#707) With Car and Camera Around the World (1929)

We have another placeholder post on our hands. The full footage of “With Car and Camera” is said to be about 60 minutes in length, but only about four minutes can be found online. I’ll continue to update this post when more footage surfaces.

The Plot: In 1922, Walter Wanderwell, a traveler and promoter, embarked on an endurance race around the world in a Ford Model T. For proof of his world travels, Wanderwell had the expedition filmed for the travelogue series “With Car and Camera Around the World”, with the revenue from those screenings providing funds to continue the multiyear journey. Needing a mechanic and filmmaker, Wanderwell hired 16-year-old Idris Welsh, who took the stage name Aloha Wanderwell for the trip. The film series covers the Wanderwells’ four years of traveling, with such exotic locales as Rome, Prague, Agra, and Hollywood (at least in the footage available online at the time of this writing, more to come hopefully).

Why It Matters: The NFR write-up is a rundown of Aloha Wanderwell, her world travels, and her subsequent filmography. There’s also a link to the Academy archive, where you can request a viewing of their collection of Aloha Wanderwell’s films. That’s very tempting, but do I have to go to Los Angeles?

But Does It Really?: This is one of those NFR entries where the story behind it is infinitely more fascinating than the footage itself, which given its global scope is saying something. I loved seeing all the sights of the Wanderwells’ journey, but the life story of Aloha Wanderwell quickly overshadowed anything on the screen. I was totally unaware of Aloha before this film’s NFR induction, and I hope that its inclusion in the Registry will lead to her story being rediscovered. A pass for the film’s NFR inclusion, and a yes for celebrating Aloha Wanderwell.

Everybody Gets One: As previously mentioned, Aloha Wanderwell was born Idris Welch in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and was a world traveler at a young age as her family moved to Europe when Idris’ stepfather joined the Durham Light Infantry in World War I. At age 16, Idris applied for the mechanic/filmmaker position on Walter Wanderwell’s worldwide expedition (with her mother’s permission). Once accepted, she took her childhood nickname – “Aloha” for her love of hula dancing – and Walter’s last name to become Aloha Wanderwell, and in 1922 set out with Walter and his team, quickly becoming the face of the expedition. In just over four years, Aloha traveled 380,000 miles across 6 continents, documented the entire trip for “With Car and Camera Around the World”, showcased these films during a concurrent lecture tour, married Walter while the two were visiting California, and gave birth to their daughter Valri (with their son Nile being born shortly after the tour). By the end of the trip in 1927, Aloha had become the first woman to circumnavigate the globe.

• Question: If this film footage from literally around the world was filmed by a Canadian woman and her Polish husband, how does it qualify for a list of notable American films? But you know me, I hate to nitpick.
• My one takeaway from watching these clips and learning about Aloha Wanderwell is “Where is her biopic?” Seriously, this thing writes itself. You can call it “Aloha” or “Wanderwell” and give it some cheesy tagline like “She traveled the world and found herself.” I’m just blue skying here, but I am available to do a pass at this.