"What did you do in the war, Grandpa?"
"Well Grandson, I was traffic manager for
a company that manufactured float gear for seaplanes."
The above exchange never happened. Truth is, I didn't know of Gustave's wartime involvement with Edo (ee-doh) Aircraft until long after he had passed away and it wasn't until 2005 that I first saw this film from his collection. This rare example of 16mm color footage from the home front was filmed at the Edo plant in College Point, NY, where Gustave worked, and at Idlewild Airport (which later became LaGuardia Airport). The exact date is unknown but it's definitely from the time of America's conflict with Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.
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During WW2 many domestic commodities were diverted toward the war effort. American citizens had to cope with rationed gasoline, shortages of rubber tires and, unfortunately for Gustave A. Martens, the lack of home movie film. From 1942 through 1945 he filmed nothing. He probably received his copy of this film as a company gift, and it's possibly the only reel that entered his collection until the war ended.
No credits survive, but Gustave's son Warren can attest that Gustave was definitely not involved in the shooting or production of this film. He may be somewhere in the crowd of Edo employees viewing the float. The men who appear at the film's end are not identifed but ... could that man in the fedora be NY Governor and future presidential candidate Thomas E. Dewey?
A small, but far from miniscule amount of film shot during the war was in color. After the war these films were typically reprinted in cheaper black and white to serve as stock footage. Few Americans living today can recall that these films originally had color. Thank goodness Gus kept this reel.
The Edo Aircraft plant is no more, but its descendant The Edo Corporation is currently doing well in Salt Lake City. -Robert Martens, 2006
