These silent 8mm home movies from San Francisco were shot in the late 1930s or early 1940s by San Francisco residents Edward and Mary Burns. (The film was shot prior to January, 1942 as the vessel USAT Liberty shown briefly in the movie was torpedoed at that time.) The film shows various scenes of family, home life, Christmas and a San Francisco Bay ferry ride. The film opens with a man and woman in a park. A woman opens a door, greets her friend and the two laugh together :30. A woman lights a cigarette: 41. Two women laugh over a bouquet of flowers: 52. Three friends sit on the couch, laughing together 1:10. A new man enters the frame. He and the woman laugh and kiss 1:40. The group of men and women sit around the table eating a meal 2:17. A man and a woman read a book 2:30. Man answers the door and a man enters the house 2:45. Woman cooks in the kitchen and sets the table 2:50. The men share a meal at the kitchen table 3:00. A man answers the door and a younger man enters wearing a silk shirt and cowboy hat 3:10. Another knock at the door and a man enters wearing another cowboy hat and bandanna 3:20. A man smokes a pipe 3:25. Three men sit at the kitchen table 3:35. The men sit and laugh at the table 3:55. Two men talk together and wave at the camera 4:10. A man enters and waves to the camera 4:22. A man reads the newspaper 4:31. Women and girls sit by a pool and play with a newborn baby 4:45. A little girl plays with the baby 5:10. A San Francisco cable car on Market street 5:22. Presidio Ave., California and Market Streets is written on the side of the streetcar 5:30. The hills of San Francisco 5:40. Lions roar from behind the bars of a cage in the San Francisco Zoo 5:49. Distant view of the mountains and the surf rolling in over the beach, with the Cliff House visible at the end of the shot 6:05. The Golden Gate Bridge 6:14. A young family smiles at the camera 6:26. A little girl jumps up and down 6:36. A man and woman walk by the water 6:52. The man and woman feed the ducks 7:10. A serviceman lights a cigarette 7:19. Next location is the base of Coit Tower. A glamorous blonde woman in a hat smiles for the camera 7:38. A woman in a hat walks down the steps and smiles for the camera 8:02. A woman sits in a chair and cuts some wrapping paper with scissors 8:16. A man sits by the fireplace reading 8:27. Fisherman’s Wharf 8:35. A boat enters the harbor 8:40. Large fishing boats are anchored and in the background the U.S. Army transport USAT Liberty is visible 8:55. (Liberty was torpedoed by Japanese submarine in January 1942 and beached on the island of Bali, Indonesia, where it remains an attraction to this day.) Christmas 1940 (?). A Christmas tree with tinsel and a star 9:05. A man puts on a robe in front of the Christmas tree 9:32. Several gifts and Santa scenes under the tree 9:50. Two men exchange gifts in front of the tree 10:15. A woman with her purse and a new coat stands in front of the Christmas tree 10:40. Next, a pleasure ferry ride up the Carquinez Strait and Sacramento River. This includes a cruise past Benicia and Crockett, also known as Sugar City because of the C&H Sugar plant. The piers of Fisherman’s Wharf 10:52. View from the ferry into the water 11:03. Many people crowd the ferry deck 11:15. Ferry churning up water 11:30. The ferry passes rock outcroppings and hills 11:46. Smoke bellows from a steamship 12:10. The old Bay Bridge can be seen 12:34. A large steamer comes into view, blowing dark smoke 12:48. Women stand on the bow of the ferry boat 13:00. Men and women dance on the deck of the ferry 13:20. Scenes of homes and fishing docks 13:45. Ferry approaches a drawbridge 14:02. Cars are stopped over the water waiting for the ferry to pass 14:10. Small boats in front of a home 14:29. A family in a small boat passes and waves to the ferry 15:00. Houses on the water 15:10. View of the open drawbridge 15:19. People swim in the bay 15:30. The channel is narrow ahead of the boat 16:00. White house on the bank 16:15. Two men in a rowboat 16:35. A portion of downtown can be seen from the boat 17:00. The drawbridge opens again 17:07. The boat draws close to shore 17:30. The ferry boat is close to shrubs and trees along the banks 18:33. People picnic along the bank 18:40. Small boats carry fisherman 19:20. The boat is parallel to a highway 19:33. The ride comes to an end with trees in the distance 19:50.

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