With Byrd at the South Pole: The Story of Little America (1930)

The story of Little America. Selected as one of the "Ten Best Films of the Year" by The New York Times and winner of the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, "With Byrd at the South Pole" is a celebration of the American hero at its zenith. Byrd's establishment of Little America and the spectacular first flight over the South Pole--part publicity stunt, part scientific milestone--marked the end of an era. This little-seen record of the 1928-30 adventure opens with a short introduction by Rear-Admiral Byrd, detailing the aims of the expedition and the bravery of previous explorers to the Pole. The photography by Joseph Rucker and Willard Van der Veer is brilliant, and this restoration from original 35mm archival material shows it to wonderful advantage.

"Even the dogs proved themselves human " with Byrd at the South Pole

It's tough to be totally objective in 2007 about the 1930 docudrama WITH BYRD AT THE SOUTH POLE. Definitely groundbreaking for it's time, this film "chronicles" the 1928-1930 expedition of Admiral Byrd and his team to conquer the Antarctic and fly over it. Cameramen Willard Van der Veer and Joseph Rucker shot this marvel in 35mm and for their work this film is to be highly recommended. This George Cukor production for then burgeoning Paramount Studio, though, is just too "Americana rah-rah sis-boom-bah" for many modern day thinkers.Words such as "golly gee, boy oh boy,swell" seem just a little TOO precious. The film extols the virtues of man against the elements and gives the dogs credit for proving themselves human (which is frankly insulting to the dogs!)WARNING TO PARENTS: lead dog, Spy, is shot for being too old and infirm and the other dogs react as they look on!

The script is pure propaganda schmaltz and is quite laughable. But,this was 1930 and unless you still act, think and talk that way, you will more than likely be amused.This is not in any way to discredit what was accomplished in Byrd's feat and in Paramount's vision for the time.The soundtrack is one big melange of Sousa Marches, American popular tune and National Anthems which will stir some to patriotic fervor and belief in the superiority of men, not man necessarily, over the universe. The entire film is very staged and Admiral Byrd, for all his bravery, appears totally inept and quite uncomfortable in front of a camera as he thanks "Divine Providence"! One viewing will suffice.

Excellent companion films would be SHACKLETON and THE ENDURANCE. July 19, 2007

With Byrd at the South Pole

Seventy-five years after the fact, this remains a fascinating visual testament to human persistence and the awesome variety of our world. At times it's difficult to believe the sheer daring of the Byrd mission and the ingenious ways the team overcame life-threatening obstacles. A ground-breaking documentary that brings a heroic, often overlooked chapter of history to life. June 21, 2007

Remarkable story and visuals

I bought this because I am interested in the story of Byrd and his dog, a Smooth Fox Terrier named Igloo, who accompanied him to both Poles on Byrd's expeditions. It was great to see this little guy in such an alien environment as Antartica. But the experience of seeing what these remarkable men accomplished in the most unforgiving of settings was most memorable. The film won an Oscar for Best Cinematography in 1930, and one can see why watching this footage. May 11, 2007

stunning camera work & fascinating history

a strange hybrid of documentary and travelog and potboiler docudrama; its clear that genres were still defining themselves when this movie was made. while much of the "plotline" is dubious, the heroism of the figures involved is not, and the camera work under undeniably terrifying conditions is nothing short of spectacular. i wont call this a great movie but id recommend it to anyone.
December 5, 2006

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