About the Collections
Moving Image Research Collections (MIRC) strives to preserve our global moving image heritage, diversify understandings of moving image culture, and envision a better future by encouraging new interpretations of the recent past.
MIRC began in 1980 with the gift of the Fox Movietone News Collection. Since then, archival holdings have increased to an estimated 6000 hours of material, including local television news and commercials, home movies, micro-cinematographic nature films, and fiction and documentary films from the People's Republic of China.
Much of this film has never been publicly exhibited. It awaits the attention of genealogists, historians, naturalists, documentarians, experimental filmmakers, and all other intrepid inquirers.
Browse Sample Videos
Chinese Film Collection
Table tennis stars from the People's Republic of China visit the U.S. in a preamble to the restoration of diplomatic relations in 1979.
In this episode of the Shanghai Animation Film Studio TV series devoted to his adventures, Little Bunny Tao Tao overcomes his fear of the cold and makes new forest friends.
The opening of directors Cui Wei and Chen Huaikai's classic tale of romance and political awakening.
Selection from a documentary describing the basic techniques of Chinese woodblock printing.
(cfc)
115seconds, 1983 In this classic parable, a snipe and a clam fight over a fish. After a long struggle, they both get caught by the fisherman, who has been waiting for his chance. This film won the Silver Berlin Bear for Best Short Film in 1984.
Newsfilm Collections
(C. E. Feltner, Jr. Collection)
1954, Atlantic City, N. J. 12-year old Patricia Watkins puts 16 canines through their paces. With the help of a steadfast chihuahua, the world's youngest professional dog trainer later reminds us to "Be Kind To Animals . . . and newsreel editors."
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
312seconds, 05/1928, England Famed playwright George Bernard Shaw speaks to Movietone News for the first time. Feigning to be surprised by the crew and delighting in the opportunity to speak to a theater audience directly, Shaw performs, among other things, his famed impression...
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
328seconds, 10/07/1928, Asheville, North Carolina Bascom Lamar Lunsford and others perform "Doggett Gap" on the porch of an old North Carolina homestead. 1928 was the year of the first Mountain Dance and Folk Festival in Asheville; the festival was founded by Lunsford.
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
11/19/1928, Hampton, Virginia Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (now Hampton University) is one of the nation's oldest Historically Black Colleges and Universities and counts Booker T. Washington among its distinguished alumni. Founded during the Civil War, the inst...
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
11/22/1928, Charleston, South Carolina The Jenkins Orphanage Band of Charleston has been recognized as one of the country's important Jazz "incubators." This Fox Movietone News film is the earliest extant sound recording of the band.
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
71seconds, 09/23/1932, Geneva, Switzerland Describing himself as "a solider of peace," the Indian leader declares his desire for national independence.
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
06/12/1929, Washington, D.C. In 1928, the 1st Congressional District of Illinois elected Oscar De Priest to the House of Representatives, making him the first African-American elected to Congress in 28 years. He served three terms. These sound Fox Movietone News outtakes give ...
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
250seconds, circa09/06/1926, Kannapolis, N.C. Sequence showing tensions at textile factories in early September 1934. Troops arrive at Cannon Mill in Kannapolis, North Carolina via Allied Moving van.
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
270seconds, 08/1929, New York, New York Ostensibly a story about new metal scaffolding, this film shows St. Paul’s Chapel in lower Manhattan undergoing renovations. From the top of the church spire, the camera looks west across the World Trade Center site. Unlike today, St. Paul’s lack...
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
11/12/1929, Prague In these newsreel outtakes, Czechoslovakia's founding President, Dr. Thomas Garrigue Masaryk predicts that in the future we will be able "to see and hear in the distance without any wire." The newsreel story screened to audiences did...
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
329seconds, 11/25/1929, New York, New York Urbain J. Ledoux, known to many as "Mr. Zero," championed the cause of the indigent and poor. Here he hands out clothing to impoverished New Yorkers.
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
circa1929, Princeton, New Jersey Although clearly a staged story to promote the efforts of law enforcement, this clip well demonstrates that bootleggers were known to hide contraband in curious places.
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
51seconds, 12/21/1929, New York City Viewers of Ken Burns' documentary Unforgivable Blackness may recognize this footage of then former Heavyweight Champion of the World Jack Johnson fronting his jazz band.
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
03/05/1942, United States Even the fashion industry pitches in to help out the war effort. Originally filmed as an Easter fashion story, this film was finally incorporated into a newsreel seven months after filming.
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
118seconds, 10/01/1942, Richmond, Virginia The young women of Richmond are helping out the war effort by collecting metal scrap. When the crew stops by the Governor’s mansion, Virginia Governor Colgate W. Darden, Jr. and First Lady Constance Darden pitch in and do their bit.
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
12/24/1942, Los Angeles, California American film stars supported service men and women by serving by providing free entertainment to any and all men and women in uniform. This clip features Bette Davis, Eddie Cantor and Linda Darnell.
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
03/09/1943, New York, New York "We Will Never Die" Rally held at "Madison Square Garden." Dedicated to the two million Jewish dead of Europe and sponsored by a committee for a Jewish army of stateless and Palestinian Jews.
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
114seconds, 08/04/1943, South Boston, Virginia This clip highlights the move of women into the commercial agriculture sector during the war. Virginia Governor Colgate W. Darden and First Lady Constance Darden roll up their sleeves and help harvest the state's important tobacco crop.
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
339seconds, 02/15/1930, Taiwan Fox Movietone Crew #18 (Mayell and Heise) spent about one year documenting the people and places of China, Japan, and Formosa. The online clip features only a few of the over 14 minutes of footage taken on February 15, 1930 in Formosa. Although th...
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
171seconds, 06/04/1944, Norfolk Naval Operating Base, Norfolk, Virginia Bishop Peter L. Ireton presides over a solemn Pontifical Mass held on the grounds of the Norfolk Navy Base. Among the dignitaries present that day is Virginia Governor Colgate W. Darden, Jr.
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
56seconds, , Montreal, Canada Penicillin is mass produced for military use in this newsreel story released in vol. 26 issue no. 90 of the Fox Movietone news. In less than five years penicillin went from an experimental treatment to a mass produced "miracle drug." 300 billion un...
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
37seconds, 09/08/1944, Parma, Ohio Mrs. Mary Rex Thompson, a widow with two children, receives the 1,000,000th monthly insurance benefit. Audiences in 1944 could have seen the edited story in volume 26 issue no. 99 of the Fox Movietone newsreel.
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
180seconds, 03/14/1928, Augusta, Georgia William Fox joins Maureen Orcutt, Louis Martucci, and H. "Bully" Fortson in an exhibition match years before the creation of the Augusta National course and Masters Tournament.
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
01/23/1934, Shanghai, China Possibly shot at Shanghai's Tianyi Studio, these Movietone outtakes appear to record a silent film production. Paper records identify the actress as Grace Nee, "the Chinese Coleen Moore."
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
86seconds, 09/30/1919, Philadelphia In this example from the the first year of Fox News, filmmakers team up with Cho Cho the Clown to provide public health education for children. Cho Cho demonstrates taking a bath with an imaginary tub.
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
110seconds, 04/10/1926, Saint Louis, Missouri In Fox paperwork from 1926, the star of this clip is cameraman Anderson's son (four), who delivers a box of film to the then unidentified pilot. In retrospect, it seems noteworthy that the pilot is Charles Lindbergh. Many more such discoveries await ...
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
89seconds, 03/31/1926, Tripoli, Libya Italian Dictator Benito Mussolini arrives in Tripoli to review the state of Italy's Libyan colony. In the city he is given a Caesar’s welcome, while in the desert he is honored by Bedouins with the gift a horse.
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
05/1927, Albany, New York Thurston the magician entertains crippled children in Bellevue Hospital. This silent newsreel footage was not incorporated into a national newsreel release.
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
08/24/1928, Volendam, Netherlands A native of St. Louis, MO, Josephine Baker took Europe by storm in 1925 and remained one of its most celebrated artists until the outbreak of war. These newsreel outtakes were shot by famed illustrator Mac-Djorski on her visit to Volendam, North Hol...
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
circa11/1925, Fort Huachuca, Arizona The 10th Calvary (also known as the "Buffalo Soldiers") based in Fort Huachuca, Arizona played an important role defending the United State's southern border during a series of military actions in the early 20th century. The Fox Film Corporation pro...
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
182seconds, 1927, Melville, Louisiana Melville Louisiana rests along the Atchafalaya River just west of the Morganza spillway. During the Great Flood of 1927, Melville was underwater for months. This edited Fox News footage was probably shot in July or August of 1927 and shows the main...
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
243seconds, 02/23/1929, Atlanta, Georgia When Georgia Tech defeated California in the 1929 Rose Bowl, football player "Stumpy" Thompson received bear Bruin as a gift. Cameraman Frank Lamb recorded their life on campus but was not allowed to film interiors.
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
07/08/1929, Pocantico Hills, New York An extraordinary tinted print of the birthday celebration filmed exclusively by Fox cameramen Englebrecht and Montemurro.
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
12/07/1941, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Inglewood, California Fox Movietone News cameraman Al Brick was in the harbor the morning of the attack and captured Fox's first scoop of the war. Censorship prevented these images from being shown to the public until December 1942.
(Fox Movietone News Collection)
1944, United States Released by the government in 1944, this film was incorporated into Volume 26 Issue 92 of the Movietone Newsreel. Note that the newsreel editors dubbed the Movietone musical score over this government film.
(General)
286seconds, 2001 A compilation of footage from the Fox Movietone News Collection assembled under the direction of Professors Matthew Bruccoli and Patrick Scott.
(General)
364seconds, 2001 A compilation of footage from the Fox Movietone News Collection assembled under the direction of Professors Matthew Bruccoli and Patrick Scott.
(Local Television: WBTW)
01/23/1976, South Carolina [?] This South Carolinian proves there is more than one way to cut a carrot. If anyone can identify the swordsman, please let us know.
(Local Television: WBTW)
04/07/1971, Columbia, South Carolina Boxing legend and Beaufort native Joe Frazier speaks about change in South Carolina. Frazier had appeared before the South Carolina State Legislature after the Senate passed a resolution creating Joe Frazier Day. Only three African Americans served i...
(Local Television: WIS)
140seconds, 06/30/1967, Charleston, South Carolina "I decided to stick with love..." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. articulates his opposition to black militancy as well as white supremacy. The clip begins with film (silent) of Dr. King's arrival at the Charleston airport.
(Local Television: WIS)
76seconds, 07/04/1972, Gilbert, South Carolina Senator Thurmond takes a break from the Lexington County Peach Festival and talks politics with reporters, expressing his hope that George McGovern win the Democratic Party's nomination for President.
(Local Television: WLTX)
1967, South Carolina Miss South Carolina 1967, Peggy White, and others inspect the tobacco crop for auction. The location of the auction remains unidentified.
(Local Television: WLTX)
11/29/1968, Columbia, South Carolina Captain Kirk on Main Street. Filmed by WNOK in Columbia, the annual Christmas Parade featured many area school bands, the Shriners, and William Shatner
Regional Film Collections
(Anna and Archer Huntington Home Movies)
1937, South Carolina Grounds of Brookgreen Garden prior to construction of the sculpture information center.
(Anna and Archer Huntington Home Movies)
unknown date, Sandy Island, South Carolina Local residents involved in rice production.
(Claudia Lea Phelps Home Movies)
123seconds, 1922, Sussex, England and Aiken, South Carolina Girl Guide Training Camp, Sheffield Park, Sussex, England. Aiken Girl Scouts playing games in front of stables of Rose Hill and in Hitchcock Woods.
(Claudia Lea Phelps Home Movies)
1923 Claudia Lea Phelps and her sister Eleanor chronicle the 1923 voyage of the Laconia, the first round-the-world by steamship package tour organized by American Express. Examine Eleanor's diary of the trip here....
(Claudia Lea Phelps Home Movies)
359seconds, 1924, Unknown Footage of Girl Scout activities at Camp Kiwanis
(Claudia Lea Phelps Home Movies)
1924, Aiken, South Carolina Amateur filmmaker and pioneering breeder Claudia Lea Phelps celebrates West Highland Terriers Robert Irvine, Ch. R. Reel, and Madge, who takes a bath.
(Fredrick C. Adams Film Collection)
circa1956, United States The wedding and its aftermath.
(Fredrick C. Adams Film Collection)
circa1930, Boston, Massachusetts; Halifax and Grand-Pre, Nova Scotia, Canada With their friends the Hunts, the Adams family journeys from Boston to Nova Scotia in their Prohibition Era home movie.
(General)
12/14/1926, Columbia, SC An amateur filmmaker, possibly Boy Scout Troop leader Bill Czarnitsky, records celebrations for the fiftieth anniversary of Wade Hampton's inauguration as South Carolina Governor. MIRC welcomes information about the filmmaker, persons, or events depi...
(General)
90seconds, 08/18/1980, Columbia, South Carolina Dr. Grace Jordan McFadden interviews Judge Matthew J. Perry in this excerpt from the series Quest for Human / Civil Rights--Oral Recollections of Black South Carolinians, produced by the University of South Carolina.
(Heyward Gibbes Home Movies)
223seconds, circa1926, Pawleys Island, South Carolina Family members enjoy time at the shore.
(Heyward Gibbes Home Movies)
345seconds, circa1929, Columbia, South Carolina USC facing an unknown opponent at Melton field. MIRC welcomes any information about the game.
(Heyward Gibbes Home Movies)
240seconds, circa1930, Columbia, South Carolina Pointers at work, followed by South Carolina under snow.
(Heyward Gibbes Home Movies)
217seconds, circa1930, Niagara Falls, New York Young Eugenia Gibbes confronts the mighty torrent with Eugenia F. Salley Gibbes.
(Heyward Gibbes Home Movies)
circa1930, Columbia, South Carolina Young Eugenia Gibbes dances in the family garden.
(Heyward Gibbes Home Movies)
04/24/1930, Columbia, South Carolina Opening day at Owens Field, Columbia's municipal airport, including areal views of the city.
(Heyward Gibbes Home Movies)
123seconds, circa1935, Columbia, South Carolina According to family legend, this houseguest fell off the table while dancing. To aid her recovery, her bed was rolled out into the sunshine.
(Heyward Gibbes Home Movies)
226seconds, circa1936, South Carolina Views of dove hunting with dogs, a large house, and a swamp.
(Heyward Gibbes Home Movies)
167seconds, circa1936, Pawleys Island, South Carolina This clip follows family members from Greene Street in Columbia to the shore.
(Heyward Gibbes Home Movies)
224seconds, circa1936, South Carolina Fishing for mullet on a commercial boat. Susan Gibbes and May Belser face the camera at Pawleys Island.
(Heyward Gibbes Home Movies)
circa1926, Pawleys Island, South Carolina Selections from home movies of a family trip to the beach featuring a prodigious crab harvest.
(Heyward Gibbes Home Movies)
146seconds, circa1936, Columbia, South Carolina Eugenia Gibbes and her mother play with a puppy.
(Heyward Gibbes Home Movies)
237seconds, 04/18/1928, Columbia, South Carolina Bobby Jones and Watts Gunn face Hugh Fitzpatrick and Fred Hyatt in an exhibition match at the Ridgewood Club.
(Heyward Gibbes Home Movies)
286seconds, unknown date, United States Commercially produced film purchased by the Gibbes family analyzing Bobby Jone's golf stroke.
(Heyward Gibbes Home Movies)
189seconds, circa1926, Beaufort and Hunting Island, South Carolina Irvin Belser and Beverly Herbert enjoy Hunting Island. Views of the tombstone of W. P. Gibbes in Beaufort.
(Heyward Gibbes Home Movies)
98seconds, circa1928, Columbia, South Carolina Young Eugenia Gibbes spars with James Heyward Gibbes in this excerpt from a longer reel.
(Heyward Gibbes Home Movies)
137seconds, circa1928, Pawleys Island, South Carolina The girls seem to be have a particularly good time during this visit to the beach.
(Heyward Gibbes Home Movies)
224seconds, circa1928, Columbia, South Carolina Children preform various dances on Valley Park
(Heyward Gibbes Home Movies)
202seconds, circa1928, Columbia, South Carolina Boats race on Forest Lake as seen from the club there.
(Heyward Gibbes Home Movies)
203seconds, circa1928, Pawleys Island, South Carolina The young men seem to be having a particularly good time during this visit to the beach.
(Heyward Gibbes Home Movies)
199seconds, 1929, Columbia, South Carolina The Congaree River spills over its banks into the Olympia Mills neighborhood. Residents effect rescue operations.
(Lever-Karst Home Movies)
70seconds, circa1957, Indianapolis, Indiana Family trip to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with scenes of the museum and the track. (catalog reference # SCAR-1003).
(Lever-Karst Home Movies)
unknown date, unknown Young revelers in spectacular colors celebrate spring. (Catalog reference #SCAR 1037.)
(Scott Nixon Home Movies)
190seconds, circa1958, Augusta, Georgia The festival associated with the tournament as seen by Augusta's own Scott Nixon. (Cat. Ref. MCLS 3166)
(Scott Nixon Home Movies)
141seconds, circa1958, Augusta, Georgia Amateur filmmaker and proud Augusta resident Scott Nixon films the event. Robert Tyre "Bobby" Jones greets fans from his seat. (Cat. Ref. MCLS 3167)
(Scott Nixon Home Movies)
1955, Las Vegas, Nevada Downtown and numerous local attractions documented by amateur filmmaker Scott Nixon (cat. ref. MCLS 3290).
(Scott Nixon Home Movies)
unknown date, various In this clip, Augusta, GA amatuer filmmaker Scott Nixon displays a variety of locomotives (cat. ref. MCLS 3300).
(South Carolina Arts Commission Collection)
1973 A clip from Blaine Dunlap's 22 min. documentary about Dallas street-cleaner Stanley Maupin. Dunlap runs the Southeast Video Preservation Center and helped bring the the South Carolina Arts Commission Collection to MIRC. Click here for the entire film...
(USC Athletic Department Films)
10/20/1979, Columbia, South Carolina Gamecocks defeat OleMiss 21 to 14 (cat. ref. SPRT 1257).
Science and Nature Films
(Roman Vishniac Collection)
unknown date, New York, New York Outtakes of pioneering microcinematographer Roman Vishniac at work in his apartment laboratory.
(Roman Vishniac Collection)
142seconds, circa1971 Vishniac describes the importance of studying nature in this excerpt from ABC's newsmagazine program "Directions," which includes examples of his films and photographs of the microscopic world.
(South Carolina Wildlife Department Films)
unknown date, South Carolina This clip introduces the Department of Wildlife's paean to Carolina's swamps.