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Home/Browse/California USA-1952: Vintage 8mm Footage Of A Massive Dam In The Desert

California USA-1952: Vintage 8mm Footage Of A Massive Dam In The Desert

$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.

  • Year1952
  • Decade1950s
  • LocationCalifornia, United States
  • Duration5s
  • Price$149 USD

$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.

Vintage 8mm Footage Of A Massive Dam In The Desert — Clip Details

Shot on 8mm film in 1952, this vintage footage captures a massive concrete dam structure in a rugged desert landscape. The camera pans across the dam's distinctive towers and spillway, with rocky cliffs rising behind. The film exhibits classic Super 8 grain, color shifts, and a slightly faded quality, evoking mid-century Americana. No vehicles or people are visible, focusing instead on the engineering marvel and its natural surroundings.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format
8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Resolution
4K restored master (MP4)
License
Direct license: commercial and editorial use
Delivery
Instant Digital Download
Duration
5s
Price
$149 USD
Clip ID
123338846

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.

No recognizable people, logos, or music are flagged. Lower-risk for commercial use, subject to your own review.

  • People 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 1234 · 8mm · 5″ reel
Original reel label
miss universe
Reel-level year note
1952
Reel-level location note
california
Date
1952 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
California, 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 contextOpen Clip Documentation RecordRequest source information

Topics & Keywords

  • informational
  • archived
  • 1950s
  • desert
  • dam
  • car
  • crossing
  • nature
  • new orleans to pacific trip
  • 1952
  • 1952 dam footage
  • California dam
  • 8mm film
  • vintage 1950s
  • desert landscape
  • concrete dam
  • archival footage
  • historical infrastructure
  • mid-century America
  • engineering marvel
  • rocky cliffs
  • vintage film
  • old film
  • nostalgic
  • architecture
  • construction
  • old footage

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit
1950s California 8mm dam footage suited for documentary, museum, education, or editorial requests about mid-century infrastructure in a desert landscape.
Period detail
The frames may show mid-century visitor-shot views of a large concrete dam with intake towers, a roadway or deck, rocky desert cliffs, and deep water below.
Home-movie behavior
The clip carries a visitor-shot home-movie perspective, panning across the dam structure rather than staging action or identifiable people.
What appears in frame
Visible elements include concrete intake towers, a bridge-like deck, vertical supports, dark reservoir water, rocky desert slopes, and railings along the dam.
Film character
The 8mm scan shows soft focus, visible grain, slight color shift, uneven exposure, and frame-edge darkness consistent with physical home-movie film.
Edit role
An editor could use this as a brief infrastructure cutaway, travel transition, desert engineering insert, or memory beat within a 1950s road-trip sequence.
Historical context
The footage visually places a large dam within an arid western landscape, reflecting mid-century public-infrastructure tourism without naming a specific landmark.
Research note
No people, logos, or brands are visible, but copyright, location identification, and any property or agency permissions should be reviewed for intended use.
Research search match
Useful search matches include 1950s 8mm California dam footage, desert reservoir home movie, vintage concrete dam towers, and mid-century infrastructure travel film.
Archive pairing path
Pair first with the same reel or trip material, then other California 1952 footage, then broader 1950s dam, reservoir, desert, or road-trip sequences.

Still Frames From This Clip

1952 California 8mm frame showing concrete dam intake towers, a deck, vertical supports, reservoir water, and rocky desert terrain.
Concrete dam towers stand over dark water with rocky desert slopes in the background.
1952 California 8mm frame of a concrete dam structure with twin towers, elevated deck, dark water, and rugged desert cliffs.
A dam tower and elevated deck cross the reservoir below rocky desert cliffs.
1952 California 8mm frame showing a concrete dam tower in the foreground, a roadway or deck, reservoir water, and rocky desert hillside.
The camera frames a concrete tower and dam deck against a rocky hillside.
1952 California 8mm frame showing a dam wall, concrete intake tower, dark reservoir water, and rugged desert rock formations.
A concrete dam wall and tower stretch across dark reservoir water beneath desert rock formations.

Visually Similar Clips

← Previous in archiveCalifornia USA-1952: Hoover Dam Completed With Intake Towers And Water ViewNext in archive →California USA-1952: Exterior Of Hydro Dam Against Grey Rock Formation With
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