This black and white film is one of the episodes of “Yesterday’s Newsreels”, an early 1950s TV show made from the General Newsreel collection. It features nine segments of historic highlights. Memorial at Kitty Hawk 1928. The tablet memorial at Kitty Hawk commemorating Orville and Wilbur Wright is dedicated by Secretary of War Dwight Davis. Footage is also shown of the plane being carried into place, the propellers started, and the plane taxis and lifts off in a 1908 reenactment (:30-2:13). Charleston Dance Contests 1925. Men and women enthusiastically dance the Charleston to a man playing the banjo. A trophy is awarded to the winning team (2:18-3:08). Pope Benedictus XV Dies 1922. The crowd gathers outside St. Peter’s Church in Rome upon news of the ill Pontiff. The doors close upon news of the Pope’s death. The gates are stormed by the crowd. The Pope is shown lying in state. The new Pope, Pius XI, is coronated and waves to the crowd below (3:14-4:17). Personalities 1919. Child actor Jackie Coogan gets off a train. He poses with a dog (4:21-4:43). William Jennings Bryan attends the Jackson Day dinner (4:44-5:04). Empire State Building Opens 1931. The newly completed Empire State Building is panned by the camera from the top down. Then Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt and Alfred E. Smith, as well as their wives and children, participate in the grand opening ribbon cutting at the door. The architectural interior foyer is shown (5:06-6:29). Earthquake Rocks So. California 1933. Buildings are reduced to rubble in Long Beach following an earthquake. The camera moves across people waiting outside. Bricks fallen off buildings cover the sidewalk. Cranes and people work to clear the rubble. Parked cars are covered in bricks. An apartment building still has the contents inside but the outside wall is missing. The homeless are fed at an outdoor food line guarded by soldiers (6:33-8:22). Fashions of the Day 1929. Students at a 1929 design show model dresses, coats, knickerbockers, fur trimmed jackets, and asymmetrical hem lines on evening gowns. 1934 Venus of Coney Island beauty pageant contestants walk in their one-piece bathing suits past judges. A male judge uses a tape measure to measure a contestant’s breast size and waist. The winner poses with her trophy (8:25-9:26). Al Capone Convicted 1931. Al Capone exits a car and walks through the crowd to enter the courthouse, before emerging again. Judge Wilkinson is shown holding a newspaper with the headline “Al Capone Gets 11 Years” (9:30-10:13). Sports 1930. Champion tennis player Betty Nuthall is shown up-close and on the court at Forest Hills. She is shown hitting a tennis ball in slow motion. Her winning points during the match are shown. Betty holds her winner’s bouquet and trophy (10:16-11:17). 17-year-old Sonja Henie, wearing a fur-trimmed outfit, practices her ice skating routine in New York. She performs several standing and sitting spins (11:18-12:00).

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com