Go-to films for demonstration/test bench purposes?

[benman94]

I recently discovered the Fitzpatrick Traveltalk series of short put out by MGM from the mid-1930s into the early 1950s. All shot in glorious Technicolor (or what I suspect may have been 16mm Kodachrome, used to make 35mm three strip separations by Technicolor for subsequent dye IB release printing) they're visually interesting, and the perfect length for showing off a color roundie. By the time your guest is getting bored with the set, the short is wrapping up.

The transfers aren't the greatest, and the surviving print quality is variable, but all of the shorts are definitely watchable, and they look stunning on a vintage color set.

Attached are screenshots from "Calling on Michigan" from 1949, showing shots of Lansing, Detroit, the Au Sable river in the Northern Lower, a shot or two from the Grosse Pointes, and a shot or two from Greenfield Village in Dearborn.