This moving image clip was created by the U.S. Government’s “Committee for Public Information”, the centralized public communication entity responsible for spreading the Allied viewpoint during World War I. The “Official War Review” newsreel was created by the U.S. Government, and distributed by U.S. Pathe. While the National Archives has the textual records created by the Committee, it appears the original film was not accessioned and preserved. The footage itself exists in many other forms, including the footage collection created by the U.S. Army Signal Corps. What is unique is the presentation, edited for screening to home-front audiences. As often happens in film of this vintage, the author has yet to locate the original film elements of these newsreels. Because of the age of the film, the lack of any “after-market” for newsreel content at the time, and the flammable nature of the nitro-cellulose film stock used in the U.S. up until 1950, the original media may no longer exist, something common to many films from the silent era. This particular clip shows evidence of nitrate decomposition, although the print I copied was a safety film copy. It is likely that the film print reached the end of its distribution window and was abandoned once it was out of date. Prints like this show dirt and scratches from a hard life circulating at local cinemas.
As far as I can tell, only six of these newsreel releases exist at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (“NARA”), and another two at the Library of Congress. The six at NARA only exist because they were donated to the U.S. Government by the University of Colorado Medical School. How it came to be at that institution is a mystery, but the University may have been involved in training doctors for military service. According to a published Report from the House of Representatives from 1940, 62 other films from this collection (including 12 of these newsreel releases) were recommended for disposal due to advanced nitrate decomposition. The Archivist of the United States at the time also remarked “that said records have no permanent value or historical interest to the National Archives.” It may be that other releases in this series exist at other repositories.
Films like these aren’t available from the National Archives on-line Catalog and are accessible only to researchers able to visit the National Archives facilities and copy for themselves. Professional researchers add value to your production or publication. Ask me how!
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