United States-1940: Two Young Women Walk Past a Utility Pole and Stop on a Path

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit

Helps a documentary or museum producer who needs candid American footage of young women walking outdoors circa 1940.

Period detail

Mid-calf skirts, a belted cardigan and a long plaid coat may show late-1930s everyday dress, and a wooden utility pole lines the path.

Home-movie behavior

The pair stroll and then pause, seemingly aware of the camera, giving an unstaged glimpse of friends spending time together.

What appears in frame

Two young women, one in a plaid coat, walk past a wooden utility pole with a white tag beside a curbed path, with trees and a slatted fence behind.

Film character

Black-and-white grain, soft vignetted corners and a handheld pan that smears the background give the shot an authentic amateur-film texture.

Edit role

Works as a short memory beat or cutaway that softens a sequence about military drill or campus life around 1940.

Historical context

The clothing reflects everyday dress of young American women in the late 1930s, recorded when 8mm and 16mm amateur cameras were both available.

Research note

Copyright in the film is separate from likeness rights; the two women are unidentified and their faces are partly visible, so likeness use should be considered.

Research search match

Researchers may find it under black-and-white home movie of two women walking circa 1940, or prewar American women in skirts and plaid coat.

Archive pairing path

Open with the reel's cadets drilling with rifles and the officers walking a campus street, then add other late-1930s American college footage and period scenes of friends strolling outdoors.