Rhine to Alps: Dewenter 1929

This 1929 silent film, Dewenter Home Movies: Europe 1929, captures Henry and Elizabeth Dewenter’s European odyssey from their oil-rich La Verne, California ranch. Filmed by Henry (b. 1884, Germany) or son Henry Adolf (14), it begins with A Trip Up the Rhine from Cologne to Wiesbaden, showing Cologne’s spires, Koblenz castles, and Wiesbaden’s shores from a boat. Switzerland unfolds with Climbing the Jungfrau via the famed Jungfraubahn electric railroad, the family trudging through snow near Interlaken’s Kursaal on August 8. A 16mm testament to their immigrant roots revisited, it blends river vistas with alpine awe.