Title:
Hunting in Wyoming and Family Travel — Cuba, Florida, and Storyland (1955–1956)
REEL ID:
L076R005
RUN TIME:
00:12:10
FORMAT:
16mm motion picture film
FILM TYPE:
Kodachrome color reversal film (home movie stock)
SOUND:
Silent (no synchronized sound)
PRODUCTION:
Amateur / personal home movie footage
Description:
This Kodachrome home movie, filmed between 1955 and 1956, blends rugged Western hunting scenes with domestic moments and midcentury family travel to the South and Caribbean. Shot on 16mm color film without synchronized sound, the reel presents a varied portrait of American life in the mid-1950s.
The film opens near Laramie, where men hunt antelope across open foothills. The hunting sequences are depicted in detail, including tracking, field dressing, skinning, and gutting of an antelope.
⚠️ Content Warning:
This reel contains graphic hunting footage, including scenes of animal processing that may be disturbing to some viewers.
The reel then shifts to winter domestic scenes. Children sleep beneath a decorated Christmas tree, followed by backyard and family-home moments with kids playing outdoors and relatives spending time together.
Travel sequences expand the scope of the reel. The family vacations in Cuba and Florida, swimming in hotel pools, playing along sandy beaches, and wading in ocean surf. Additional footage shows the family boarding an airplane, views from the flight, and a vivid sunset during travel.
Children ride ponies and visit Storyland, including scenes from 1956 at the park’s petting zoo. A young boy is shown playing with a monkey during this visit.
⚠️ Archival Condition Note:
Portions of the Storyland footage show visible vinegar syndrome deterioration. These sections remain viewable but reflect chemical degradation of the original film element.
The reel concludes with colorful travel imagery, including Holland tulip fields filmed in 1956, adding an international note to an already wide-ranging family record.
Together, these scenes preserve a vivid Kodachrome snapshot of mid-1950s life—where Western hunting traditions, Christmas mornings, backyard play, and postwar travel coexist within a single family’s home-movie archive.
Tags:
1955, 1956, Kodachrome, Color home movies, 16mm film, Silent film, Wyoming, Laramie Wyoming, Antelope hunting, Field dressing, Skinning game, Graphic hunting footage, Content warning, Foothills, Christmas 1950s, Family life, Cuba travel, Florida vacation, Beach play, Swimming pool, Storyland Florida, Petting zoo, Monkey, Pony rides, Air travel, Sunset, Holland tulips, Vinegar syndrome, Film deterioration, Archival condition, Midcentury America, Americana, Analog film, Nostalgic footage, Archival home movie
