Valley of Triumph (1948)

State of Utah, Salt Lake City Travelogue

This 1948 color film, “produced in cooperation with the state of Utah” by filmmaker Richard C. Sullivan provides a travelogue overview of natural landmarks and historic architecture in the Utah Valley, with many references to the Mormon faith and the achievements of its adherents (TRT: 29:18).Opening titles: “Viking Pictures presents” and “Valley of Triumph” over a spinning globe (0:08). “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them: and the desert shall rejoice and blossom...” A bible verse from the book of Isiah (0:48). Utah’s Great Salt Lake at sunset (1:20). A daytime view of the Salt Lake shore and a passing 1940s convertible automobile, with mountains and brine water in the background (1:46). Aerial photography and a panorama of the lake (1:57). POV a man cruising the lake in a small motorboat. Bathers in swimsuits (2:20). Two glass beakers, one full of water, another containing salt. A hand full of salt (2:35). A map of Utah indicates the Great Salt Lake and Salt Lake City. Red lines from surrounding states converge upon the city (2:59). Former sea levels are visible on mountainsides surrounding the lake. The map indicates the previous size of Lake Bonneville, a prehistoric pluvial lake (3:35). Men on horseback ride down a mountainside. Scenes of the valley (3:59). Aerial photography of the Jordan river, farmland, residential zones (4:23). Horses at pasture nearby irrigation streams. A farmer labors to open an irrigation canal (5:07). Rows of bountiful crops at harvest time, with mountains in the background (5:36). Temple Square and a statue of Joseph Smith. Salt Lake City International Airport and a United Airlines passenger plane (5:58). The Rio Grande Western Pacific Railway station and a Union Pacific Railway station. The Utah State Capitol building. The University of Utah campus in Orem (6:16). A neon sign welcoming people to Ogden, “Utah’s Fastest Growing City.” Brigham City, nestled in the Wasatch mountain range. A sign: “World’s Greatest Game Bird Refuge” (6:45). Water birds in flight. A man walks with three young girls. A Canadian goose and hatching eggs. Goslings (7:05). Tundra swans. Ibises. A baby bird stands shakily on its legs. Ducks. A pelican. Geese. A large flock of seagulls (8:12). A monumental statue of seagulls in Temple Square. Extended montage of seagulls in closeup and in flight. Babies hatching (9:26). Men in a boat. Rowing towards “Pelican Island” aka Gunnison Island. A montage of pelicans in closeup and from afar. A man taunts a pelican up close and is pecked at defensively (11:36). A Santa Fe steam locomotive. The Lucin Cutoff railroad line, originally built by the Southern Pacific (12:41). Antelope Island State Park in Davis County (13:47). The Bonneville Salt Flats. A 1940s convertible drives quickly toward the camera. The car parks, and passengers get out. A salt deposit is extracted on the base of a telephone pole. The car speeds over the salt flats and collects on whitewall tires (14:22). The Inland Crystal Salt Co. Water drains from a ditch. A man in overalls shovels salt. Driving tractors scoop and pile salt. A steam shovel dumps salt (16:06). Sunset Beach and Black Rock. A billboard for the “World Famous Saltair: Dining, Dancing, Bathing” (17:58). A boat ride loaded with children. Signs: “Do Not Dive.” A convertible piled high with women in bathing suits. They run into the water at Sunset Beach (18:22). The women ride a motorboat. The women bathers, wearing bathing caps, enter the water and float due to the water’s buoyancy. A bald man gets salt in his eyes, then passes out newspapers to the women (18:55). A portrait of the ladies at rest (21:09). Salt Lake City’s Mormon Temple and tourists. The Great Tabernacle Organ and choir in performance (21:16). Scenic views of Utah Valley (25:07). Peaches. More scenic views, with lyrics superimposed (26:05). Sunset over Temple Square (28:44).A condensed version of this film “Valley of Triumph” was played at the LDS visitors center in Temple Square in Salt Lake City. Sullivan Richardson also filmed a 1947 reenactment film about the Sons of Utah Pioneers entitled, “This is the Place.”