Armed Forces Day at Selfridge Air Force Base, Michigan draws a large crowd of visitors who find the army Globemaster a point of attraction. But the real guest of honour is the Chrysler built Redstone guided missile, one of the newest in the arsenal of the atomic age. In honour of the day some of the newest jets put on a show. At Eglin air force base in Florida, the dramatic destruction of a B17 bomber - a Scorpion attack plane launches its rockets. Unscheduled however is this crash landing of a (goodler) jet on board the carrier Essex. Defence department pictures show its mad spin across the flight deck and plunge into the sea. Alert sea-rescue operations are instantly mobilised and the pilot, barely missed by the carrier, is howled from the water by a helicopter after nothing more serious then a shake-up and a ducking. Slightly complicated but a happy landing for lieutenant Herbert Kent, United States Navy.


France digs in for total Algerian war

France throws the bulk of its military manpower into the Algerian rebellion which daily assumes the proportions of total war. Flying columns fan out through the country, which at all sites has become a target for local hit and run attacks by native guerrillas, and rounding up guerrillas has kept almost four hundred thousand of France's best troops pinned down. Chief sufferers in the raids have been the outlying farm communities, many of which have been razed by fire and their operators slaughtered. Whole factories have been put to the torch, even as France builds up its military establishment to peak strength. Armed depots now dot the whole Algerian landscape as French forces are deployed to provide swift striking power in a war of attrition whose end is not in sight.


News in brief

Montreal, Canada

A flower shop named in the honour of their sister Emily is formally opened by the four surviving Dione quintuplets. The shop is the first business venture the quints have undertaken since receiving their inheritance on their twenty-first birthday. Maria will run it, father Gastonzo of Ottawa universtiy gives spiritual blessing to the little store that keeps alive the name of one of the most famous babies of the century. Anette, Cecile and Ivone say good luck to sister Marie at salon Emily.


San Francisco

The walkie talkie makes its debut at a hospital. These dollar-sized two-way radios will keep doctors and nurses in constant touch with their patients. Each staff member has a wavelength, assigned to him, which is signalled by a beep on the receiver, called by an operator at the central switch board. Paging doctor X, he listens to the message and if necessary can answer the board. In the old days it used to be done by loudspeaker to the monotonous discomfort of patients. And nurse gets her own signal. And to a brand new mother it can bring the gladdest of all sounds - from a distant nursery the cry of her brand new baby.


Racing News
Pimlico, Md.

Race number two in Thurstonâs trilogy that starts in Louisville. The Preackness in old Pimlico, thirty thousand are out to see if Needles can do it again. Needles, number six, is the favorite, he won the derby. Now he has to win number two. Time will tell. And here they go! Nine three year olds off and running in the mile and 3/16th race, shorter then the derby and therein perhaps lies the story. As was the case at Louisville, Needles was favoured and Fabius was second choice, as was the case at Louisville where Fabius came in second. (..) equestrian made his move in the back stretch, like he is now. While Needles was back with the tail enders just the way he is right now. Does history repeat itself so soon, does lightning ever strike twice? With really hard tack in the irons Fabius rounds the bend and heads into the pay off stretch. Needles has made his move as Fabius bankers recalls what he did at (Churchill downs) and pulses begin to tingle now as it begins to look like a derby repeat. Here comes Needles on the outside gaining with every yard, but this is the Preakness - a shorter race, remember, and the yards run out. History does not repeat itself. Fabius is the winner in the best performance of his career. Eighty-four thousand dollars richer while Needles settles for second and twenty-five thousand. So Fabius brings joy to his routers, come to mama, but spoils Needles bet for racing's big three, depends on how you look at it, or whom you pick. Right now, they are tossing kisses to Fabius - the prime of the Preakness. Love that Fabius. Fabulous!


Camden, New Jersey

At Garden State Park, a millionaire has his picture taken before going on the ramp. Nashua, the big (bred) colt whose purchase price topped a million dollars is out to set another money mark. Whit his favourite jockey Eddie Arcaro in the saddle, Nashua hopes to win the Camden Handicap and boost its earnings above the old million plus figures set by the great Citation. The race is on and is expected by thirty-eight thousand onlookers. It's Nashua showing his heels to the field, it's Nashua by two lengths. A victory that earns him tweny-two thousand dollars, boosting the four year old thoroughbred's total money winnings to one million one hundred thousand. That is fourteen thousand more then Citation's old mark, making Nashua the greatest money winner in tour history. Will a millionaire rest on his laurels? Nay!

Note: I am not a native speaker of English so please forgive me if I got something wrong.

Great newsreel that opens up with Armed Forces Day at an air base, features shot of a Redstone missile, aerial footage of a robot-controlled B-17 shot down, and an awesome shot of a crash landing on the USS Essex. Next come three stories about the civil war in Algeria, a Dionne quint opens up a flower shop, and a dumb segment about hospital pagers/walkie-talkies. The newsreel ends with two excellent horse racing stories. Kentucky Derby winner Needles was favored to win the Preakness, but was beaten by Fabius. The last film clip shows Nashua winning the Camden Handicap at Garden State Park to surpass Citation as the richest race horse in history.

Another 50s newsreels with Cold-War-related stories, this time about a show of weapons on Observance Day (which includes some puzzling footage of women dressed in pioneer garb) and more about the war in Algeria. Also included are stories of the surviving Dionne quintuplets opening a flower shop, doctors using walkie-talkies which buzz obnoxiously (the precursor to todayÃÂs pagers, no doubt), and two stories about horse racing. Again, this gives you a feel for what was considered newsworthy during the 50s.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.