Note: This article is part of the 10News series (link) Hunt for History: The lost films of Granville Hunt.
(WBIR) The video attached to this article shows the full lost-and-found silent 16-millimeter footage shot by Granville Hunt in the Great Smoky Mountains in 1939. As explained in Part 2 of the series, Hunt was an expert hiker who blazed the 128-mile portion of the Appalachian Trail, including the entire portion in what is now the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Below is a full rundown of what you will see in the footage and when. There are some locations that have not been identified with complete certainty. Please feel free to contact us or comment on our Facebook page if you recognize an unidentified location in the film.
FLOWERS, CHIMNEY TOPS, THE SINKS (Begins 0:00)
- 0:00 - Tight shot Rhododendron bloom.
- 0:02 - Wide shot of Rhododendron blooms.
- 0:10 - Wide shot flowers blooming in Smokies.
- 0:17 - Wide shot flowers on trees in Smokies.
- 0:22 - Chimney Tops mountain with green foliage.
- 0:31 - Mildred Hunt sitting by stream, possibly at what is now the Chimney Tops trailhead or picnic area.
- 0:39 - Unidentified woman (friend/sibling?) sitting at stream, what is now the Chimney Tops picnic area.
- 0:46 - Panning shot of farm fields and Mt LeConte, likely from the Sevierville area near Pittman Center Road or the Old Newport Highway.
- 1:13 - Large boulder with waterfall at The Sinks on the Little River in the Great Smoky Mountains.
- 1:23 - Sheer waterfall at The Sinks on the Little River in the Great Smoky Mountains.
- 1:35 - Overlook shot from undetermined location.
- 1:41 - Pink flowers on trees in Spring.
- 1:48 - More pink flowers on trees at higher elevation.
OVERLOOKS AND NEWFOUND GAP AREA (Begins 1:54)
- 1:54 - Panning shot from overlook, possibly near Newfound Gap or Clingmans Dome.
- 2:07 - Wide shot of newly-built Newfound Gap Road with stone wall visible.
- 2:12 - Panning left-to-right shot of overlook, likely Newfound Gap looking into North Carolina.
- 2:25 - Panning shot of traffic and ridge line, possibly at Newfound Gap area.
- 2:43 - Tunnel and old cars on Newfound Gap Road.
FALL FOLIAGE (Begins 2:50)
- 2:50 - Fall leaves shot panning and tilting up.
- 3:10 - Wide shot of fall trees and edge of ridge.
- 3:20 - Higher elevation trees on ridge.
- 3:28 - Colorful tree, likely at higher elevation.
- 3:36 - Tilting up shot of fall leaves on trees.
- 3:56 - Ridge with dark fall trees.
- 4:06 - Treetop with fall leaves and blue sky, tint slightly faded.
- 4:16 - Wide shot of fall colors on stands of trees, possibly Newfound Gap Road on left edge.
- 4:26 - Dark shot of blooming tree, wide shot.
- 4:32 - Dark shot of stream/river edge with fall tree.
CHIMNEY TOPS IN FALL AND STREAMS (Begins 4:40)
- 4:40 - Panning shot and tilts down to show traffic with Chimney Tops mountain visible.
- 5:04 - Tilting/panning shot to Chimney Tops from Newfound Gap Road.
- 5:15 - Chimney Tops mountain, panning and tilting shot down to river.
- 5:38 - Foot log Bridge, tilt down, at Chimney Tops trailhead.
- 5:53 - Small falls into stream, likely near Chimney Tops trailhead.
- 6:00 - Overhead view of stream/river.
- 6:05 - Tight shot of water flowing over rock.
- 6:11 - Medium shot of stream and trail.
- 6:20 - Medium shot of stream.
- 6:28 - Overlook shot from undetermined location.
- 6:36 - Rushing water down boulder-filled river.
- 6:41 - Slow motion water over rocks.
- 6:48 - Tight shot of water over rocks.
- 6:55 - Tilt down shot directly over rapids in stream/river.
- 7:08 - Wide Upstream shot of rapids in river/stream.
- 7:14 - Medium upstream shot of water over rocks.
- 7:18 - Wide upstream shot of rapids in river/stream.
FLOWERS AND FERNS (Begins 7:24)
- 7:24 - Ferns on hillside, tint of color is distorted.
- 7:30 - Blooming pink flowers, color film tint off.
- 7:31 - Blooming white flowers on bushes/trees, wide shot.
- 7:40 - More shots of flowers on bushes.
- 7:46 - Wide shot of flowers in bloom on ridge.
- 7:55 - Pink flowers Rhododendron blooming on hillside.
- 8:03 - Out of focus Rhododendron blooms.
BLACK BEAR AND FLOWERS (Begins 8:10)
- 8:10 - Medium shot black bear sniffing ground for food.
- 8:20 - Black Bear climbing hill.
- 8:27 - Bear coming back down hill.
- 8:34 - Bear walking through brush.
- 8:38 - Bear chewing and lying in greenery.
- 8:42 - Bear comes out of brush and sniffs at feet.
- 8:48 - Bear sniffing ground, tight shot.
- 8:53 - Bear climbs hill.
- 8:58 - Bear jumps down from rock on hill.
- 9:05 - White flowers blooming, medium shot.
- 9:18 - Dissolve to tight shot of flowers.
- 9:26 - Wide shot of wind-blown meadow.
WINTER SCENES (Begins 9:36)
- 9:36 - Morton Overlook on Newfound Gap Road.
- 9:45 - Steep snowy road, possibly Newfound Gap Road toward Cherokee.
- 9:53 - Tight shot of icicles.
- 9:57 - Wider tilting shot of icicles.
- 10:11 - Dark tight shot of icicles and snow.
- 10:17 - Tight shot of icicles
- 10:24 - Tight shot of icicles breaking, hit by something (rocks).
- 10:32 - Panning shot of snowy bridge over river, up to cabins above river's edge. Location undetermined.
- 10:49 - Shot uphill of snow on fall colored leaves.
- 10:54 - Snowy Cabin beside bridge.
- 11:03 - Snowy River stream beside cabin area.
MT LECONTE BALSAM POINT BULLHEAD (Begins 11:12)
- 11:12 - Mt LeConte Balsam Point from Carlos Campbell Overlook on Newfound Gap Road during summer with shot natural framed by branches.
- 11:23 - Mt LeConte Balsam Point from Carlos Campbell Overlook on Newfound Gap Road during fall with barren branches.
- 11:33 - Wide shot of Mt. LeConte with tree in Foreground, possibly from Sevierville-area.
NEWFOUND GAP ROCKEFELLER MEMORIAL (Begins 11:47)
- 11:47 - Bernie and Leland Hoffmeister with Mildred Hunt on top of the Rockefeller Memorial at Newfound Gap.
- 11:54 - Bernie, Leland, and Mildred walk down steps of Rockefeller Memorial at Newfound Gap
- 12:12 - Bernie at base of newfound Gap, still under construction as the ground is unpaved.
- 12:17 - Bernie, Leland, and Mildred exit unknown sundries store, possibly in Gatlinburg.
- 12:38 - Bernie, Leland, and Mildred at parking lot, possibly at overlook.
- 12:49 - "The End" title screen