South Dakota-1953: Mount Rushmore on Clear Day

$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.

Year1953
Decade1950s
LocationSouth Dakota, United States
Duration6s
Price$149 USD
Collection1953 South Dakota

$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.

Mount Rushmore on Clear Day — Clip Details

Shot on 8mm film in 1953, this vintage home movie captures Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota on a clear day. The footage begins with dark, obscured frames before revealing the iconic monument under a bright blue sky, with tree silhouettes framing the view. The image quality reflects the era’s Super 8 film stock, showing natural grain and slight color shifts typical of 1950s home movies. This archival clip offers a nostalgic glimpse of a classic American landmark during a mid-century family vacation.

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, 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: 127721728

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.

No recognizable people, logos, or music are flagged. Editorial use only; commercial use is not offered for this clip.

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 record not linked for this clip
Date: 1953 Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Date evidence: Catalog estimate based on source metadata and visual or technical evidence; no reel-level note is linked.
Location: South Dakota, United States Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Location evidence: Catalog estimate based on source metadata and visual evidence such as signage, landmarks, or terrain; no reel-level note is linked.
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: 1950s 8mm home-movie footage for productions needing a brief visitor-view glimpse of Mount Rushmore as a mid-century American travel landmark.
Period detail: The saturated blue sky, deep shadow, handheld framing, and 8mm color texture support the 1953 home-movie dating supplied in the clip metadata.
Home-movie behavior: The clip offers an unstaged tourist viewpoint, with the monument seen through trees and partial obstruction as a visitor’s camera finds the landmark.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include Mount Rushmore’s carved faces, dark tree silhouettes, bright blue sky, heavy shadow, partial frame masking, and a small distant visitor shape.
Film character: The footage has dense grain, high contrast, uneven exposure, slight color shift, and handheld reframing characteristic of scanned mid-century 8mm film.
Edit role: An editor could use this as a short cutaway, travel-memory insert, or transition into a sequence about American road trips, monuments, or family vacations.
Historical context: The view places Mount Rushmore within a visitor landscape of trees, shadow, and open sky, without adding claims beyond the visible memorial setting.
Research note: No faces, brands, or private interiors are identifiable, but users should still review copyright status and any location or property considerations for their use.
Research search match: Useful search matches include 1950s 8mm Mount Rushmore home movie, South Dakota vacation footage, vintage national memorial travel shot, and mid-century landmark cutaway.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent shots from the same reel, then other 1953 South Dakota or Mount Rushmore footage, then broader 1950s family vacation landmark scenes.

Still Frames From This Clip

Dark opening frame from a 1953 8mm South Dakota travel clip, with only faint tree shapes visible before the monument appears. — Obscured opening frame with dark foliage and minimal visible detail.

Mount Rushmore appears in a 1953 South Dakota home-movie frame, partly blocked by dark tree silhouettes beneath a clear blue sky. — Mount Rushmore emerges through shadowed trees under a bright blue sky.

1953 8mm view of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, with the carved faces framed by shadowed trees and saturated blue sky. — The carved faces of Mount Rushmore are framed by trees and deep shadow.

Shadowed 1953 South Dakota home-movie frame showing Mount Rushmore, dark trees, blue sky, and a small distant visitor-like figure below. — Mount Rushmore remains partly in shadow, with trees and a small distant visitor shape below.

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