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This 1966 or 1967 color promotional film about wildcatting for oil is also a long pitch for investing with Royal Resources Exploration, Inc. At the time Paul Bagwell, Chairman of the Board of Royal Resources Exploration, Inc., was intent on raising capital to increase petroleum exploration. As the film begins, the camera pans over multiple instances of sand dunes in the West Texas Permian Basin, including close-ups of the ripples, shadows, and a single plant or two growing in it. (:25-1:19). A Jeep with a Gulf Oil log and trucks carrying derrick parts to construct and drill a new well pass the camera. Oil holding tanks arrive (1:20-2:00). A large square hole has been dug and reinforced. A bulldozer compacts the sand around it. A crane lifts derrick parts into place. A man sites the area. Flames burn off oil (2:02-3:00). A semi arrives to receive crude oil. The dirty pipes are shown (3:26-3:35). Products made from oil include a bottle of Ortho Isotox Insect Spray (3:45) and a jar of Tubby All Purpose Cold Cream (3:47). A sign reads “White Gas Here” (3:52) and “Help is never far from where you are.” (4:01). A worker wears a hard hat and has a cigarette hanging out of his mouth as he drives a spike in (4:27). The oil rig is shown from the top down through a labyrinth of pipes as the drilling mechanism moves up and down (4:48-5:10). Scientists in lab coats look at complex equipment in the research laboratory (5:15-5:25). Three men lean over a geologic map on a table and point out areas using a pencil (6:10-6:40). The lights on the derrick are lit against a sunset sky (6:47). A colored diagram depicts the beds of ancient seas and its occupants, including dinosaurs, as good places to search for oil. The diagram shows how compression created the pockets of petroleum (7:00-7:54). The mechanism is lowered again into the opening and workers in hard hats oversee the process (8:41-9:35). Paul D. Bagwell sits in his office as Chairman of the Board for Royal Resources Exploration, Inc.; George C. Harden Jr. sits in his office as the President and is interviewed (9:45-11:07). An off-shore oil rig is shown (11:09). Men cut through a thick pipe, which is lifted into the air (11:28-11:55). Men in suits gather at a long rectangular conference table. The prominent Board of Directors is shown: Dr. Edward Annis, J.L. Burke, Myer Feldman, Joseph J. Foss, Stanley C. Hope, and Arthur J.C. Underhill, and Paul D. Bagwell (12:51-14:35). The oil rig is shown from a distance, perched high in the sand (15:52). Workers adjust the pipes at the derrick, the controls moved, and the mechanism rises and falls. Additional pipe is added (16:05-17:13). Oily water spills out of a pipe hose and runs down a sand ditch. A worker lights it on fire. A rancher and a worker shake hands in front of it (17:14-17:42). The final oil pump continues to move up and down against the sand and sun (17:45-18:00). We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.“ This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit
