9 minutes | Documentary | NR
Amazing short film about the lady lifeguards auxiliary corps trained at Manhattan Beach in New York in the 1930's and 1940's. A very fun and entertaining gender piece about the training and test female lifeguards must pass to enter the lifeguard corps.
Amazing short film about the lady lifeguards auxiliary corps trained at Manhattan Beach in New York in the 1930's and 1940's. A very fun and entertaining gender piece about the training and test female lifeguards must pass to enter the lifeguard corps.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00On New York's Manhattan Beach, which oddly enough is in Brooklyn, may be found
00:29many outdoor activities each summer besides bathing. But its most
00:34interesting experiment to date, and one it may proudly boast about, is an
00:39auxiliary life-saving core made up entirely of young women, whose duty it is
00:43to assist the regular guard patrol in their watchful work of protecting the
00:48lives of the public. To the Office of Recreation Manager, Mr. Clearby, come
00:57hundreds of young applicants, all anxious to join the seaside service.
01:02After a careful check as to general health and athletic ability, those
01:07selected for a tryout are taken to the medical station and given a thorough
01:12physical examination by the beach doctor. For the preliminary tests, as well as the
01:17training later, will be extremely strenuous. And now those who have passed
01:25the medical examination are lined up on the beach and inspected soldier-like by
01:29Chief Lifeguard Lou Phipps and Captain Madeline Carson, head of the girls unit.
01:38In the first preliminary test, each applicant must swim from the shore to
01:42the lifeguard boat, a distance of about 150 yards against wave and tide. She is
01:50timed and marked for speed and style by examiners from the Guard Patrol and
01:55Life Saving Corps. To show she is not exhausted and to prove her endurance,
02:01without stopping for any rest, she must make a surface dive to the bottom, a
02:06depth here of about 20 feet. For evidence, she brings up a handful of sand. Among
02:15other tests, rowing of course is important. Though the lifeguard boat is
02:19heavy, it is necessary to demonstrate they can master it upon all occasions.
02:29Exhaustive tests have eliminated many, but those that remain are now ready to
02:34take the training. Instructions begin with the proper method of breaking
02:42various holes, such as the front strangle, for a drowning person will grab anywhere
02:47and hold on for dear life. Another dangerous hold is the double wrist lock,
02:52which must be broken in a firm manner, for otherwise the rescuer would go down
02:56with the victim. Two people locked in each other's arms also present a serious
03:02problem, unless efficiently handled. After a hold is broken, the right method of
03:10water carry requires one arm to be kept free for swimming. And now the girls are
03:19shown the right way to carry and to pass a drowning victim from one guard to
03:22another, known as the pony express. The victim is held firmly and securely to
03:28prevent slipping or falling, yet at the same time as gently and comfortably as
03:32possible under the circumstance.
03:49Artificial respiration is an important factor in life-saving. Here the use of an
03:54inhalator in connection with the prone pressure method is demonstrated.
04:00Resuscitation by relay is necessary, for it sometimes takes many hours without
04:05pause to start the victim breathing again.
04:19The girls now carefully watch how a victim is placed upon a stretcher, always
04:24held so that the entire body remains in a horizontal position. And so the
04:32training goes on day after day without let-up, watching, learning, practicing on
04:37one another, gradually becoming confident of their own ability.
04:44Lined up in company formation, the girls are ready for their daily drill. Four are
04:49selected to man the lifeboat, a job they seem to relish judging by the speed they
04:54make for the water. And necessary it is too, for the element of time is always
05:00important to a lifeguard.
05:08More practice, this time in deep water. She throws out the anchor to hold the
05:12boat in position, dives overboard, and rapidly swims toward a make-believe
05:17victim, holding her head high so as not to lose sight of the subject. By an
05:24underwater approach, she turns the victim round by the knees, holds her by chin and
05:29chest with one arm, swims back to the boat with the other.
05:37Every morning the troop assemble and take their swimming exercise, a distance
05:43of half a mile at a speed set by the leader. Yet the mermaids seem remarkably
05:49fresh at the finish.
06:14To make sure no one has fallen by the seaside, Captain Carson calls the role of
06:20her company, a company any commander would be happy to inspect.
06:34At last the day arrives when the girls are permitted to take over a part of the
06:39beach under the supervision of the regular guard patrol. Eagerly they rush
06:44forward to reinforce the lifeguards on duty. The many hours spent in training and
06:50drill now take on definite meaning. Some are ordered to the guard lookout to cite
07:00any trouble in the surf and sea. Others man the boats or patrol the beach, all
07:08as ready to lend a hand in any emergency that may arise, or to keep a watchful eye
07:14on the younger children who are brought to this seaside resort in great numbers.
07:22The girl guards continue their watch. Suddenly out there someone is in
07:27difficulty. Without a moment's hesitation she is off the stand, off to her first
07:34battle, off to a child floundering far out. The lifeguard boat has heard the whistle
07:41and the girls put everything they've got in the oar. Toward the panic stricken
07:46child it flashes through the water a white figure, swift in action, calm in mind,
07:50a godsend to a tired little body. Swiftly too the lifeboat cuts through the water
07:58and as it appears upon the scene the child is being securely held and safely
08:03brought forward on the strong capable arm of one who is doing her part to perfection.
08:13In the best tradition of the lifeguard, to save without punishing, the young victim
08:17is gently and carefully placed in the boat and quickly rowed ashore.
08:24Here other members of the corps run out to the water and help bring in the heavy
08:28boat from out of the strong surf. But all without confusion for each girl has been
08:33trained to do her task and each does it calmly and well. Back from her first
08:38victory our girl guard returns with a young life in her arms. Safely she places
08:44the child on the shore. Serenely she returns to the stand ready again for any
08:53duty Father Neptune may call upon his daughters to perform.