A group of men holding still and movie cameras poses around President Truman.

Harry S. Truman and the “One More Club”: The President Makes a Movie

Today’s post is by Laurie Austin. Laurie is an audiovisual archivist at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library. In honor of Home Movie Day 2020, Laurie is sharing the story of how President Truman came to turn his camera on the White House photographers, with delightful results. President Harry S. Truman had a fascinating relationship … Continue reading Harry S. Truman and the “One More Club”: The President Makes a Movie

Film Preservation 101: Why does this film smell like vinegar?

Film Preservation 101 is an occasional series in which we answer our most frequently asked questions.  You may have heard that old films can be dangerous, and potentially even explosive (we covered this topic in Film Preservation 101: Is Nitrate Film Really Dangerous?) and you’re worried about your grandfather’s home movies that you keep in … Continue reading Film Preservation 101: Why does this film smell like vinegar?

Home Movie Day 2019: The Films of Harry J. Christoffers

In honor of Home Movie Day, we’re featuring a collection of home movies recently preserved by the Motion Picture Preservation Lab and providing some tips for how to care for your home movies. Home Movie Day is an annual event to raise awareness of the importance of home movies and encourage their preservation. This year’s … Continue reading Home Movie Day 2019: The Films of Harry J. Christoffers

Home Movie Day 2018: Henry Ford’s Home Movies

In honor of Home Movie Day, we’re featuring the home movies of Henry Ford. Home Movie Day is an annual event to raise awareness of the importance of home movies and encourage their preservation. This year’s Home Movie Day is Saturday, October 20th, but your local event may be held at any time throughout the … Continue reading Home Movie Day 2018: Henry Ford’s Home Movies

Home Movie Day 2016: Preserving the Films of Albert M. Breen

In honor of Home Movie Day, we’re featuring a collection of home movies recently preserved by the Motion Picture Preservation Lab and providing some tips for how to care for your home movies. Home Movie Day is an annual event to raise awareness of the importance of home movies and encourage their preservation. This year’s Home … Continue reading Home Movie Day 2016: Preserving the Films of Albert M. Breen

A Newsreel Cameraman’s View of D-Day

Jack Lieb went to Europe in 1943 with two movie cameras: He brought his 35mm black and white camera to film war coverage for Hearst's News of the Day newsreels and his 16mm home movie camera to shoot color film to show to his family back home. After the war, Lieb edited the color footage … Continue reading A Newsreel Cameraman’s View of D-Day

Project Blue Book: Home Movies in UFO Reports

In a previous post, we gave an overview of Project Blue Book, the 1952-1969 United States Air Force investigation into UFO sightings. For that post, we featured publicity interviews produced by the Air Force that explained the project. This week, we’ll feature some of the home movies that were submitted by citizens as evidence of … Continue reading Project Blue Book: Home Movies in UFO Reports