Scenes from British feature film "The Somme" made in 1927, about the Battle of the Somme in World War 1. Part of it depicts events involving the South African Brigade in the battle. The extract opens with shells bursting all along No Man's Land among fragments of trees. Explosions and smoke everywhere. On July 18, 1916, Nine German Battalions deploy to drive the South African Brigade from the Delville Wood. Several soldiers of the Brigade seen entrenched in a sand-bagged position as a German shell explodes only yards from them. German soldiers advance through the broken trees and brush, while under fire by British gunners using Vickers machine guns. Some German soldiers falling and others seeking cover in abandoned trench. A line of South African troops firing their rifles from a trench, as several German soldiers reach them and are shot dead just feet away. A British soldier is shot while climbing out of a trench containing several fallen comrades. Other British (or South African) troops scrambling to find a safer place. One crawling across the ground. A British gunner firing a Lewis gun. German troops starting to go over-the-top, from their trench. British soldiers advancing. German gunner firing Maxim gun from fortified position, as shells burst in the distant background. A horizontal line of British troops advancing toward the German position. Some are cut down by the machine gun fire. German gunner firing a captured British Vickers machine gun. British soldiers hunkered down in a deep shell hole behind a ridge. They use their trenching tools to dig in deeper. Several German shells burst in the air. Two British soldiers watch as a tank approaches through the smoke. Large numbers of British troops attack downhill through smoke and haze. German soldiers preparing to defend an occupied structure, as more British troops charge forward. Post-battle view of the area, with fallen soldiers marked by rifles stuck in the ground with helmets on them. (Note: The tanks shown in this film are models Mark V which did not enter service until 1918.)
Excerpt from the fictional film "Birth of a Nation". A pro Southern dramatization on the effect of the Civil War and the reconstruction. Prewar conditions on the Cameron estate in Piedmont, South Carolina. The members of the southern Cameron and northern Stoneman families of Washington are introduced. Men and women reading a newspaper outside a house. The newspaper headlined read: 'If the North carries the election, the South will secede'. An abolitionists meeting. They discuss about the news. The Stoneman library in Washington. Women cleaning the library. One of the woman leaves. A man enters and talks to the woman. They argue and the man leaves the room. The woman cry. Man portrayed as Leader of the Senate Charles Sumner in the library. He looks at the books kept on a table. He arrives near the woman and talks to her. A woman and a man talking amongst themselves in a room. Other man enters and talks to them.
Ramfis Trujillo, son of the assassinated Dominican dictator, Rafael Trujillo, seated, and surrounded by dignitaries and the Press in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Among those with him is playboy, Porfirio Rubirosa, whom he assigns as an envoy to seek support from the United States. Reporters take notes and photographers click his pictures. Cathedral in San Cristobal, the scene of Trujillo's funeral. People cry as car with Rafael Trujillo's body passes by on street. Change of scene as next newsreel shows sweeping wide view of buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, and then scenes of a parade in Pretoria during holiday declared to mark its withdrawal from the British Commonwealth of Nations and establishment as an independent Republic. The parade includes Soldiers on horses. The new Coat of Arms of the South African Republic is shown. Former Governor General, now shifting to his role as the first President of South Africa, Charles Swart, addresses the public. Narrator indicates that Swart's comment include support for continued apartheid racial segregation in South Africa.
Slate reads, "Hero Battle Ship X revealed to be USS South Dakota" Aerial view of USS South Dakota at sea with airplane wing tip in foreground. Sailors assembled on the deck of the USS South Dakota. Overhead view of ship's guns. The ship had been dubbed "Battleship X' for reporting to the press around January 1943 when it was undergoing repairs. Guns firing on the USS South Dakota. An officer speaks.
Travelogue of southern regions of the United States. Map highlights south regions and Caribbean Islands. Couple seated at picnic table at a State park enjoying a camping trip. The man tends the campfire while the woman writes. A young girl rides a bicycle in a campground, passing by a Recreational Vehicle (RV). A man plays golf at a golf course beside an Atlantic Ocean beach. Aerial view of old plantation style southern home. Women in traditional hoop skirts in front of home. Scenes from a music recording studio. Woman sings at microphone in studio. Technician adjusts levels on recording equipment. Reel to Reel tape making a recording. Dancers dance at a "Country Music USA" show, train passing through a forest. Scenes at amusement park: Flume ride, Roller coaster with loops, Castle at Walt Disney World; Main Street; Monorail, Epcot Center (all in Orlando, Florida). NASA rockets, Space Shuttle, general views of hangars and tourist areas at Cape Canaveral. Person in astronaut flight suit at space center poses with boy and girl visitors. A young woman lying in the sand at a beach tunes her boom box radio, as group plays volleyball behind her on the beach. Low aerial view as speed boat runs on water. Aerial view of Miami Beach, Florida, and Miami Beach strip areas. A group on the Florida beach getting sailboard lessons. A flamingo close-up. An orca whale pushes a man into the air during a sea aquarium show. Couple receives drinks poolside from a waitress. A couple on a hotel patio overlooking ocean. Men and women dancing at a discotheque or disco or dance club in typical 1980s fashions. People tour marshlands; a group in an airboat; tourists on paddle wheel steam boat Natchez and touring streets of downtown New Orleans Louisiana in horse drawn carriage. People have beignets and coffee at Cafe Du Monde. New Orleans night street scenes and Preservation Hall Jazz Band performs. Footage from boat on a swamp in Cajun country. Cajun restaurant kitchen scene with crawfish etouffee being prepared. Dancing to Cajun band.
Invasion of South Korea. The 38th Parallel and the North Korean invasion of South Korea after crossing the parallel. Soldiers in trenches fire rifles. General Douglas MacArthur arrives in South Korea to counter the aggression of North Korea. Artillery fired and an injured soldier given blood plasma. Dead soldiers buried and other soldiers pray at the burial. Canadian soldiers and soldiers from other countries leave for Korea War under the flagship of the United Nations. The United Nations soldiers bid adieu to their dear ones. Soldiers make an amphibious landing and move inland in trucks. Soldiers move along the Manchurian border. Planes drop bombs and smoke rises. The Chinese Army attacks the United Nation forces and they are forced to retreat. The United Nation forces move ahead under extreme climatic conditions. (Korean War)
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