A 13-striking clock and a 3,500-year-old tree walk into 1931...
This first entry in the "Believe It Or Not" series of shorts visits northern Africa. Included are a look at the Tuareg people of the Sahara Desert, a waterfall whose under-surface builds up because of lime deposits, a clock that strikes 13, and the Tree of Abraham, estimated to be 3500 years old. Vitaphone No. 1282.
Production
Genuine 1931 expedition footage of Tuareg people
Acting
Ripley's signature mustache-and-mystery showmanship
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was part of a massive Vitaphone series that brought Ripley's newspaper cartoons to life — basically 1931 TikTok before vertical video existed.
Ripley filmed over 100 of these shorts; this one's Vitaphone number 1282 suggests they were cranking them out like content factory episodes.
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