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Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade & Views of Manhattan New York (1939)

1939 · Short film · 9 min

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Synopsis

Believed to date to 1939, this silent home movie shows views of Manhattan and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, as seen by the cameraman from his (or her) fifth-or-sixth story vantage point. The line-up for the parade that year included many floats, some of which you will see here. At 00:00 are views of Manhattan from across the Hudson River. At 1:08 is what appears to be the Upper West Side, with Central Park visible. At 1:33, the Chrysler Building (left) and Empire State Building (right) loom in the distant skyline. At 2:20 is a shot of the Washington Square Arch and at 2:35, busy New York traffic as seen from above. Pedestrians seem to be lined up along the sidewalks, and some open-air luxury cars are visible, indicating that perhaps dignitaries are present and that this is some prelude to the Thanksgiving Day Parade. At 3:40 is a brief shot of airplanes flying in formation followed by a shot of the sunset at 4:40. At 5:04 is footage of the Thanksgiving Day Parade, again we believe 1939 (but could be 1938). The first balloon appears to be a Colonial, perhaps George Washington or Father Knickerbocker. At 5:29, a horse drawn trolley car or Toonerville Trolley is visible, with a more modern counterpart on the rails next to it. At 5:44, a Gulliver's Travels balloon makes its way down the street. A Gulliver balloon debuted in 1933. However, in 1939, the Fleischer Studios released a feature-length animated Gulliver cartoon, and this balloon seems to possibly be a promotional…

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Details

Running time
9 minutes
Collection
Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

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