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RUBBER RIVER HARVESTING RUBBER IN CENTRAL AMERICA WWII PAN AMERICAN HIGHWAY 87504

2,586 views · Published 23 August 2016 · 14:40 · Indexed 8 November 2026

Channel: PeriscopeFilm · 2016 · Education

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Produced in the 1940s by Wilding Picture Productions, Inc., the Dodge Division of the Chrysler Corporation presented “Rubber River,” a color film that opens at mark 00:30 by stressing the importance of rubber during World War II. The war effort caused rubber shortages as the material was needed for mobile guns, aircraft, and countless other uses. With Asian supplies of rubber cut off, the United States turned to areas such as Nicaragua and Costa Rica for rubber. Noted adventurers Sullivan C. Richardson and Arnold Whitaker led an expedition to Central America, using a Dodge truck to take the Pan-American Highway from Laredo, Texas, into Mexico. Scenes starting around mark 02:00 show the expedition making various stops along the way, including the ruins of the Aztec Pyramid of the Sun. Although they were forced to drive along some unpaved roads and cross rivers, their “staunch Dodge truck” never let them down. Even though the truck often stuck in the mud, as shown at mark 03:10, the vehicle’s power winch was still able to help the truck extricate itself. Following scenes of the Pam-American Highway’s ongoing construction in countries such as Nicaragua, the film again focuses on the mission to find rubber, and at mark 04:44 the viewer receives an explanation of rubber tree seeds and how they will one day yield trees needed to produce rubber, followed by scenes of workers gathering latex from rubber trees. In the coagulating and curing sheds shown at mark 06:07, the latex is tested to determine the rubber content before being cured and prepared for shipment. Following a river ride, the expedition makes its way into the jungle and at mark 10:30 watch two more workers tapping a rubber tree, cutting deep trenches with a machete to allow the latex to escape. At mark 13:50, the expedition reaches Costa Rica, and the film comes to a close. 

The Dodge vehicles seen are apparently members of the Dodge WC series, a range of light military trucks produced by Dodge and Fargo during World War II. The series included weapon carriers, telephone installation trucks, ambulances, reconnaissance vehicles, mobile workshops and command cars. They were replaced after the war by the Dodge M-series vehicles. WC was a Dodge model code: W for 1941 and C for half-ton rating. The C code was retained for the ¾ ton and 1½ ton 6×6 Dodges.

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