Progress Island U.S.A. (1973) User Reviews

Unsure where this promotional is going.

[Aaron1375 · 3/10 · 7 May 2012]

Yes, this is one of those promotional shorts that took me a minute to even see where it was going. I first thought it was perhaps one of those vacation destination type things. However, you will soon notice that they quickly move on from the locations and into the business side of things, so my guess is this is to promote the island as a great place to set up shop. It has a nostalgia feel to it as the typical 70's narrator tells us all about the island, but that feeling can not make this short exciting or all that interesting. It has also deteriorated badly, but chances are it never would have been seen by me or anyone else outside the 70's if it had not been viewed on an episode of MST3K alongside another short "Money Talks" and feature film "The Beast of Yucca Flats". What you basically get is a narrator talking over random shots of people doing things and of the island itself. Starts out like it is trying to promote the island as a great destination for vacationers, but as I said as it goes it moves away from this into how many businesses are in the area. They touch on the natural exports such as sugar cane and rum and then tell us about electronic and drug companies and how the people of Puerto Rico are the islands best commodity. Seems as if even territories will do anything to get a few low paying jobs to move to their area.

Makes me want to stay far away from Puerto Rico...

[icehole4 · 1/10 · 11 April 2002]

It's kinda silly to judge Puerto Rico by this film alone. It's full of a lot better things than this. Basically this short describes life in Puerto Rico in the late 1960's to early 1970's. It's a boring journey through some of what the island has to offer. Rightfully skewered on Mystery Science Theater 3000, this one is to be avoided.

Don't watch this short film if you have epilepsy. Some rapid-editing sequences are sure to induce seizures.

So Drink rum constantly..

[ticklemetorgo · 4 June 2005]

Brought to you by the US Govt. A name you can trust. Where can you go for cheap labor and not have to worry about hiring illegal aliens? PUERTO RICO!! That is pretty much what this film was designed for. A quick sell picture geared more towards businesses to improve their profits and look like they are helping the people of Puerto Rico. This film have made for TV music plastered all over it, over-hyper editing, vague dialog and this dull industrial feel to it making you think that you in some dingy boardroom with a bunch of be-side-burned doughy guys in polyester suits and wide ties discussing about how to boost company profits (as how I feel most business meetings in the 70's felt like) It's mostly a real pointless film but MST made it fun like they always do. Thank you Joel, Mike and the bots for making our lives a little more cheerful and skewer film that may or may not need skewering!!

Yes, even aliens from Mars are in Puerto Rico! *SPOILERS*

[quamp · 1/10 · 29 May 2002]

This epilepsy-inducing opening shouldn't be watched by anyone with that disease. After that, we go through a rather boring journey through Puerto Rico in the early 1970's. They show us things like the symphony orchestra, the local art museum, several historic sites, and the like. They also talk about Puerto Rico's industries of the time, such as electronics, farming, and of course, rum making. The narrator is about as exciting as watching paint dry.

Avoid if possible. This is the kind of thing teachers would use to bore their students.

Pure propaganda

[crow96358 · 5/10 · 30 November 2008]

Riddled with loud brassy 70s music, hideous clothing, and obsolete technology, this should viewed only with Mike and the bots.

However, in its defense, the short does give interesting insight into the Operation Bootstrap program the US government created in Puerto Rico, if you're into that kind of thing. Running this short through my mind was the only thing that got me through many immigration classes in grad school.

Couldn't give it a 1 for its odd relevancy to my studies, and though I love the riffing, couldn't give the short itself a 10.

"Hawaii?" "No! An *island*."

"Why, even aliens from Mars are here."

Love that booming score! (SPOILERS!)

[zardoz12 · 28 March 2003]

This short (made by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce) was meant for two audiences: possible tourists (rum afficionados) and investors (domestic or foreign) thrilled by the possibility of cheap labor, which Puerto Rico has in scads. This is why the movie will show tourist traps like the old Spanish forts on the coastline, then abruptly switch over to shots of people working in a record player factory, then show folk dancing, then jump to Puerto Rican malls. All the while this horrendously cheesy score drowns out the WASP narrator; it sounds like the Boston Pops was parodying Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. The tune itself is so tacky that they would have been better off with armpit noises. And let us not forget the hyperactive editing at the beginning and end which encapsulates every scene in the film in less that ten seconds. I think this was the Chamber of Commerce's bold statement that while South Vietnam was no longer a semi-decent place to set up shop (what with "Vietnamization" and Watergate), America still had 19th century hold outs like Puerto Rico to make a quick buck in, or a great place to drink rum.