Based on the holdings of the defunct General Newsreel Co, Yesterday’s Newsreel was a TV series that actual vintage news footage with modern narration. This episode begins with the Crown Prince of Sweden. In Gothenburg, Sweden in 1926, Gustavus Adolphus (:49) and his princess are boarding a ship headed for Atlantic crossing. The prince is shown taking a photograph of the captain (1:07) and his landing in New York (1:13). Lead by Grover Whalen, city dignitaries greet the pair and the prince is issued a key to the city by Mayor Jimmy Walker (1:44). The couple is pictured with Thomas Edison at West Orange, New Jersey (2:06) and after joins Edison’s wife for a photograph (2:21). Gustavus and Edison share a ride in a 1921 automobile (2:30). At West Point, the prince looks over cadets (2:38). Before the Lincoln Memorial in Chicago, the prince and princess place a wreath (2:52). The Swedish flag flies on screen (3:30) as he returned to Sweden to take steps to the crown in the 1940’s. In the 1950’s, he takes the crown in ceremony (3:36) and his son Carl Gustav is the new prince.
In a 1927 North Carolina mowing contest, contestants are shown utilizing the hand mower (3:45). The only female contestant is Helen Berube, whom had won two prior contests (3:58) and is whacking away at clovers in her bloomers (4:16). Walter Stickney beats Helen and the pair are shown shaking hands (4:35).
In a worker’s strike in the early 1930’s, 150,00 workers partake in San Francisco (4:41). The usually heavily trafficked roads are left empty (4:53), gas pumps run dry (5:03) with a sign reading ‘Out of Gas Due to Strike Conditions’ shown and cars are idle along the streets (5:08). Grocery stores and meat markets are vacant (5:15). This was one of the largest walkout worker strikes in the history of strikes and more abandoned shops float by (5:24).
The ‘1933 Personalities’ begins with Senator Thomas J. Walsh (5:40) and he was most known for his involvement in the Teapot Dome Oil scandal which was, previous to the Watergate scandal, the most well-known scandal in American politics. Greta Garbo of Sweden (6:00) smiles at the camera and she was a popular movie star of silent films. Inventor Hudson Maxim and his wife (6:23) exit the White House after a conference with President Warren Harding.
In footage from 1930, smoke and flames are protruding from the Federal Trade Commission Building in Washington DC (6:53). Firemen are climbing into the flames in order to rescue government files (7:09).
For the lighting of the Dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City (7:33), workers climb atop to hang lanterns. The end result is shown as well as crowds in the cathedral plaza gazing upon it (8:05). A stunning vision of the dome at night and fully lit follows (8:33).
For Aviation in the 1930’s, the expert Frank Hawks (9:00) is filmed preparing for the first transcontinental flight by a glider dubbed the Texaco Eaglet. Footage of his takeoff from San Diego airfields (9:34) and his landing in New York are documented (9:46).
The fashions of 1929 are shown on 18 of the ‘Misses of America’ (10:28) including Miss New York of 1929 (10:31) and Miss Miami (10:39). The styles involved close hats and simple suits (11:00).
The final segment will be for sports highlights of 1925 (11:15). In Saratoga New York, at the Travers Stakes, the American horse beats the French entry at the last leg of the race and the winning jockey Clarence Kummer (11:34) is pictured as the film concludes.
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