Magician James Randi, professionally known as “The Amazing Randi”, interviews with television host, Dennis James. Dennis James, holding a book on Harry Houdini, asked James Randi if “Houdini was rigged?”, to which James Randi answers “Houdini above all was an entertainer. And if in some cases he had to prepare some piece of apparatus and present them more or less to challenge the intelligence or ingenuity of his audience, or whether he would use some legitimate props, as we know that he did- in the way of handcuffs, and some packing cases and straitjackets- whether he had to do it by one of those two means, he still entertained people”. On whether magic tricks are done by actual magic, James Randi says, “I must admit that things are not really done by magic. I hate to make this admission, they'll hate me for it but it’s true”. James Randi talks about how Harry Houdini’s legacy affects his career as a magician. “I could never hope to be another Houdini. I have never tried to be another Houdini. I’ve tried to be Randi instead of Houdini but it’s still is quite a wall to scale...the man who walked through walls...I’ve always felt he left me standing in the shadow of that wall.” says James Randi.
German Nazi Kriegsmarine navy land on an island in the South Pacific Ocean, likely Fiji, during World War II. Sailors lower supplies to boats. Sailors in boats travel to an island. Kriegsmarine sailors arrive on a South Pacific island. Huts and coconut trees on an island village. Local islanders standing on a raft. Germans bring supplies into the village, while being observed by curious locals and children. Children stand up and follow Kriegsmarine officers. A Pacific islander smiling, nearby a woman holds her baby. German officers and a local smiling while they walk through a coconut grove. Two local policemen salute. German Kriegsmarine sailor attempts to communicate with locals through sign language. German sailor plays with native children on the beach. A smiling native policeman waves. A German Kriegsmarine battleship sails in the South Pacific Ocean, led by a sea gull. Battleship's wind meter spins furiously in the wind as battleship sails through rough and stormy ocean waves. Kriegsmarine officer uses binoculars.
Jagdgeschwader 53, also known as "Pik As" (Ace of Spades) Geschwader German Luftwaffe in Sicily, Italy during World War 2. Flags of Italy and Nazi Germany together. German officers play with a fox terrier dog, passing him to each other as he doggedly hangs on to a shoe while biting it. Nazi pilot, wearing a flight vest and an Iron Cross, plays cards with comrades. The "Pik As" (Ace of Spades) symbol on an airplane. German Luftwaffe pilot painting another of many Abschussbalken symbols of air victory on the tail of a plane. Mechanics fixing the engine of a fighter, likely a Messerschmitt Bf 109. A crane lifts a Daimler Benz 605 engine. Man spray paints “3” on a plane. A sign in German saying “Die an “dicke Luft” gewöhnten Jöge sind dem Pressluft rausch verfallen” (“Boys, who got used to “Thick Air”, are addicted to the high of compressed air” in German). A man picks up a fox terrier dog by the scruff of its neck and carriers it away.
Title card says “Geheime Kommandosache” (“Secret commando operation” in English). “Erprobungsstelle der Luftwaffe Peenemünde- West” (“Test site of the Peenemünde-West air force” in English). “Flakzielgerät 76 Schnittautnahmen 11.1.1944” (“Anti-aircraft target device 76 cut recordings 01/11/1944” in English). A World War II V-1 glide bomb launch as viewed from immediately behind launch ramp. Views of Walter catapult ramp used to launch the buzz bomb. Close up of Argus pulse jet engine starting and running, with intake flap valve system closing between pulses. Close up of spring actuated launch controller.
A GB-4 glide bomb in a hanger, suspended from the ceiling. A robot bomb, possibly V-1, launching from a catapult ramp. A United States Air Force bomber drops GB-4 glide bomb during World War II. United States army air men use a television screen with radar system to direct the GB-4 glide bomb to its target. POV view target via GB-4 glide bomb camera. GB-4 glide bomb seen at ground level gliding to target and exploding. United States soldiers preparing a V-2 rocket for launch in the desert in the United States. Men working on radar system. V-2 firing room engineer gives the "go" signal for launch. V-2 rocket lift off in the desert. Scientists in radar control room at Fort Evans. Soldiers at controls of early field radar control system. Large radar console with circular CRT display. A United States soldier repairs radar console. Various types of radar antennas and dishes moving while in operation.
The Philippines under Japanese occupation, liberation, and subsequent granting of independence by the United States in World War 2. Bodies of Filipino and United States soldiers killed during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. Captured American, Filipino, and Australian soldiers raise their hands after the Fall of Corregidor. United States General Jonathan M. Wainwright negotiating the surrender of The Phillipines with Japanese General Masaharu Homma in 1942. Brigadier General Lewis C. Beebe and Major Thomas Dooley are seen to Wainwright's left. An American warship firing during the United States Pacific campaign to defeat Japanese occupying forces in the Pacific. United States soldiers get off an amphibious landing craft during the U.S. retaking of the Philippines. United States General Douglas MacArthur arrival in Leyte Gulf with a retinue consisting of Philippine President-in-exile Sergio Osmeña, Lieutenant General Richard Sutherland, Philippine Brigadier General Carlos P. Romulo, Major General Courtney Whitney, Philippine Sergeant Francisco Salveron and CBS Radio correspondent William J. Dunn in Palo, Leyte, the Philippines- a fulfillment of his promise to return to the Philippines. General Douglas MacArthur speaking at the Independence Day ceremony in Manila on July 4, 1946. “America never wavered in that purpose. America today redeems that pledge.” Says General MacArthur. United States Senator Millard Tydings, the co-sponsor of the Tydings–McDuffie Act (a law that provides independence to the Philippines after a 10-year transition as a Commonwealth) attends the ceremony. Paul V. McNutt, the United States High Commissioner of the Philippine Commonwealth (later the first United States Ambassador to the Philippines), reads the United States President Harry Truman's official proclamation of Philippine Independence. Filipino elites and United States dignitaries watch the ceremony in the Independence Grandstand (a temporary structure built in front of the Rizal Monument). Manuel Roxas being sworn in as the first President of the Philippines after gaining independence from the United States. The Philippine national anthem, Lupang Hinirang, plays in the background. High Commissioner McNutt lowers the United States flag from the flagpole as President Manuel Roxas raises the flag of the new Republic of the Philippines. A celebratory parade following the Independence ceremony takes place, which includes floats from various provinces in the country. A float with signs reading: "Let's Produce and Rebuild,". "Mountain Province" float with women wearing formal Filipino Baro’t Saya gowns. "The City of Manila" float with soldiers. "The University of the Philippines" (UP) float featuring two women dressed as allegorical figures and sign saying, “The University of the Philippines At the Service of the State”. "The Division of City Schools" float features two Filipinos in traditional attire in front of a Statue of Liberty model. A float, likely belonging to the National Library of the Philippines, with children and a huge book model. The Chamber of Commerce Philippines float contains a machine gear model and small models of an aircraft and a ship. American soldiers marching, carrying the United States flag. A military marching band play. Filipino soldiers marching with the Philippine flag. Military aircraft in flight above the Independence Grandstand in Manila.
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