CRUISING THE PAST Travel and Social History

Why it’s time for Carol Reed’s Berlin-set thriller The Man Between to come out of the shadow of The Third Man. Starring James Mason and Claire Bloom, the film captures many scenes of post-war Berlin. The Man Between (1953)? When reviewing Carol Reed’s postwar thrillers, it’s usual to dismiss The Man Between (1953) ... Read More »

The award-winning travel promotional film for Delta Line’s ships often called the “M” Ships. These were built in the early 1960s and operated by The Grace Line. They were the “Santa Maria,” “Santa Magdalena,” “Santa Mariana,” and “Santa Mercedes.” AWARD-WINNING VIDEO The Grace Line cargo-passenger vessels operated out of New ... Read More »

As the RMS Titanic was sinking beneath the surface of the North Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912, and survivors were thrashing about in the iceberg-clotted waters, what books might they have turned to with which to fashion a homemade life preserver or, in the case of some sturdy Theodore ... Read More »

In 1985 crowd of 50,000 welcomed the cruise ship Pacific Princess, star of television’s “The Love Boat,” which arrived to make San Diego it’s home port. The arrival marked a new era for the city in the multi-billion dollar cruise-ship business. Here is the story from The San Diego Tribune, ... Read More »

Even the sinking of the Titanic has truthers… The sinking of the RMS Titanic on Apr. 15, 1912, was one of the most traumatic events of the pre-World War I Western world. It involved a ship that nobody believed could go down sinking on its first voyage after an incident ... Read More »

The Queen’s Christmas broadcast is a traditional feature of the festive season where the head of state can express her thoughts about the past year. Here is the first speech and today’s speech. 1957 Christmas Broadcast The Queen wrote her first speech with the assistance of advisors. The monarch made ... Read More »

Southern Pacific’s deluxe streamliner Lark was the premiere overnight passenger between San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, and Los Angeles. A favorite of businessmen and movie stars. The Lark rivaled such famed overnight all-Pullman trains as the 20th Century Limited, Broadway Limited, Capital Limited and Panama Limited. Premiering on March 2, ... Read More »

The Cunard Line celebrates Christmas with a long and fascinating history. The company was created in 1839 when Samuel Cunard won the Admiralty’s tender to provide a transatlantic mail service to be carried by steamships between Great Britain and North America. The service was inaugurated in 1840 when the steamship ... Read More »

‘Gone with the Wind’ premiered during the Christmas Season of 1939, just 74 years after the end of the “War Between the States” and December 15, 2019, marks the 80th anniversary of that wonderful movie that begins with: “There was a land of Cavaliers and Cotton Fields called the Old ... Read More »