Colombo Ceylon-1946: Taking An Elephant Off A Boat That Had Come Into The Harbor

$149 · Editorial onlyDirect license: editorial use only. $149 flat from Stockfilm for documentary, news and educational use. Not permitted in advertising, commercial or broadcast promotion.

Year1946
Decade1940s
LocationColombo, Sri Lanka
Duration5s
Price$149 USD

$149 · Editorial onlyDirect license: editorial use only

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

Before you add to cart: Editorial use only: documentary, news and educational productions. Not permitted in advertising, commercial or branded content, or broadcast promotion. Checkout will only offer editorial, educational, internal and social/web scopes.

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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.

Taking An Elephant Off A Boat That Had Come Into The Harbor — Clip Details

COLOMBO CEYLON-1946: A young elephant is carefully guided off a wooden boat onto a dock, with two men in traditional attire assisting. The scene unfolds at a bustling harbor, with the elephant's massive form dominating the frame against a backdrop of tropical trees and colonial-era buildings. Shot on 8mm film, the footage captures the vibrant colors and grainy texture of a mid-20th century home movie, offering a rare glimpse into daily life and animal handling in Ceylon during the 1940s. The camera remains steady, focusing on the interaction between the men and the elephant as it steps onto the wooden planks. This archival clip is ideal for documentaries, historical content, and nostalgic storytelling.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: editorial use only. Editorial use only: documentary, news and educational productions. Not permitted in advertising, commercial or branded content, or broadcast promotion.
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 5s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 124755476

Rights & Clearance

$149 · Editorial only Direct license: editorial use only. Editorial use only: documentary, news and educational productions. Not permitted in advertising, commercial or branded content, or broadcast promotion.

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: 1946 Estimated (Based on visual or technical evidence.)
Date evidence: Catalog estimate based on source metadata and visual or technical evidence; no independent reel-level note corroborates it.
Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka Estimated (Based on visual or technical evidence.)
Location evidence: Catalog estimate based on source metadata and visual evidence such as signage, landmarks, or terrain; no independent reel-level note corroborates it.
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: 1940s Colombo harbor home-movie footage for productions needing colonial-era Ceylon port activity, animal handling, or maritime travel context.
Period detail: The frames may show a wooden harbor craft, simple dock planking, tropical shoreline buildings, and men's light clothing consistent with mid-1940s Ceylon travel footage.
Home-movie behavior: The camera observes from a close visitor perspective as men guide a young elephant near a boat, then looks out across the harbor from the vessel.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include a young elephant, two men, wooden boat planks, rigging lines, harbor water, a small boat, shoreline rocks, trees, and low buildings.
Film character: The 8mm scan has soft focus, visible grain, slight exposure shifts, muted color, and contact-sheet framing that preserve the texture of physical home-movie film.
Edit role: An editor could use this as a brief insert, travel-transition beat, port cutaway, or memory fragment linking animal transport with Colombo harbor views.
Historical context: The clip visually places animal handling within a working waterfront setting, with harbor craft and shoreline buildings suggesting everyday port life rather than a staged event.
Research note: People and identifiable faces appear, so likeness review may be needed, while copyright, location, and property considerations should be assessed separately.
Research search match: Useful searches include 1940s Colombo harbor 8mm, Ceylon elephant boat footage, home movie port scene, and Sri Lanka waterfront animal handling.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent same-reel Ceylon travel shots, then Colombo or 1946 harbor material, then broader elephant handling, dock, boat, and tropical port footage.

Still Frames From This Clip

Young elephant is guided along wooden planks on a boat in Colombo, Ceylon, with men standing close by in 1946 home-movie footage. — A young elephant stands on a wooden harbor boat as men guide it near the dock.

View across Colombo harbor water toward shoreline buildings, trees, rocks, and a small boat, seen through vessel rigging lines. — The camera looks across the harbor toward a tropical shoreline and moored boat.

Colombo harbor shoreline appears beyond water and rigging, with a small boat near rocks and low buildings among trees. — A small boat sits near the rocky harbor edge below shoreline buildings.

Steady 1946 home-movie view across Colombo harbor, with rigging lines in front of a small boat, rocky shore, trees, and waterfront buildings. — Rigging frames a harbor view with a small boat and colonial-era waterfront buildings in the distance.

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