Banana Calypso Reel 1 (1957-1960)

Sound missing. See documentation for written commentary. BANANA CALYPSO reel 1 Produced by Associated British Pathe for Elders and Fyffes Ltd Ltd. Commentary spoken by George Brown. Banana Boat Song sung by Shirley Bassey. By courtesy of Philips Electrical Ltd. Jamaica. WS: Palm trees edging an island cove. Various shots workers on a banana plantation. CU worker cutting banana roots. Various shots planting the banana root ’bits’. Diagram showing how the roots grow into banana plants in different stages, 4 weeks, 6 months, 9 months, 10 months, 14 months. Various close-up of the plant blossoms, banana bunches and leaves. Shots in the plantation showing the irrigation ditches. A tractor drives towards the camera. CU the tractor is being used for chemical spraying. Shots of the banana harvesting. Workers using long machete to cut the plants and ’backers’ carry the huge green banana clusters on their heads. The workers follow a man blowing a conch shell who is signaling the cutting tempo.