarjim4381]

Iceland has been one of the luckiest countries on earth. The US spent huge amounts fo money establishing bases in the island during WWII, but Iceland was spared the ravages of war, so was the only European country to have an economy that grew during the war. Fishing is no longer the main industry, and Reykjavik is no longer the pastoral town shown in the movie. Up until 2007, Iceland prospered by being one of the main financial centers of Europe, and Reykjavik now has many 15-30 story buildings. The financial crisis of 2007-2009 lingered until about 2015 as all the large banks ended up in bankruptcy. Unemployment skyrocketed, and Iceland experienced a net out migration of 5,000 people, a large number for a country with only 348,000 people. Things are looking up now, but Iceland had to go through a period of austerity like they had never seen before to get the ship righted.

[@wolk7301]

Thanks for the feedback. About those Icelanders who emigrated, do we know how many found their way back to their initial country after the end of the crisis?

[@ATLIism]

Thanks for sharing!

[@Musick79]

My Dad was there in mid-later 50’s on an air force base. I was trying to find out information on the air base just to know a bit of what he experienced.

[@einaroskarsigursson4994]

Hi! I have a large collection of photographs from that period (1954-55) from their lives at the airbase in Keflavik. I could share it with you :) I'm also looking for more photos and/or video content from those years. Do you know of any you would like to share?

[@sunna8476]

My home! This was interesting! Thanks for sharing :)

[@OMNIBOT1000]

RIP NATO 1949-2018

[@presidentJameskpolk-rm8gl]

*Russia has brought it back alive

[@charleskristiansson1296]

Most Icelanders did NOT want NATO!

[@ramudepally5155]

Polepally kaveramapeta jedcherala.47 74