This film is the first half of the 1950 Warner Brothers film, which documents the major American and international events during the first half of the Twentieth Century. The film opens with the film’s narrators: Quentin Reynolds, H.V. Kaltenborn, Milton Cross, Norman Brokenshire, Andre Baruch, Clem McCarthy, San Donaldson, and Arthur Godfrey. A reenactment depicts the pilgrims arriving on America’s shores (03:06). Wagon trains make their way west on the Oregon Trail. Viewers see the streets of New York City in 1900, people attending a nickelodeon theater, and William McKinley at his inauguration. People line the street for Queen Victoria’s funeral procession. Women ride bicycles (06:08); other women show off bathing suits. The Wright Brothers take flight at Kittyhawk (06:40). San Francisco suffers significant damage after an earthquake. Teddy Roosevelt speaks to a group of men (07:28). The film shows William “Buffalo Bill” Cody (07:45), car races on Long Island, and the streets of San Francisco. Alexander Graham Bell stand with his family. Teddy Roosevelt hunts in Africa. Charlie Chaplin acts in a film. German Kaiser Wilhelm II hunts a stag (10:00); he is then shown reviewing his troops. Nicholas II walks past Russian soldiers. Franz Joseph I of Austria walks with advisors. Civilian refugees flee Belgium during World War I (11:14). Francisco “Pancho” Villa fights on the US-Mexico border. A ship sinks after being hit by German U-boat. New American Army recruits receive their fatigues (12:03). Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels inspects the Yeomanettes and Marinettes. Women model bathing suits (12:55). John Philip Souza conducts a band. Douglas Fairbanks promotes war bonds. Dough Boys climb off a train (13:38). Soldiers in the Russian army retreat (14:14). Footage shows the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. Americans celebrate the end of WWI in the streets (15:10). U.S. soldiers return on passenger ships to New York Harbor. A massive parade is held in New York City for the soldiers. General John Pershing leads a parade in Washington, DC. Woodrow Wilson smiles before leaving for France (16:17). At Versailles, Wilson pushes his 14 Points and League of Nations. The Prince of Wales (King Edward VIII) visits the U.S. in 1919. Viewers see a New York transport strike, William Jennings Bryan speaking in 1920, and Warren Harding campaigning for president. Henry Ford and Thomas Edison enjoy camping. Andrew Carnegie shakes hands with another man (19:30). Next, the film shows a handful of aviation prototypes that fail to take flight (20:27), Helen Wills paying tennis, Calvin Coolidge, and the Black Shirts marching into Rome (21:42). A woman models various hats. General William Mitchell oversees the test bombing of a captured German battleship to demonstrate the potential of air power. Joseph Stalin walks in a procession (23:30), apparently the first time he appears on motion-picture film. Viewers see Red Grange of Illinois (23:57), Knute Rockne, and Gertrude Ederle as she swims the English Channel; Ederle enjoys a ticker tape parade in New York City after accomplishing the feat. Will Rogers speaks to supporters after being voted mayor of Beverly Hills. Footage shows Rudolph Valentino’s funeral a clip from Son of the Sheik (25:15). John Barrymore brandishes a sword on set, and Al Jolson sings in The Jazz Singer. Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti leave the court house (27:22). Charles Lindbergh takes off in The Spirit of St. Louis. He is celebrated upon his return to New York (27:58), with a massive parade. Chiang Kai-shek weds (28:35), Herbert Hoover is sworn in as President, and the Ku Klux Klan marches down Pennsylvania Avenue (29:23), concluding the first half of the film.
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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 www.PeriscopeFilm.com