San Francisco California-1939: Black And White Footage Of Old United Airlines

$149 · Editorial onlyDirect license: editorial use only. $149 flat from Stockfilm for documentary, news and educational use, plus internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement.

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

$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, educational, internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement. 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.

Black And White Footage Of Old United Airlines — Clip Details

San Francisco, California - 1939: Black and white 8mm home movie footage captures a United Airlines passenger plane on the tarmac. A uniformed ground crew member walks near the aircraft as the camera pans across the fuselage, highlighting the classic United Air Lines logo and vintage propeller design. The grainy, slightly shaky footage reflects authentic 1930s home movie style, with visible film edges and soft focus. This archival clip offers a nostalgic glimpse into early commercial aviation history.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Shot details: Black & white
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: editorial use only Editorial use only: documentary, news, educational, internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement.
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 6s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 127270483

Rights & Clearance

$149 · Editorial only Direct license: editorial use only. Editorial use only: documentary, news, educational, internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement.

Editorial use only; commercial use is not offered for this clip. Review the flags below for your editorial context.

People visible: Yes
Minors visible: No
Logos / trademarks: Yes
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: Useful for documentary or educational requests needing 1930s commercial aviation footage with a United Air Lines aircraft on an airport tarmac.
Period detail: The aircraft livery, propeller engine, monochrome 8mm look, and United Air Lines logo support a late-1930s aviation setting consistent with the 1939 metadata.
Home-movie behavior: The clip has the value of an observer’s handheld airport view, lingering on the fuselage, logo, stairs, and nearby ground staff rather than a staged scene.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include a United Air Lines fuselage, passenger stairs, a uniformed ground crew member, cabin windows, a propeller engine, wing surface, and film-frame edges.
Film character: The footage shows strong 8mm grain, soft focus, uneven exposure, slight shake, and contact-frame edges that preserve the texture of original home-movie film.
Edit role: An editor could use this as a short insert, transport-history cutaway, airport transition, or memory beat for prewar passenger aviation.
Historical context: The frames show commercial air travel as viewed from close range on the tarmac, with branding, aircraft hardware, and ground activity visible in everyday detail.
Research note: United branding and a visible worker suggest trademark and likeness review may be needed, separate from any copyright or footage-licensing assessment.
Research search match: Matches searches for 1939 San Francisco 8mm airport footage, United Air Lines plane, vintage passenger aircraft, and 1930s commercial aviation home movies.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent same-reel airport shots, then other San Francisco 1939 material, then broader 1930s aviation, travel, and transportation footage.

Still Frames From This Clip

United Air Lines logo and passenger stairs beside the aircraft fuselage.

Uniformed ground crew member passes the aircraft stairs below the United Air Lines logo.

Blurred foreground figure crosses near the United Air Lines aircraft fuselage.

1939 San Francisco frame showing the aircraft nose, propeller, cabin windows, wing surface, and partial Mainliner lettering. — The camera pans along the aircraft toward the nose, propeller, wing, and Mainliner lettering.

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