This color home movie from 1939-1940 shows scenes from the 1939 New York World’s Fair. (Note: The film was transferred flipped (mirror image) so some words shown on screen are backwards.)
Opening: the film begins with a flight on an American Airlines DC-3 to New York. two men in suits stand near one another, a woman walks near (:00). An American Airlines DC-3 lands at an airport and then taxis in with its propellers (:11). A security guard brings over a ramp for the boarding passengers (:32). The men and the woman board the plane (:47). The plane starts to get in position to takeoff (:56). Aerial footage filmed from in the air (1:02). Different flags of many countries are flapping in the breeze – it’s the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City (1:20). People sit at an outdoor cafe (1:35). Italian Pavilion which features a statue with a fountain behind it, it reads ‘Italia’ at the top (2:00). Flowers on display, people walk through them (2:32). Filming over the World’s Fair (3:04). Fountain that people walk past (3:51). Popular radio performer Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, his ventriloquist dummy, people snap pictures of him (4:12). People walk past the Kodak theatre (4:28). People stand and point a camera at the viewer (4:40). Funhouse mirror (4;56). Ducks in a pond (5:02). Women stand near a light in small outfits (5:36). Two people dressed in victorian clothes walk by; stagecoach comes by with people in it as part of the Railroads on Parade show (5:42). Railroads on Parade show features vintage forms of train transportation (6:38). Shenandoah Valley Railroad train (7:47). The Beltline Railroad train (8:15). Various trains on display (8:37). A fountain (9:03). Women dance in costume (9:11). Women ride bicycles as part of a show (9:29). Women dance as part of a show (10:00). Trylon, Perisphere and Helicline (10:57). A tall ship on the water as part of the display (11:05). Joseph E. Reiner’s Plaster Statue – “Speed” (11:52). A fountain shoots water (12:09). People walk amongst the statues (12:39). George Washington Statue (13:00). Fireworks in the nighttime sky (13:43).
The 1939–40 New York World’s Fair was a world’s fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people attended its exhibits. It was the first exposition to be based on the future, with an opening slogan of “Dawn of a New Day”, and it allowed all visitors to take a look at “the world of tomorrow”. When World War II began four months into the 1939 World’s Fair, many exhibits were affected, especially those on display in the pavilions of countries under Axis occupation.
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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
