From the Vault: Following a Stamp 1935
Shows the "life" of postage stamps from their manufacture at the Bureau of Engraving to their delivery on an envelope to an addressee. Consists mostly of scenes of postal employees and equipment. The picture is introduced and narrated by Postmaster General James A. Farley.
13
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From the Vault: Gun Test 1941
Part 1, a 90-mm antiaircraft gun is described and test fired singly and in battery at Ft Monroe, Va. Part 2, a 37-mm, remote-controlled antiaircraft gun is test fired at Ft. Monroe and its operation is described. Part 3, a 16-inch howitzer is fired at Ft. Storey, Va.
4
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From the Vault: Flamethrower 1944
Shows firing of tank-mounted and portable flame throwers. Fuels are mixed and thickened to various consistencies by the addition of napalm and peptizers and by aging, and are fired against a target. Animation shows the relation of temperature to stirring time.
12
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From the Vault: Inflatable Boat Test Training Tank U.S. Sub Base New London 1965
BUSHIP INFLATABLE BOAT TEST Training Tank U.S. Sub Base New London
10
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From the Vault: Rockets 1946
Part 1, rockets are fired on the ground, in the air, and on landing craft. Part 2, Pres. Peron is inaugurated and reviews a parade in Buenos Aires. Part 3, the fuselage of an 8-motor seaplane is hauled to the ocean in California. Part 4, Bidault, Bevin, Molotov, and Byrnes arrive as the Council of Foreign Ministers reconvenes in Paris (June 15). Part 5, European Jewish refugees land in Palestine. Citizens of Amman, Transjordan, celebrate their forthcoming independence from Britain. Amir Abdullah reviews Arab troops. Part 6, Bernard Baruch speaks to the UN Atomic Energy Commission on international atomic control. Shows Gen. Groves and Trygve Lie.
14
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From the Vault: President Ronald Reagan's Speech on Space Shuttle Challenger 1986
President Ronald Reagan's Speech on Space Shuttle Challenger
19
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From the Vault: Flying Rocket Belt 1961
A test engineer, Mr. Harold M. Graham, is strapped into the belt, ascends, passes over vehicles, and comes back to the ground
4
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From the Vault: Arctic Igloo 1948
Demonstrates how to build an igloo. Men locate a site and dig a pit. Snow blocks are cut from the pit. The blocks are trimmed and joined into a circular foundation. The first layer is cut to form an incline. The remaining blocks are placed in a spiral. Before the dome is finished, a door is cut. One man enters the igloo and helps place the last blocks.
2
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From the Vault: Presidential Inauguration of John F. Kennedy 1961
Coverage of the inauguration of John F. Kennedy as US President at the Capitol Building and the inaugural parade.
2
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From the Vault: Biological Testing of Masks on Children of Service Men 1960s
This film documents testing of civilian protective masks on children. First, the footage shows children's heads as they were measured to ensure an appropriate fit for the mask. Second, banana oil was used to check that the masks did not allow leaks. Third, children were placed in a chamber where an aerosol spray of the microbial organisms were released. The masks were then tested for traces of leakage.
1
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From the Vault: Pentagon Explosion 1972
An explosion occurred in the Women's Rest Room, Fourth Floor, Tenth Corridor, E Ring of the Pentagon. Film shows the damage caused by that explosion.
23
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From the Vault: Opportunity Knocks 1945
Consists of orientation lectures designed to prepare the serviceman for his return to civilian life. Describes job opportunities and directs the serviceman to his educational officer for further guidance in the selection of a job field.
3
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From the Vault: Crash Test Dummies 1981
Restrained and unrestrained, various titles labeling different types of crash tests performed.
5
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From the Vault: Britain 1943
On the war activities and the esprit de corps of the British, pointing out similarities to Americans, rectifying differences, and replying to accusations of German propagandists. Illustrates prewar complacence and early losses from German bombings. Chamberlain, Mussolini, and Hitler sign the Munich Pact. Men are inducted into the Army. Planes drop leaflets over Germany. Britain goes on the offensive: planes strafe ships, soldiers are stationed throughout the Empire, and troops cross North Africa. Shows hordes of Italian (?) prisoners. Compares legislative processes in the U.S. and Britain and explains the role of the crown and the relations between Britain and India. Shows several views of the Royal Family. Eden denounces negotiations with Hitler. Churchill predicts German defeat to Congress. Shows more scenes in India, including views of Gandhi, Nehru, and Smuts. Describes the extent of British participation in the war. Shows scenes of the Navy and of the rescue of a freighter's crew. Shows Goring and contemporary and 1919 views of John W. Alcock (on his reception in Ireland after flying across the Atlantic Ocean). Shows various industrial scenes and describes the conditions of total war. Documents shortages in food and clothing and excesses of taxes. Children are well fed. Churchill speaks to Congress about the coming peace.
14
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From the Vault: The Pale Horeseman 1946
Shows wide-spread devastation and deprivation resulting from the war and conducive to disease and epidemics. Explains how these dangers can be combatted. Contains many scenes of personal suffering of war refugees and displaced persons. Shows how uncontrolled reunions spread diseases. Medicines are made and administered. Italians are isolated and inoculated. Swamps are drained and sprayed and natives treated in the South Pacific. Europeans receive food and clothing from United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) and military units, are pooled for identification, and return to their homes. Includes views of the San Francisco Conference.
3
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From the Vault: Nazi Death Mills 1946
Highlights German concentration camps. Beginning and ending with the townspeople of Gardelegen, Germany, carrying crosses to a local barn containing 1,100 victims of the holocaust, shows victims of Auschwitz, Majdanck, Treblinka, Belsen, Buchenwald and other camps. Allied physicians examine sick and injured victims at Auschwitz; General Eisenhower and other officers visit Ohrdruf; Archbishop of Canterbury and other church dignitaries visit camps. Includes shots of torture implements, gas chambers, blast furnace, storage room.
21
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From the Vault: Woman Power 1942
Women manufacture superchargers for airplane motors. Reel 1, new workers report at the plant, are interviewed, assigned jobs, and receive uniforms. Trainees are instructed in the operation of turret lathes and multiple drill presses. Reel 2, women operate milling machines, lathes, grinders, tapping machines, punch presses, and hydraulic presses. Shows superchargers being crated and women's locker room facilities.
8
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From the Vault: San Francisco 1945
Jan Christian Smuts, Vyacheslav Molotov, Sec. Stettinius, and other delegates to the United Nations conference deplane and detrain in San Francisco. Shows U.S. war casualties and flags flying at half-mast on Roosevelt's death. Pres. Truman addresses conference delegates via radio. Sec. Stettinius confers with Anthony Eden and Molotov. Conference delegates register, attend meetings, speak, browse through the San Francisco art gallery, and look at Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms paintings. Charts the UN organization and shows United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) supplies being loaded aboard ships. Reel 2, conference delegates watch a motion picture on the German surrender, speak, and sign the UN charter. Pres. Truman watches Sec. of Stettinius sign for the U.S. Pres. Truman speaks. UN flags wave in a breeze.
24
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From the Vault: Night Shift 1942
Shows a normal work night of workers, particularly women, at a British gun factory. Consists mostly of special-effect shots of factory equipment and personnel. The workers dance, sing, and eat lunch at 1:00 a.m. and have tea at 4:00 o'clock.
5
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From the Vault: Inside the Atom 1948
On the Canadian atomic project at Chalk River. Diagrams the U-235 atom, atom smashing with isotopes, and the development of new radioactive isotopes. Uranium is mined. Shows scientists at the project, laboratory scenes, lead blocks designed for protection against radiation, microchemistry (working with small amounts of radioactive materiel) operations, cans of waste marked "active," and signs indicating permissible radiation "doses" and prescribing safety limits upon time spent near radioactive materials.
7
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From the Vault: New York State (1937)
Shows a reservoir at Albany under construction. Garments for relief families are made in WPA sewing rooms. A marionette show is presented at a Buffalo school. Shows scenes at the West Point Military Academy and the Palisades Interstate Park. Dramatizes the part played by WPA crime laboratory technicians in capturing a safecracker. Shows views of restored Fort Niagara. County roads and forest roads in the Adirondacks are constructed.
6
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