Golden Gate Bridge is a documentary film which was shown on US television (PBS) in 2004. It is an episode of the long-running program American Experience.
The topic is the construction of the famous bridge that spans the Golden Gate of San Francisco.
Here is some basic information about this film:
** Produced by Ben Loeterman and Laura Longsworth
** Written and directed by Ben Loeterman
** Narrated by David Odgen Stiers
** Run time: 54 minutes
Work on the huge construction began in January 1933. It was opened to the public in May 1937. It had been completed in four years and four months.
An account of the construction of the famous bridge across the Golden Gate must feature the following five names:
** Joseph Strauss (1870-1938) – the chief engineer
** Charles Ellis (1876-1949) – the chief assistant engineer
** Leon Moisseiff (1872-1943) – the assistant engineer
** Irving Morrow (1884-1952) – the architect
** Amadeo Peter Gianini (1870-1949) – the banker
All five persons are presented in this film. We are told what role they played in this project:
** Strauss came up with the plan and insisted that he must be named as the chief engineer, even though he had to hire other engineers to do the job.
** Ellis came up with the basic design and made all the basic calculations, after which he was fired by Strauss.
** Moisseiff was the engineer when Strauss disappeared from the project for several months.
** Morrow was the architect of the bridge
** Gianini agreed to fund the project when nobody else was prepared to do it.
Several persons are interviewed in the film. Here are the names. Listed in the order of appearance.
** Kevin Starr – a historian, author of the book Golden Gate (2010) (2012)
** Richard Dillon - co-author of the book High Steel (1979) (1984)
** Mark Ketchum – a civil engineer
** Stephen Cassady - author of the book Spanning the Gate (1986) (1993)
** John van der Zee - author of the book The Gate (1987) (2000)
** Charles Kring – a structural engineer
** Fred Apsey – a student of Charles Ellis
** Alan Temko – an architectural critic
** Walter Vestnys – an iron worker, local 377
** Skip Lambert - son of Slim Lambert (who was an iron worker on the bridge)
The construction of the bridge across the Golden Gate is a fascinating story, which deserves to be told, and in this film, it is told very well. This film covers all aspects of the construction: political, economic and social.
This film includes a special chapter about safety issues. There were several problems here, such as strong winds and low temperatures.
In order to create a safe work environment, every worker had to wear a hard hat and to use a safety line.
When it was time to build the road from side to side, a huge safety net was suspended under the whole bridge. Nineteen men were saved by this net when they lost their footing.
Had they fallen into the water below the bridge, they would probably not have survived. There are strong currents, and during the winter season the water is very cold.
There was only one serious accident during the work: a heavy element fell down and broke through the safety net. Two men survived, but ten men died on that day.
All in all, safety standards were higher on this project than on most other projects at that time.
What is the significance of the Golden Gate Bridge?
Kevin Starr offers the following answer:
“The Golden Gate Bridge means many things. It means the victory of San Francisco over its environment.
“It means San Francisco remains competitive. It means that people can cross the channel more easily.
“But it also means something else.
“It celebrates in a mysterious way man's creativity and the joy and wonder of being on this planet.”
What do reviewers say about this film?
On IMDb it has an average rating of 74 per cent, which corresponds to almost stars on Amazon.
In my opinion, this rating is too low.
This film gives an excellent account of how the bridge across the Golden Gate was built. It is highly recommended.
I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).
PS # 1. The Golden Gate Bridge has a sad record: it is a magnet for people who want to commit suicide.
Between 1937 and 2012, the local authorities recovered more than 1,500 bodies of people who had jumped from the bridge.
This topic is not mentioned in this film, but I have decided that I am not going to complain about it, because this film is about the construction of the bridge, and not about the life of the bridge since it was completed in 1937.
PS # 2. I have been to the US more than once. I have visited California three times: 1984, 1990, and 1995.
I have driven across the Golden Gate Bridge in a car. I have walked across the Golden Gate Bridge.
REFERENCES
High Steel:
Building the Bridges Across San Francisco Bay
By Richard Dillon, Thomas Moulin, and Don DeNevi
(1979 = hardcover)
(1984 = paperback)
Spanning the Gate:
The Golden Gate Bridge
By Stephen Cassady
(1986 = hardcover)
(1993 = paperback)
John van der Zee
The Gate: The True story of the Design and Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge
(1987 = hardcover)
(2000 = paperback)
Golden Gate:
The Life and Times of America's Greatest Bridge
By Kevin Starr
(2010 = hardcover)
(2012 = paperback)
*****
Golden Gate Bridge
A documentary film
American Experience
(2004)
*****
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