New York USA-1938: Search Party in the Woods

$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.

Year1938
Decade1930s
LocationNew York, United States
Duration5s
Price$149 USD

$149 · CommercialDirect license: commercial and editorial use

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

Need 10+ clips? Send your brief and get a curated shortlist →

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

Search Party in the Woods — Clip Details

Shot on 8mm film in 1938, this vintage home movie captures a group of men in overcoats and hats gathered in a wooded area, likely a search party. The grainy black-and-white footage shows them standing and crouching among bare trees, their silhouettes stark against a bright sky. The handheld camera movement and natural lighting suggest an impromptu, documentary-style recording of a rural event. The scene evokes a sense of historical urgency and quiet determination, with the men appearing focused and engaged in their task. This archival footage offers a rare glimpse into everyday life and community efforts in New York during the late 1930s.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Shot details: ExteriorBlack & white
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: commercial and editorial use
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 5s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 123040154

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 1921 · 8mm · 3″ reel
Original reel label: vacation,rutledge,marble quary
Reel-level year note: 1938
Reel-level location note: elyria ohio,gordham new york
Date: 1938 Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Date evidence: Catalog estimate. A reel-level note shows the same year, but the clip-to-reel link is itself a catalog match, so this is not counted as independent confirmation.
Location: New York, United States Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Location evidence: Catalog estimate. A reel-level location note is linked, but the clip-to-reel link is itself a catalog match, so this is not counted as independent confirmation.
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.

View source reel context Open Clip Documentation Record Request source information

Topics & Keywords

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: This clip suits 1930s New York archive requests needing a brief home-movie view of men gathered in winter woods, possibly for documentary inserts about community search or rural outdoor activity.
Period detail: Men in brimmed hats, overcoats, tall socks or boots, and dense bare woodland may show late-1930s outdoor clothing and informal group activity consistent with the 1938 metadata.
Home-movie behavior: The footage has unstaged value in its close, uneven view of men standing, crouching, and moving through brush as if the camera operator is part of the group.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include adult men in hats and coats, bare tree branches, tangled undergrowth, boots or tall socks, a bright sky, and dark 8mm frame edges.
Film character: The black-and-white 8mm image carries heavy grain, contrasty exposure, soft focus, handheld framing, and contact-frame borders that preserve its physical home-movie texture.
Edit role: An editor could use this as a short cutaway, transition, or memory beat suggesting a rural search, outdoor gathering, or tense community effort in the late 1930s.
Historical context: The scene visually places adult men in a wooded setting, but the exact purpose of the gathering is not confirmed beyond the search-party description in the supplied metadata.
Research note: People and some faces are visible, so likeness review may be needed; no logos, music, private interiors, or clear private property are visible, and copyright status must be checked separately.
Research search match: Useful searches include 1938 New York 8mm home movie woods, men in overcoats search party, Depression-era rural gathering, and vintage black-and-white outdoor footage.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with other shots from the same reel, then with 1938 New York outdoor material, then with broader archival themes of woods, community action, and informal search activity.

Still Frames From This Clip

1938 New York home-movie frame showing adult men in dark coats and hats gathered outdoors near bare trees and brush. — Men gather at the wooded edge, partly silhouetted against the bright sky.

Adult men in coats and hats appear to push through tangled brush in a wooded New York setting, based on the supplied metadata. — Men bend into heavy brush among leafless branches.

Grainy 8mm frame of a crouching adult man partly obscured by trees and brush during the wooded outdoor scene. — A figure crouches in thick undergrowth between tree trunks.

Adult man viewed from behind in a wooded area, framed by branches and wearing dark outdoor clothing with light socks or gaiters. — A man stands amid branches as the camera looks through the brush.

Visually Similar Clips