Credits

Nashville, Tennessee native and lifelong resident, James Kilgore (1919-2014) was an avid amateur filmmaker who began shooting film at age 14. He served in Italy during WWII and spent most of his post-war life working for the Department of Transportation and continuing to shoot home movies, and amateur travelogues and documentaries, and several narrative films throughout the following decades. Kilgore is believed to have been a member of the Amateur Cinema League, the oldest amateur filmmaker’s club in the United States and his zeal for the technology of film is evidenced by his use of sound and color film. Major themes in Kilgore’s work include short narrative fiction films, recordings of family travels and local events, documentation of his experience during WWII, and footage of his church’s works and activities.

Shotlist

(0:10) Title card: “As the Army had moved forward in Italy, soldiers were given the opportunity to visit places of historical interest.” (0:19) Title card: “Pompeii.” (0:23) Shot of Mt. Vesuvius in the distance. (0:26) A busy street in the ruin. (0:31) Two soldiers cross the street. (0:36) Shot of columns and palm trees from behind bars. (0:39) Soldiers walk through a ruin. (0:55) Different shots of ruined buildings and arches. (1:13) Soldiers look over a massive ruin in the distance, smoking. (1:28) A ruined staircase in the distance. (1:34) More ruins. (1:39) A row of ruins with a large tower in the far distance. (1:43) Camera pans up an ornate church tower. There are statues of angels blowing horns.

(2:00) Title card: “Rome.” (2:04) Sign: “U.S. Army Rest Center.” (2:07) The British, American and Italian flag fly next to each other. (2:24) Soldiers mill about a Roman square. (2:32) Camera pans up a large Roman structure *seems important but I don’t recognize it. (2:44) Shots of an Ancient Roman amphitheater or coliseum that is also being used as a soccer field. (2:59) Detail on a row of statues that line the top of the stadium. (3:07) Detail of a statue shot from a dramatic lower angle. (3:09) More shots of athletic statues.

(3:37) Sign: “Post Exchange: Tennis Office and Locker Room.” (3:41) Two men walking in front of the athletic building. (3:48) Shot of a diving board and swimming pool with a large elaborate mural on the wall. (4:00) Another angle of the swimming pool. Note the large windows letting the sun into the room. The camera follows a man swimming from one end to the other. (4:18) View from the large windows. An enormous dome in the distance. (4:23) Shot of an empty dining area. (4:35) Shots of a larger dining area or lounge full of people. A band plays music. (5:00) A woman sits behind a desk labelled “information,” helping a man out.

(5:09) A group of soldiers leave a large building. (5:35) Shot of the road from inside a moving vehicle. (5:42) Bus for the US Army Rest Center parked in front of a sign for the Catacombe di San Callisto (https://www.catacombe.roma.it/en/index.php). (5:52) Soldiers walk into a ruin. (5:57) A large group of soldiers are posed for a photo. (6:06) More soldiers walking. (6:11) Interior of what looks like a church with large candlesticks. (6:14) Large paragraph of Latin carved onto the wall.

(6:18) The Coliseum in the distance. (6:26) Closer shot of the exterior of the Coliseum. (6:33) Soldiers walking around the interior of the Coliseum. (6:57) A shot of what appears to be the Arch of Constantine with the army bus parked in front of it (https://www.ancient.eu/article/497/the-arch-of-constantine-rome/). (7:01) Shot of the arch through a rain soaked window. (7:06) Shot of the Coliseum through a rain soaked window. (7:12) Sign for the “Foro Romano” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Forum). (7:15) Shots of the Forum through a rain soaked window. Soldiers walk by. (7:36) It looks less rainy in this shot. Another architectural landmark. The camera pans over a wide expanse of ruin. (8:04) A wide Roman city street. Someone bikes away from the camera. Trucks go by. (8:13) We are now in the Piazza della Rotonda. The camera pans up the fountain in front of the Parthenon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza_della_Rotonda). (8:23) Soldiers approach the Parthenon. (8:32) This shot shows off the commotion of a Roman street, a policeman directs traffic.

(8:42) A newsstand selling issues of Il Tempo, a decades old Roman publication (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Il_Tempo). (8:48) A panning shot of parked horse carriages. (8:59) Two army officers talk and smile to each other. (9:05) A shot of the American Red Cross Officers Club. (9:15) Wide street full of people. (9:21) Shots of a street market where people are selling goods such as Repaired Fountain Pens. (9:33) An old woman knitting. (9:37) A photographer sets up a camera and takes a photo of a soldier. (9:46) A bustling Italian square. (10:12) A busy street lined with palm trees. (10:20) A man with groceries walks down a busy street (walking right by a Prada store).

(10:36) Sign for the “St. Paul American Episcopal Church” with a service schedule (http://www.stpaulsrome.it/visit-us/history/). It is also known as St Paul’s Within the Walls. (10:38) Shot of the church’s facade. (10:50) A large architectural structure with ornate statues and columns *once again, not sure where this is but looks important.

(11:03) Now we are in color. St. Peter’s Basilica in the distance (https://www.britannica.com/topic/Saint-Peters-Basilica). (11:13) Detail of a fountain in St. Peter’s and ornate clock on the structure. (11:20) More detailed shots of the exterior and statues on and around St. Peter’s Square. (12:02) What looks like a Vatican soldier in uniform talking to somebody. (12:07) Large group of soldiers walking up the steps and into the building. (12:24) Another close up shot that slowly pans down the building’s exterior.

(12:45) Back to black and white. Soldiers sit and smile on the edge of a fountain. (13:03) We are now in the thin corridor of a moving train. Two soldiers walk down and enter another compartment. (13:12) A soldier plays a guitar and sings in his train seat. (13:19) A soldier sits across from him and smiles at the camera. Another one pops into view of the camera. (13:24) A soldier is reading a book in the train. (13:32) A soldier unwraps a pack of newspapers full of pastries and passes them around. (13:51) Another shot of the soldier reading. (13:56) Various shots of outside the window of the moving train. We see landscapes, seas and the occasional country house.

(14:40) Title card: “Leghorn.” (This is another name for the Italian town of Livorno) (14:45) Trucks go down a wide street while a police officer stands on a platform in the middle of the road and directs traffic. (15:00) A truck drives by a sign that says “depot.” (15:07) Trucks drive toward the camera. (15:12) Shots of crumbling buildings that appear recently demolished (perhaps due to the war).

(15:30) A sign: “Pen-Beach For Enlisted Personnel of the American Armed Forces. Operated by P.B.S.” There’s a little drawing of people sunbathing on the beach. The camera pans down to show the actual beach. (15:47) Two women in bathing suits walk down the beach, passing a group of soldiers in uniform. (16:03) Shot of the beach and the glistening ocean in the background. It’s pretty crowded with sunbathers underneath umbrellas and swimmers. A man does a handstand. (16:10) Another shot of the ocean with the lifeguard tower in view. (16:16) A large gathering of soldiers, some in bathing suits, beneath an open structure. (16:28) In the open-walled building, there are numerous tables where men eat and talk. (16:35) Back at the beach. A man kicks sand at the camera. (16:52) View of the parking lot on the beach. (16:57) Shot of a hut on the beach.

(17:02) Title card: “Pisa.” (17:06) The skyline of the city with a large mountain looming over it. (17:26) A street with the Leaning Tower of Pisa in the distance (http://www.towerofpisa.org/). (17:32) Close up of the base of the tower. The camera slowly pans up to the very top. (18:01) A man pulls a rope to ring the bell. (18:05) Shot of the bell ringing. (18:14) The dormant bell at the top of the tower. (18:20) Views of the city and roads from the top of the tower. (18:32) A religious procession through the streets of Pisa. A carriage carries an ornate object that appears to be a coffin. (18:45) Another shot of the tower of Pisa.

(19:06) Title card: “Florence.” (19:10) Camera pans over a block of ruined buildings. (19:19) A shot of Ponte Vecchio (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponte_Vecchio) in the distance. (19:37) A sign on a building that says “Rest Camp.” (19:40) Busy street with a large building in the background. (19:47) Shots of the exterior of Santa Maria Novella (https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-churches/santa-maria-novella.html). (19:59) Bustling street. We can see what looks like a military medical aid truck driving past. (20:06) Detail of the facade of the Duomo (https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-churches/duomo.html). (20:15) Detail of the Duomo’s massive doors, with people biking by. (20:31) Large statues (including what appears to be the statue of David) in the distance, near more military aid trucks. (20:43) Shot of the clock tower of the Palazzo Vecchio (https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-monuments/palazzo-vecchio.html). (21:01) Quick shot of an alleyway. (21:03) Another shot of the Palazzo.

(21:08) A large group of soldiers sit on some steps. They read, eat, and chat. (21:29) Detail on the soldiers’ supply bags and boxes of canned food. (21:39) Soldiers lounging outside a building. A mother and young child approach them. (21:45) Soldiers pack bedding and other supplies into buses.

(22:18) View of the sea from a moving boat. (22:25) View of a town and mountain from a boat on the sea. (22:31) A bunch of soldiers lounging on the deck of a military boat. (22:36) An army officer gives a speech to his men who sit down and listen to him. (22:51) A soldier uses a high pressure hose to wash the deck. (23:07) A group of shirtless soldiers sit on a balcony of the boat, dangling their legs off the edge. The boat is very crowded. (23:14) Soldiers sit on a higher perch on the ship. (23:22) A shot of the ship’s smokestack, billowing smoke. (23:28) Panning shot of all the soldiers occupying themselves on the ship. (23:45) A group of shirtless soldiers play cards. (23:53) A group of soldiers look over the railing at the sea. (24:00) A shot of the boat’s wake in the sea from the side of the boat. (24:06) One by one, soldiers head inside the ship. (24:44) Soldiers sit, smoke, talk, and laugh. (25:09) Shot of the sun setting on the horizon over the ocean.

(25:23) Now nighttime, another boat in the distance sends light signals. (25:28) A boat labelled “Relief” floats nearby. (25:38) Another ship sails at the same pace as the one the camera is on. (25:44) Shot of the American flag and other ship flags. (26:05) The soldiers all stand at attention, still on the ship. (26:14) A boat covered in flags floats in the distance. (26:26) A mustached soldier leans on the balcony and talks to the camera. (26:30) Closer view of the flag boat reveals it has a banner that says “Welcome Home - Well Done.” A full band plays on the deck of the boat. (26:50) Closeup of the soldiers applauding the boat. (26:56) Closer look at the flag boat. People wave handkerchiefs. (27:12) Closeup of a soldier observing and smoking. (27:17) The soldiers are in full uniform, preparing to disembark. (27:28) The Statue of Liberty in the distance. (27:48) Shot of the soldiers looking at the Statue of Liberty. (27:54) Title card: “The End.”