On October 21, 1967, an estimated crowd of 100,000 gathered by the Lincoln Memorial in Washington to protest the Vietnam War and march on the Pentagon. Organized by the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, the demonstration was the first major national protest against the Vietnam War. Along with the signs, chants, and other … Continue reading This Week in Universal News: The March on the Pentagon, 1967
This post was written by Criss Kovac. Criss is the supervisor of the National Archives Motion Picture Preservation Lab. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the premiere of Fury Wednesday night and seeing the film (on film even!) reinforced what I know about World War II from the reels I see in NARA’s holdings … Continue reading From the Front Lines to the Homefront: The Importance of War Films Then and Now
This post was written by Criss Kovac. Criss is the supervisor of the National Archives Motion Picture Preservation Lab. Ten months after the D-Day invasion, Allied forces were sweeping through western Europe. Germany in April 1945 is often depicted as the Allies capturing scattered Axis soldiers and liberating citizens from the clutches of the Third Reich. Small … Continue reading The Fury of Hell on Wheels: Tank Warfare, April 1945
I still remember the coloring book I received after a man from the power company came to my school and showed us a cartoon about a cat that is repeatedly "zapped" when it makes bad decisions around electricity. Like visits from the fire department and McGruff the Crime Dog, coloring books are a staple of public safety education for children. Much … Continue reading A Curious Alice Coloring Book
On October 2, 1967, Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice. Marshall had a long history of fighting for civil rights in the legal system, most famously when he argued against school segregation in the Brown v. Board of Education case. Marshall served on the Supreme Court until 1991. He died in … Continue reading This Week in Universal News: Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall is Sworn In, 1967
As the Washington, D.C. area descends into playoff fever, The Unwritten Record takes a look back to the last postseason match-up between the Nationals and the Giants, the 1933 World Series contest between the American League's Washington Nationals (also known as the Senators) and the National League's New York Giants.* The action was covered in … Continue reading The Washington Nationals vs. The New York Giants, 1933
In an effort to provide information on recently declassified motion pictures and sound recordings the Motion Picture, Sound and Video Branch will publish a quarterly list of newly declassified records. From July 1, 2014 through September 30, 2014 the following records were declassified. Motion Pictures: Local Identifier Title 342-SFP-387 Operation of System 119-L … Continue reading Declassified Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings – 4th Quarter
At the beginning of the 20th century, dreams of flying morphed from science fiction to reality. From the Wright Brothers' early expeditions in Kitty Hawk, to the World War I fighter pilots in Europe, the airplane generated excitement around the world. Yet despite intense interest and publicity, the airplane’s practicality was still in doubt. Although … Continue reading Daring Deliveries: The U.S. Post Office and the Birth of Commercial Aviation
For the release of a new short film about Austria's Lipizzan horses, Universal-International, the maker of Universal News, staged a special publicity event at a drive-in movie theater. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IvnUi61dQA From the release sheet: "HORSE NIGHT" AT THE DRIVE-IN, CALIFORNIA - "Horse night" at the drive-in. An enterprising theatre manager sets up oats and rye on … Continue reading This Week in Universal News: A Drive-In Movie for Horses, 1954.
This post was written by Marcia Kolko. Marcia is an archives specialist in the National Archives Motion Picture, Sound and Video Branch. September represents one of the holiest months of the year for members of the Jewish faith, as it includes the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day … Continue reading A Mitzvah to Serve
