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Special Release - Zeppelin Explodes Scores Dead, 1937/05/10 (1937)

"Lakehurst, NJ: Thirty-five persons die and scores of others are injured as the mighty dirigible explodes three hundred feet over the landing field at the end of her first voyage of the season from Europe. A terrific burst of flame engulfs the stern of the ship and spreads with the rapidity of lightning to the bow. The inferno of blazing hydrogen gas cremates all living beings in its path, as the twisted skeleton of the balloon settles quickly to the ground. Rescue crews brave death to save sixty-three persons, some of them horribly burned." scenes of Hindenburg burning with narration.


This movie is part of the collection: Universal Newsreels

Production Company: Universal Studios
Audio/Visual: sound, b&w

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: OpWo45 - - September 29, 2005
Subject: newsreel format vs raw uncut footage
As a young woman growing up near Perth Amboy, NJ the stories of the Hindenburg disaster were local history and I remember going with my father to the actual site where we viewed a fairly lengthy uncut bit of on site footage, including the famous newsreel reporter's emotional coverage describing the event as it unfolded. This clip is clearly an edited and less dramatic version marked for public distribution at the time (it was not until sometime after the Viet Nam war public broadcast of certain types of disasters breeched the censors. the public at large was deemed to have too fragile a mentality to be allowed uncut film footage showing the sensationalism of death or mass destruction)and does not carry the impact of the original footage, however is still effective and quite moving.