State Dept. documentary filmed here in 1947

Editor’s Note: The Yuma Sun is reprinting articles from past newspapers throughout the year as part of the Yuma Sun’s 150th anniversary, honoring Yuma’s unique history. This column is one in a series written by local historian Frank Love that appeared periodically in the newspaper.

This area has been used as a location for movies for many years. This column last week described a movie which may have been the first ever filmed here. There is a possibility two earlier movies could have used this area as a location, but the evidence is missing.

It’s not news to Yumans that Hollywood studios have often come here to make movies. A list of films made in this area in the Yuma Library begins with movies produced between 1925 and 1995. It contains the names of 65 different ones.

This writer didn’t know about one film which was made here until Carol Brooks, a researcher at the Yuma County Historical Society, brought it to his attention. It was in a news story from The Yuma Daily Sun of Nov. 3, 1947. Found on microfilm of the newspaper in the Yuma Library, the article contained information that the U.S. State Department was about to make a documentary here which they planned to show in numerous foreign countries. It was to be narrated in 27 different languages which suggests it may have been shown to audiences in at least that many countries and perhaps even more.

Never before having read about or even heard about such a film raised several questions. What has become of it? Is it still in existence? If so, where?

If the film still exists in some archive, it’s a valuable historical record about people and events relating to the development of irrigation agriculture here. A copy ought to be in Yuma County Historical Society files and the city should also have one.

A number of prominent Yumans from that era were in the movie. James Joyner was there as a representative of the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce. So was Henry Frauenfelder who was then the president of the Water Users Association as were two other well-known farmers, R.H. McElhaney and Homer Kryger. The Chamber office was represented by Jay Morton, and George Tank from the Bureau of Reclamation was standing in for that agency.

The State Department movie was narrated, so the Yumans involved had no speaking parts. Both narration and background music were to be added in a studio after the filming was completed, The Yuma Daily Sun reported.

Yuma wasn’t the only place where scenes were to be filmed. It was to contain views of the Colorado River taken in the Grand Canyon, at Hoover Dam and in several other states. Pioche in Nevada was a site to be used as were the All-American Canal and El Centro as well as Watsonville in California.

From information in the newspaper story, it appears the purpose of the movie was to illustrate “the American way of life.” This was to be accomplished by showing how people in this area coped with the earlier flooding which nearly washed Yuma away several times in the past. This problem, as well as the possibility of using water from the Colorado for agricultural purposes, eventually led to the construction of Hoover Dam.

The movie was produced by a Beverly Hills firm, the Simmel-Meservy Company. The newspaper article suggests it wasn’t a major Hollywood studio since Douglas Meservy, who was its vice-president, was here to supervise the filming and Edward Simmel was here directing it. If the firm had been a big studio project, it seems unlikely such major figures would have come here for the filming.

The Yuma Daily Sun of Sept. 3 contained a description of the scenes they planned to photograph in Yuma. Two farm family members were to be shown on Madison Street before the dam was built discussing how badly local residents wanted to see control of the Colorado River to prevent future floods.

Another scene was to be taken at the Kryger Ranch in the Yuma Valley. Eight farmers were to be shown discussing how much they hoped to see the river tamed while realizing that a dam might also provide needed electrical power.

Still more footage was to be taken at the Kryger Ranch on another day. It was intended to portray a meeting of the

Farm Bureau in the 1920s, and designed to show how a large group of local farmers were in unanimous agreement that the Colorado needed to be brought under control.

Street scenes in Yuma were to be taken that same evening. Although the article didn’t describe the purpose of those shots, both the International Pharmacy and the Lyric Theater were to be in them.

The actions taken by local farmers trying to get help to prevent future flooding was to be the theme of filming another day. Eight farm representatives were to be portrayed going to the bank trying to get financial assistance to deal with flooding. It was designed to show how the problem was too great for local people to properly find a solution on their on. It suggested that federal help was needed which didn’t finally come until the construction of Hoover Dam.

All who live in this agriculturally rich region have benefitted from control of the Colorado, but what has become of this film documentary about how it happened?