THE ORANGE FRUIT OF LIFE PROMOTIONAL FILM ST. PETERSBURG FLORIDA 51324

“The Orange Fruit of Life” is a color film celebrating citrus. Produced by Robert Leahey Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida, the 1960s era picture opens with numerous scenes of orange groves before the narrator explains how “long, long ago” on the southern tip of Asia, “a miracle occurred - the first orange was born.” Over thousands of years the fruit was carried from Asia through India and Northern Africa and finally to Spain, where in the late 1400s Christopher Columbus brought the fruit to Hispaniola. By the 1500s the orange found its way to St. Augustine, Florida, where at mark 01:45 we are shown the oldest budded orange grove in America, dating to 1579. The films shows re-enactments of elaborately dressed 16th century residents enjoying oranges as well as Seminole Indians (mark 02:33) who considered the orange to be “the fruit of life.” Fast forwarding hundreds of years to the end of the Civil War, we again see orange groves while at mark 04:32 the viewer is told how the fruit soon made its way across state lines as a popular export. By 1910, production of the Florida crop passed 5 million boxes and continued to grow with more than 10 million boxes harvested by 1920. Amidst scenes of orange crates being loaded onboard train cars, we are told how the introduction of frozen orange concentrate in 1945 revolutionized the industry (mark 05:57). Millions of people could now enjoy Florida orange juice. The narrator excitedly explains the benefits of frozen orange concentrate starting at mark 07:00 aided by visual effects and scenes of housewives making pitchers of the product. At mark 07:30 the film travels inside a Minute Maid plant to explore how 12 oranges are converted into six ounces of concentrate, with each step of process captured on film.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit www.PeriscopeFilm.com

[@akoww1000]

wow, I remember this film from school. Love watching these vintage films on Food-related things. Still looking for one they used to show in Florida schools with the Orange bird from Disney in the 70s and 80

[@maelgugi]

If you ever wondered if the fruit is name after the color or the color after the fruit is the later. As the video states the fruit entered Europe and America through Spain, there were called "naraja" over the time the English language droped the "n" and the final "a", the final word is how a native English speaker will pronounce "aranj"

[@feltongailey8987]

Sadly, Florida's orange crop has been decimated for several years.