HOME MOVIES: WW2 ERA SILENT

Genre: home movie

Format: 16mm

Description: This home movie, a silent film from WWII, shows a military wedding taking place at West Point, the U.S. Army military academy. A portion of it was also shot at Fort Meade, Maryland. Towards the end of the film, it appears to show some combat training footage from Fort Meade. The film starts outside of the West Point chapel is seen at (:10) as the guests; mainly comprised of cadets, military personnel and their families, walk up towards the entrance (:20). The bride and groom stand near the entryway of the church with the flower girl and bridesmaids bringing up the rear (1:06). The military wedding tradition of the arch of sabers is shown as the groomsmen hold swords above the bride and groom (1:24). The reception follows as one of the female guests passes out pieces of the wedding cake to guests (3:29). At (4:08) an African American waiter in whites strides across the grounds with plates. The bride then holds her bouquet as a few bridesmaids inspect it (4:27). Just as guests are seen milling around the grounds of the reception area the film then turns to combat training footage (4:59). This material likely dates from prior to WWII, as horse drawn artillery is shown at (7:53). The footage shows an armored personnel carrier or M3 Scout Car riding along the grounds (6:35) and enlisted men in small armored vehicles (7:02). Soldiers march in formation (7:31). A calvary soldier trots along side the enlisted men transporting weaponry and supplies (7:49). The sign for the US Military Reservation at Fort Meade follows (8:06) as the wraps up with images of flower blossoms and a small glider plane flying low over water (11:10).

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