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Motion Picture MP2005-24

Truman Birthplace Celebration and Miscellaneous Events from Truman’s Public Life

Administrative Information

Original Format(s)
Motion Picture
Footage
1337 feet
Running Time
37 minutes 9 seconds
Sound
intermittent
Color
Black & White
Produced by
Sammie Feeback
Restrictions
Unrestricted
Description

Film segments include: Harry S. Truman taking a group on a tour of the Harry S. Truman Library on May 29, 1962; Mr. Truman speaking to young people in the auditorium of the Library; Eddie Jacobson Memorial Foundation event; Mr. Truman and Mayor H. Roe Bartle at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base in Grandview, Missouri; May 12, 1959 ride with the press on a train; Masonic Lodge at Belton, Missouri (see also MP2005-20); 75th birthday celebration; Children have birthday cake at train station In Independence as the Truman's leave for New York on April 25, 1959; 78th birthday celebration; dedication of Lamar, Missouri birthplace on April 19, 1959; presentation by B'nai Zion Women's Organization of a friendship award to Harry S. Truman.

Date(s)
1956 - 1963
Available Format(s)
Motion Picture
Video Tape

SD-quality copies of already digitized motion pictures are available for $20, and HD-quality copies of already digitized motion pictures are $50. Copies of motion pictures not already digitized will incur additional costs.

SD-quality copies of already digitized motion pictures are available for $20, and HD-quality copies of already digitized motion pictures are $50. Copies of motion pictures not already digitized will incur additional costs.

This item does not circulate but reproductions may be purchased.

To request a copy of this item, please contact truman.reference@nara.gov​​​​​​​

Please note that this video belongs to a different video collection than the items available to be borrowed by teachers, from our Education Department.

Moving Image Type
Motion Picture

Shot List

  • Reel 1
     
00:00   Harry S. Truman conducts a group around the Harry S. Truman Library on a tour including a hands-on presentation of several mementos on May 29, 1962. Men in uniforms look at displayed weaponry, and Mr. Truman demonstrates on the type of cannon he fired in WWI. They also look at a collection of silverware and a small relief portrait. Truman plays the piano for the visitors. (This footage continues later in this film.)
01:43   An audience of teenaged women and men sit in an auditorium. Harry S. Truman speaks and holds a question and answer session in 1962.
02:07   The next segment begins with an exterior shot of the Harry S. Truman Library. The camera focuses on a portrait of Harry S. Truman. Harry Truman, Bess Truman and others stand in front of the portrait. Harry Truman gives an interview.
02:40   Sound: Focus on a flag which reads, “Eddie Jacobson Memorial Foundation.” The camera pans down to show Harry Truman seated at a table with others. Truman mentions sending his daughter and her family to represent him at a presidential inauguration which he is regretfully unable to attend.
03:12   Harry S. Truman and Kansas City Mayor H. Roe Bartle arrive at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base in Grandview, Missouri. Mr. Truman shakes hands with soldiers in front of a plane which he then boards, and the plane takes off. These events repeat with similar footage from a different camera showing Truman’s arrival on the tarmac, a brief meeting with staff, Mr. Truman and Mayor Bartle boarding, and the plane’s take-off.
04:42   Harry Truman sits at a table with lots of other men at a 75th birthday celebration. There is a birthday cake with small frosted houses on it. (This footage continues later in this film.)
04:49   These are scenes from a train ride with the press on May 12, 1959. A train pulls several flat, open cars with seated passengers. The passengers wave and smile at the camera as the train rolls slowly. Footage contains the vantage points from the ground, on the train and from the passengers’ perspective.
05:29   Harry S. Truman, Thomas Hart Benton and others at the Harry S. Truman Library look at Benton’s work-in-progress, the Library’s mural “Independence and the Opening of the West.” (This footage continues later in this film.)
05:58   An exterior shot of the Harry S. Truman Library before the camera moves inside to capture a meeting. Men in suits gather around a long conference table. Members of the press document the meeting and a sound recorder is plainly evident.
06:45   Focus on a Harry S. Truman Library sign leads into continued footage of Truman with a tour group looking at spoons and other mementos (mentioned above at 00:00).
07:14   A marching band is the initial focus of additional footage of the Masonic Lodge dedication in Belton, Missouri described in MP2005-20. The scenes are similar but not identical.
07:51   Focus on a sign that reads, “Officers Club,” then another sign that points the way for “Air Force Academy Candidates.” Young men and boys are seen getting information at long tables and booths. Then Harry S. Truman arrives and makes a speech at a podium. The audience is shown giving a standing ovation.
08:35   Scenes from a different 75th birthday celebration for Harry Truman at the Muehlebach Hotel. Truman is shown seated in an ornate chair at a banquet table, and then the camera reveals different groups of guests. There is an elaborate cake and gifts.
09:55   Film cuts quickly back to the more low-key celebration mentioned above at 04:42.
10:30   Film cuts back to scenes of Truman and Thomas Hart Benton at the Harry S. Truman Library mentioned above at 05:29. Both men speak to a group of the press. Benton is shown climbing onto a scaffolding platform.
11:36   The next segment takes place at the Independence, Missouri train depot. Harry S. Truman and Bess Truman arrive at the depot and the news media give a small birthday celebration for Harry Truman. Children roll out a cake for him. He shakes each child’s hand, and one older girl pins a flower to his lapel. A boy pins a corsage to Bess Truman’s coat. The Truman’s stand on the train entrance to say goodbye, and then the children wave as the train departs. April 25, 1959. Mr. Truman is leaving to attend birthday celebrations in New York.
12:38   More footage of the Truman’s and these children at the train deport from different camera angles. Main difference is shots of Harry Truman cutting the cake surrounded by the children.
14:06   Aerial shot of the Harry S. Truman Library, followed by Harry Truman working at his desk. Then Mr. Truman walks with Dr. Philip C. Brooks in a tour of the Library’s file room. Mr. Truman walks with others.
14:47   Focus on sign that reads, “Comprehensive Plan for Flood Control. Mississippi River Basin. July 1941. Corps of Engineers. U.S. Army.” Mr. Truman points at display maps.
15:01   Focus on a small desk plague that reads, “The Buck Stops Here.” The camera pans up to show Harry Truman seated at a desk talking to the camera. Mr. Truman points out and describes various artifacts and displays at Truman Library.
16:03   Lyndon B. Johnson arrives at the Kansas City Airport on May 8, 1962. He is met by a group of gentlemen, and they talk on the tarmac.
17:06   Sound: Footage of Harry Truman’s 78th birthday celebration at the Muehlebach Hotel begins with a representative of John F. Kennedy reading a message to Truman, wishing him a happy birthday and sending his regrets that he could not attend. Then there are shots of the various guests and the cake-cutting. Lyndon Johnson gives remarks, followed by Truman giving his thanks. Johnson’s speech about Truman’s history, significance and fine qualities continues. Then Truman gives his thanks again. May 8, 1962.
22:50   Nonlinear, repetitious footage begins of Harry S. Truman’s trip to Lamar, Missouri for a homecoming celebration at his birthplace with a focus on walking feet. Mr. Truman leaves his home in Independence, driving to Lamar. He stops at the J. Vivian Truman farm and meets his brother. Together they walk around the farm, and then visit with sister Mary Jane Truman. Truman continues on to Lamar where he attends a large-scale public event with a parade, speech and dinner. Truman visits the birthplace shrine/memorial in his honor and reads the guest book. Truman and other guests at the dinner give remarks. This is the dedication of the Lamar, Missouri birthplace as an historic site, April 19, 1959.
31:37   Sound: Three women and WDAF commentator Randall Jessee stand at a microphone. The women – Mrs. F. Deborah Evans, Mrs. Abraham Danzig and Mrs. Louis Rothstein – are representatives of the Bnai Zion Women’s Organization of America, which Jessee calls the “religious wing of the Zionist Movement.” They present Harry S. Truman with the 1956 America-Israel Friendship Award and describe what they feel is his significance to the Jewish people. Mr. Truman thanks them for the award. Members of the press photograph and interview Mr. Truman and the women.