Scenes from 1934 movie about Westward Expansion of the United States at end of the 19th Century. View of San Francisco harbor with a steamer passing in the background. Inserted scenes from 1906 film of Market Street taken from a cable car headed toward the Oakland Ferry. It shows hectic uncontrolled vehicle and pedestrian traffic in the street. Change of scene shows current (1934) views of San Francisco from a vantage point above the city.
A film on the development of air power in the United States. Scenes depicting travel by ocean going ships, preceding air travel. Animation of a small ship moving away from the east coast of the U.S. Actual footage of a large sailing vessel of the early clipper ship variety sailing in the ocean. Animation of a small ship sailing to the Great Britain. Real footage of a four-stack ocean liner, which appears to be the RMS Mauretania (1906 edition), sailing in the Atlantic Ocean. Animated map of the Atlantic Ocean and the coasts of the U.S. and England. An R-34 dirigible airship in flight. The R-34 moored to the ground with a large craft around the gondola. A British Bristol fighter aircraft in flight. Animation of the maps of the U.S. and the Great Britain coming closer together, figuratively, through the speed of air travel.
A sports event in the United States. A group of participants takes part in long and high jump. Onlookers watch the athletes. One jumper wears the letters aYa on his jersey. Another has a triangular logo on his. (Attributed to Thomas Armat.)
Developments in the field of aviation in the United States. Wilbur Wright flying at an altitude of 360 feet in his first successful airplane. In a later scene, high snow-capped mountains as seen from an airplane in flight years later.
United States Joint Chiefs of staff pose for formal portrait in Washington D.C., United States. Joint Chiefs of Staff seated at the table for a formal portrait. Officers seated at the table from the left; General Fred C. Weyand, United states Army, General David C. Jones. United States Air Force, General George S. Brown, United States Air force, Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Admiral James L. Holloway, United States Navy, General Robert E. Cushman, United states Marine Corps, Operations deputies stand in the background. Lieutenant General Donald H. Cowles, United States Army, Lieutenant Huyser, United States Air Force, Vice Admiral Train, United states Navy, Vice Admiral Tailey, United States Navy, Lieutenant General Beckington, United States Marine corps. United States Secretary of Defense, James R. Schlesinger, Deputy Secretary William P. Clements and Joint Chiefs of Staff at a conference table. Secretary Schlesinger smokes a pipe and speaks to General Brown. A man clicks a picture.
Immigrants being processed at Ellis Islands,New York on 9 May 1906. Immigrants holding their luggage stream out of the processing building and, guided by immigration officials, enter ferries to take them to the Battery on Manhattan Island.