San Francisco California-1939: Passengers Waving Goodbye 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
Duration5s
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 Waving Goodbye on Ship Deck — Clip Details

Shot on 8mm film in 1939, this archival footage captures passengers aboard a ship departing from San Francisco, California. Men in suits and fedoras and women in period dresses wave from the deck as the vessel moves away. The grainy black-and-white image, framed by the film's characteristic borders, shows a mix of businessmen and families sharing a moment of farewell. The scene conveys a sense of nostalgia and historical travel, with the ship's structure and rigging visible in the foreground. This vintage home movie offers a candid glimpse into mid-20th century maritime journeys.

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: 127270394

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

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: 1930s San Francisco maritime departure footage for documentary, museum, education, or commercial edits needing a brief shipboard farewell scene.
Period detail: Men in suits and brimmed hats, women in dark coats or dresses, deck railings, rigging, and ship structure support the late-1930s travel setting described in the clip metadata.
Home-movie behavior: The value is in the candid farewell gesture, with passengers looking toward the camera and waving from the ship deck as it moves away.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include ship deck rails, white structural supports, hanging rigging, suited men in hats, women among the passengers, waving hands, and dark film-frame borders.
Film character: The 8mm black-and-white scan has soft focus, visible grain, mild exposure fluctuation, gate edges, and contact-sheet framing that preserve the home-movie texture.
Edit role: An editor could use this as a short insert, transition, or memory beat for ocean travel, departure, migration, vacation, or prewar-era farewell sequences.
Historical context: The scene shows a public shipboard sendoff in San Francisco, with formally dressed adults gathered at the rail in a social travel moment.
Research note: People and recognizable faces are visible, so likeness and contextual use should be reviewed separately from any copyright or footage-license questions.
Research search match: Useful search matches include 1939 San Francisco ship departure, 8mm passengers waving goodbye, 1930s ocean travel home movie, and vintage maritime farewell footage.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent shots from the same reel, then San Francisco or 1939 travel material, and then broader ship departure or farewell scenes.

Still Frames From This Clip

In 1939 San Francisco footage, adults in hats and coats stand along a ship deck railing during a departure. — Passengers gather at the rail as the ship begins its departure.

Adults aboard a departing ship in San Francisco wave from the deck beside railings and painted supports. — Passengers wave from the deck beside the ship's structural supports.

The 8mm frame shows San Francisco ship passengers near the railing, some facing the camera in a farewell moment. — A clustered group at the rail appears to look back toward the camera.

In the final frame, adults on a San Francisco ship deck wave from behind the railing as the vessel departs. — Adults continue waving from the ship deck at the end of the clip.

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