San Francisco California-1939: Passengers Smiling and Waving on Ship Deck

$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.

Year1939
Decade1930s
LocationSan Francisco, California, United States
Duration6s
Price$149 USD
Collection1939 California

$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.

Passengers Smiling and Waving on Ship Deck — Clip Details

Shot on 8mm film in 1939, this vintage home movie captures passengers aboard a ship, likely departing from San Francisco. Men in fedoras and suits, along with women in period attire, peer from the deck, some smiling and waving. The grainy black-and-white footage, framed by the camera's vignette, evokes a nostalgic, historic atmosphere of mid-20th century travel. The scene suggests a family or group journey, with individuals engaged in quiet observation or farewell gestures. This archival clip offers authentic, unscripted moments of everyday life during the era, perfect for documentaries, historical projects, or nostalgic content.

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: 6s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 127270387

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 1166 · 8mm · 5″ reel
Original reel label: may
Reel-level year note: 1939
Reel-level location note: california
Date: 1939 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: San Francisco, 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 context Open Clip Documentation Record Request source information

Topics & Keywords

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Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: Archival 1930s travel footage for productions needing a brief ship-deck farewell or passenger departure moment tied to San Francisco metadata.
Period detail: Men in brimmed hats and suits, women in period dress, and an open ship-deck rail may show late-1930s passenger travel style.
Home-movie behavior: The value is in unstaged faces at the rail, with passengers looking toward the camera and some appearing to wave or smile during a departure-like moment.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include ship windows, deck railing, suited men in hats, women near the rail, hanging rigging or davit lines, and dark 8mm frame edges.
Film character: The black-and-white 8mm scan has soft focus, visible grain, vignetting, gate edges, and slight handheld instability that read as physical home-movie texture.
Edit role: An editor could use this as a short insert, farewell cutaway, travel transition, or memory beat within a sequence about prewar passenger journeys.
Historical context: The scene visually suggests everyday civilian travel or sendoff behavior, but the footage does not identify the vessel, passengers, route, or event.
Research note: People's faces are visible, so likeness and privacy review may be needed in addition to checking copyright status and any collection license terms.
Research search match: Useful search matches include 1939 San Francisco home movie ship passengers, 8mm deck farewell, 1930s ocean travel, and vintage people waving from ship.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent shots from the same reel, then other 1939 San Francisco travel footage, then broader ship-departure or passenger-farewell scenes.

Still Frames From This Clip

1939 San Francisco home-movie frame showing passengers on a ship deck, including men in hats and a woman near the rail. — Passengers gather behind the ship railing, some facing the camera from the deck.

1939 San Francisco frame of passengers at a ship rail, including a man in a light hat and figures looking outward. — A man in a light hat stands beside other passengers along the ship deck.

1939 San Francisco home-movie view of ship passengers at the rail, partly obscured by dark 8mm frame edges. — Passengers remain at the rail, partly obscured by the camera frame and ship rigging.

1939 San Francisco ship-deck frame with passengers looking out from the rail and a man in a light hat at the side. — Passengers look out from the deck as the camera catches the ship rail and hanging line.

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