Started in late 1929, the Universal Newspaper Newsreel (as it was then called) documented all types of people, places, things and events, including those associated with the ups and downs of aviation through the end of 1967.  Today, these newsreel stories provide a unique moving-image documentation of our aeronautical heritage, stored on celluloid film, in magnificent black and white.  Along with the photograph and the written word, the newsreel should be considered one of the premier tools in the aviation enthusiast’s research toolbox.

QUIET ON THE SET!
When you begin to explore this vast collection for aviation “Golden Age” stories, it’s probably best to start at the first full year of the newsreel, 1930.  That was an active aviation year and Universal produced 114 newsreel stories on the subject.  Titles included:

• Nippon flyer starts ’round-world flight mid colorful rites
• LINDY GETS A NEW “WE”
• Hurl navy planes from catapult in sensational trials
• Elinor Smith, in swoon 6 miles up, sets new air mark
• Boyd and Connor hop to London in historic “Columbia”
• 48 Die in Fiery Ruins; Destruction Marks End of Ill-Fated R-101

Amazingly, 87 percent of the aviation stories produced in 1930 have survived these past 82 years, and video review copies of these black-and-white films are available at NARA.  While the video copies are acceptable, the quality is, well, VHS-ish.

As was the custom at the time, Universal typically destroyed the narration and music tracks for silver recovery soon after a story was released.  As a result, the Universal Newsreel stories held within NARA prior to the mid-1950s are usually missing the golden-toned narration of Graham McNamee, and later, Ed Herlihy.  Unfortunately, the only noise you may hear within a story about aviation’s “Golden Age” is the sound-on-film of speeches, statements made directly to the camera, and the occasional “wild” or “natural sound.”  However, after some serious digging around in NARA’s files, as-recorded narration scripts were discovered for these stories and are included below.

STAND BY…
The following newsreel stories are based on catalog cards, related paper documents, microfilm records, and a review of the newsreels themselves.

Below the story title you will find the notation STORY. . .