Albany New York USA-1937: Polar Bear Plunge In Vintage Black And White

$149 · CommercialDirect license: commercial and editorial use. $149 flat from Stockfilm. Royalty-free worldwide license for commercial and editorial use, delivered as the restored 4K master.

Year1937
Decade1930s
LocationAlbany, New York, United States
Duration5s
Price$149 USD
Collection1937 Albany New York

$149 · CommercialDirect license: commercial and editorial use

$149 USD flat · royalty-free worldwide · 4K restored master (MP4)

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Stockfilm licenses the rights identified in the applicable agreement. Additional use-specific review may be required. See the Licensing Guide and Archive Integrity.

Polar Bear Plunge In Vintage Black And White — Clip Details

Vintage 8mm black and white footage from Albany, New York, 1937, captures a group of people gathered on a wooden platform at the edge of a frozen lake. Dressed in heavy winter coats and hats, they prepare for a polar bear plunge into icy water. The grainy, high-contrast film shows the stark winter landscape with snow-covered ground and bare trees. A person in a swimsuit is visible at the edge of the platform, ready to jump. The scene conveys a sense of communal winter tradition and historical nostalgia, preserved in classic home movie style.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Shot details: Black & white
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: commercial and editorial use
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 5s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 120806199

Rights & Clearance

$149 · Commercial Direct license: commercial and editorial use. $149 flat from Stockfilm. Royalty-free worldwide license for commercial and editorial use, delivered as the restored 4K master.

Editorial use is the safest path. For commercial use, a clearance review is recommended for the flags below.

People visible: Yes
Minors visible: No
Logos / trademarks: No
Audible music: No

Flags come from automated catalog metadata, not a legal opinion. The source is an original 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie reel. For high-stakes commercial use, request a full rights review.

Source & Documentation

Source reel: Reel record not linked for this clip
Date: 1937 Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Date evidence: Catalog estimate based on source metadata and visual or technical evidence; no reel-level note is linked.
Location: Albany, New York, United States Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Location evidence: Catalog estimate based on source metadata and visual evidence such as signage, landmarks, or terrain; no reel-level note is linked.
Licensing route: Direct license available from Stockfilm

Confidence labels are defined on Archive Integrity. Fields without a recorded value are shown as not recorded rather than assumed.

Open Clip Documentation Record Request source information

Topics & Keywords

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: 1930s archival home-movie footage useful for documentary or educational sequences about winter recreation, cold-water swimming traditions, and community activity in Albany, New York.
Period detail: The heavy overcoats, brimmed hats, wooden lakeside platform, snow cover, and black-and-white 8mm texture support a late-1930s winter setting while specific site details are not identifiable from the frames.
Home-movie behavior: The clip has unstaged home-movie value in the way bundled spectators cluster close together on a simple platform beside icy water to watch or prepare for a plunge.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include a snow-covered shoreline, bare winter trees, a wooden dock or platform, a group of dark-coated spectators, a swimmer or lightly dressed figure near the platform edge, and dark open water below.
Film character: The footage carries a high-contrast black-and-white 8mm look with soft focus, visible grain, slight blur, and a handheld framing that emphasizes its physical-film origin.
Edit role: An editor could use this as a brief insert, transition, or memory beat for winter recreation, local tradition, outdoor endurance, or Depression-era community life.
Historical context: The scene shows a small public gathering around an icy-water activity, offering social context for communal winter leisure without identifying a specific club, event, or landmark.
Research note: People and likely faces are visible at a distance, so copyright status should be assessed separately from likeness, privacy, and any location or event-identification concerns.
Research search match: Relevant searches include 1930s Albany winter home movie, vintage polar bear plunge, black-and-white 8mm icy swimming, snow-covered dock gathering, and Depression-era outdoor recreation footage.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent footage from the same reel, then with other Albany or 1937 winter scenes, and then with broader archival clips of cold-water swimming, snow, docks, and community gatherings.

Still Frames From This Clip

In 1937 Albany home-movie footage, several bundled figures gather on a wooden lakeside platform with snow-covered ground and bare trees behind them. — Spectators gather on a snowy platform by icy water.

A cluster of people in dark winter clothing stands on a wooden platform in the snowy Albany winter scene, with open water visible below the structure. — Group clustered on the dock during the winter plunge scene.

A lightly dressed figure appears near bundled spectators on the wooden platform, consistent with the described polar bear plunge setting in Albany, New York, 1937. — Lightly dressed participant near bundled spectators.

The final frame shows bundled spectators grouped on a wooden platform over dark water, with snow and bare trees reinforcing the 1937 Albany winter setting. — Bundled group stands above the icy water.

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