Checking out Going Places with Lowell Thomas #7

Is this worth a watch?

If you have ten minutes and a strange obsession with how billiard balls were made in the 1930s, sure. Otherwise, it is a piece of historical fluff. People who like vintage travelogues will get a kick out of the grainy footage of Japan, but anyone looking for a narrative will be bored to tears within the first two minutes. It feels less like a movie and more like a collection of footage found in a dusty basement. 🎞️

The whole thing is just Lowell Thomas talking over clips that don't really fit together. One minute you're watching a guy pull a net out of the water in Mexico, and the next you're staring at machinery turning ivory or plastic into spheres for pool tables. It’s whiplash, honestly. I think I preferred the mountain shots; they have that classic, expansive feel that makes you want to go for a hike, even if the film quality makes the peaks look like they’re underwater.

There's this segment about Japan that feels like a brochure come to life. Everyone is smiling so hard it’s a little suspicious, but the costumes are nice. It makes me think of the tone in The Millionaire Cowboy, where everything is just a bit too tidy. You get the sense that the camera crew showed up, told everyone to act festive, and then dipped out to the next location.

Honestly, the billiard ball factory part was the highlight for me. It’s so oddly specific. Watching someone shave down a ball while Lowell drones on about industry is strangely hypnotic. It’s way more interesting than the stiff acting you find in stuff like Kathleen Mavourneen. At least the factory has moving parts.

The pacing is a complete mess. It’s not trying to be anything other than a filler reel, which is fine, I guess. But you can feel the editor just slapping things together. Sometimes it works, and other times it just feels like they ran out of film and had to cut to the mountains to fill the time. 🏔️

It’s not trying to be a deep dive into culture. It’s just showing you stuff. If you watch this back-to-back with something like The Bells, you’ll definitely notice how different the styles of early cinema were. This one is basically a PowerPoint presentation with a narrator who sounds like he’s trying to sell you a vacation package.

A few notes from the margins:

• The billiard ball sound design is just a rhythmic clacking that gets stuck in your head.
• The transition to the mountains is super abrupt. Like, someone just hit the 'play' button on a different reel by accident.
• Lowell Thomas has that classic, booming voice that sounds like it’s being projected from a radio in 1945.
• The Japanese festival shots look like they were filmed from a hundred yards away.

I wouldn't call this a 'must-watch' by any stretch. It’s more of a 'watch it while you're folding laundry' kind of situation. It’s nice to look at, easy to ignore, and totally forgettable. Exactly what I expected.