Almost Lost Images and Audio

From the public domain files of the US National Archives, here are scenes of the 1937 Japanese attack, both aerial and ground, on Shanghai, China, in the years prior to the US entry into World War II in the Pacific and Asia. Scenes are from the Chinese side of the front, and include some actual combat as well as merely preparations.

A wartime-made "Soundie" celebrating the desired (and impending) death of Adolf Hitler and the end of World War II. Before there ever was MTV and "music videos," there were "Soundies," played from 16mm film in bars and hotels on a coin-operated machine. This Soundie is very obviously a wartime morale film....which some would call propaganda...but is certainly typical of its time. Now in the public domain as copyright was never renewed it's now-vanished production company, it is presented here for historical education, discussion and critique.

Digitized from a segment of a silent documentary from the now-defunct and disappeared "Official Films," here are scenes from the 1943 Casablanca Conference, where US President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met to plan the course of the war to come. In the public domain, and provided here for purposes of historical education and critique.

Excerpts from a Commander's Briefing Film with silent segments taken on bombing, strafing and damage assessment flights, with other logistics scenes by US Air Force aircraft in the Vietnam War. There was probably a separate audio tape for this, but it was not recorded on the 16mm film, so this is silent. Government films in the public domain, provided here for historical education, discussion and critique.

From a newsreel shot and released in 1953 and now in the public domain....American POWs released by the North Koreans upon the armistice.

Not sure about the location.....but this is a 16mm silent home movie film taken probably in the 1930s, judging from the cars and clothing seen, of the circus coming to town. Unfortunately, there are no scenes of the circus acts, and I haven't been able to identify the circus company.....but it was a BIG show, judging by the size of the tents and the crowd.

A groups of Australian soldiers trapped on the Island of Timor in 1943 make things difficult for the Japanese occupiers of the territory. Digitized from a silent news documentary produced by the now-defunct "Official Films" and presented for historical education and critique.

A "Galloping Goose" runs on the narrow gauge Rio Grande Southern in southwest Colorado back in the day carrying passengers and mail. Seen here on one of the railroad trestles near Ophir, Colorado.

After WWII, motorcycle riding got big...here are scenes of riders from Trinidad, Colorado, in 1949.

Silent scenes digitized from 16mm film of what appears to be the NYPD boatyard on the Hudson River, New York.

Some film of a demonstration, and an interview with Chaim Herzog in 1975. As Wikipedia notes, "In 1975, Herzog was appointed Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, in which capacity he served until 1978. During his term the UN adopted the "Zionism is Racism" resolution (General Assembly Resolution 3379), which Herzog condemned and symbolically tore up (as his father had done to one of the British white papers regarding the British Mandate in Palestine), saying: "For us, the Jewish people, this resolution based on hatred, falsehood and arrogance, is devoid of any moral or legal value. For us, the Jewish people, this is no more than a piece of paper and we shall treat it as such." In recent years British historians headed by Simon Sebag-Montefiore have included this speech in a book on speeches that changed the world, which includes others by Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill and John F. Kennedy." Herzog was later President of Israel, and died in April, 1997. His son, Isaac Herzog, is now President of Israel. There are no credits on the film, so I cannot determine the creator...it was a bit of 16mm film found in an estate collection. Posted here for historical information and purposes of critique.

From the public domain files of the US National Archives, here is a silent historical film from the US Army Signal Corps (No. 1116) originally made by "Official Government Pictures, Inc." entitled "Britain's Bulwarks - With the Policemen of the Allies on the North Sea." Shows a lot of British sailors and ships and generally celebrates the Royal Navy in the World War I years. OH...and the King comes aboard a battleship.

From the public domain files of the US National Archives, here is the first reel of a US Army Signal Corps film on airships...that is, lighter than air aircraft, such as dirigibles, blimps and balloons....in their various flight and landing regimes. Some really unique footage here of how they were operated and flown, as well as scenes from old US Army installations and bases and Army flyers and crews.

Digitized from silent 8mm "home movie" film, here are scenes from Beijing (previously known as Peking), China from around 1970.

From the 1920s, digitized from 8mm "home movies," here are scenes of paddlewheel riverboats on the Sacramento River in California.

Outtakes from 1960s TV shows where the actors have flubbed their lines.....Paladin, Gunsmoke, and others....some well-known actors are included. Found on 16mm film from an estate sale, and no attributions are attached, probably compiled by a NY TV station. Posted for historical information and discussion and critique.

From Russian propaganda films shot during WWII, here are scenes of Russian pilots manning their planes and conducting missions against Nazi Germany.

Digitized from 16mm silent "home movie" film, here are scenes from the famous Rose Parade in Pasadena, California in 1940.

Digitized from silent 8mm "home movie" film, here are some scenes from early aviation in the US, the planes taking off and landing at a grass-covered field.

A gaffe....or a rare honest moment with a female reporter, I think from CBS.....from a bit of film taken on his visit to Saigon in 1961, here is LBJ doing the political thing on the streets...wait for the last thing he says.

During the Vietnam War, the US military had units dedicated to rescuing downed pilots....here is government/public domain film of one such rescue in the Gulf of Tonkin.

Scenes from a silent 16mm home movie showing an ocean voyage, the activities on ship and then a tug boat. It dates back to the 1930s, probably, judging by the apparel, but it might be the late 1920s.

From the 40s and 50s......this is a "soundie" from the very early days of video jukeboxes...put in a dime, and you get a play. The artist is "Sugar Kane, and this is digitized from the 16mm version, and is now in the public domain.

Scenes of testing of early "cruise missiles" named the "Flying Bat" in the immediate post-WWII period by American military scientists and flight engineers. Some really remarkable footage.

Digitized from silent 8mm "home movie" film, here's a look at an airshow at Kirtland AFB, in Albuquerque, sometime around 1950.