Description
Object description
Edition of US-produced wartime newsreel, featuring the funeral of President Franklin Roosevelt and the succession of President Harry Truman.
Content description
'Funeral of President Roosevelt'; exterior of Georgia Hall in Warm Springs, Georgia, with an American flag flying at half mast. Young girls, apparently sufferers of infantile paralysis, mourning the death. A hearse passes. Close-up one of the girls. The hearse passes a unit of troops; a guard of honour presents arms. Roosevelt's dog Fala is walked towards camera. At Warm Springs railway station a special train departs carrying the coffin. The flag-draped coffin aboard the train, with servicemen standing guard over it. View from the train showing soldiers presenting arms and civilians watching at the side of the line. The train arrives in Washington D.C. and is met by Justice Byrnes, Secretary Wallace and President Truman. The coffin is taken away on an artillery caisson. Civilian spectators, including a number of black Americans. A flypast of heavy bomber aircraft. A march past with the Capitol building in the background. Close-ups of spectators in Lafayette Park. The coffin passes. a soldier salutes. Troops march past the White House. The coffin is drawn past the White House and carried inside. The coffin lies in state. The burial in the garden of the Roosevelt family home in Hyde Park, New York. A rifle salute is fired. Mourners disperse at the end of the ceremony. A flypast. Floral tributes.
Content description
'Harry S Truman - New president of the US'; Truman making a radio address. Capitol building. He is applauded by senators. Scenes at the Democratic party convention, including supporters with placards bearing his name and Truman striking the gavel. After the 1944 election; Truman and Roosevelt travelling by open car in a motorcade to the White House. In discussion with Roosevelt. Capitol building with US flag at half mast. Truman gets out of a car, followed by other cars carrying War Secretary Henry Stimson, US Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall and Admiral Ernest King. James F Byrnes. Edward Stettinius, US Secretary of State, with Anthhony Eden and Lord Halifax, the British Foreign Secretary and Ambassador to the United States respectively. Truman addresses Congress; he speaks of the need for unity amongst Americans and affirms his commitment to the values of his predecessor. He reiterates the demand for unconditional surrender and that America will continue the fight 'until no vestige of resistance remains'. The problems of peace will be mastered.
Physical description
35mm