California-1953: Large Ship Passing Behind a Steel Waterfront Tower

Catalog date: estimated · Catalog location: estimated. Review source evidence · Request a source quality check

$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.

Year1953
Decade1950s
LocationCalifornia, United States
Duration10s
Price$149 USD
Collection1953 · California, United States
StatusStockfilm Exclusive

$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.

From the same film reel

1953–1956 · California & San Diego · Reel 76d62872 contains 14 published Stockfilm-exclusive clips. Watch them in reel order and review the available reel documentation.

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Same year and place1953 · California, United StatesExplore footage →Across the archiveFilmed in 1953Explore the year →Across the yearsCalifornia, United StatesExplore the place →

What is in this clip

maritime transport
waterfront leisure
recreational fishing
harbor activity
postwar everyday life
industrial infrastructure

Shot type: wide
Camera: handheld · Approximately eye-level view from shore across the water
Setting: outdoor · Working harbor waterfront with anglers, parked automobiles and a steel lattice tower
Time and weather: daytime · indeterminate · Hazy, with no visible precipitation
Lighting: Soft daylight with subdued contrast
People: 10 · Approximately ten small or partially obscured figures stand or sit along the waterfront; several hold fishing rods, and faces are indistinct.
Vehicles: large ship with cargo booms · rounded parked sedan · partially visible parked automobile
Objects: steel lattice tower · fishing rods · ship funnel · cargo booms · masts · ship superstructure · smoke plume · harbor water
Colors: gray · blue-gray · muted green · cream · brown
Master dimensions: 3840 × 2160
Audio: Silent
Date confidence: Low
Location confidence: Low

Moments in the footage

Select a time to watch that moment in the preview.

The ship's hull and cargo booms fill the background behind anglers and parked cars.
The pale superstructure becomes more prominent to the left of the steel tower.
Smoke trails from the funnel above the passing vessel.
The superstructure occupies the center while fishing continues along the foreground.

Large Ship Passing Behind a Steel Waterfront Tower — Clip Details

Probably California, circa 1953 home movie footage shows a large ship passing a waterfront lined with anglers and parked cars. Cargo booms rise above the dark hull, while a pale superstructure and smoking funnel move into clearer view. A tall steel lattice tower partially blocks the vessel on the right. The single wide shot holds the shoreline foreground with slight camera movement as people continue fishing beside the water.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: commercial and editorial use
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 10s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 800004899

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 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: California, 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: This circa 1953 waterfront view suits documentary requests for postwar harbor traffic with shore fishing and period automobiles in the same composition.
Period detail: Rounded sedans, casual shirts and trousers, cargo booms and a smoking funnel support the circa 1953 estimate without fixing an exact date.
Home-movie behavior: The amateur camera watches a passing vessel while nearby anglers continue their ordinary activity without visibly posing.
What appears in frame: A dark hull spans the water behind fishing figures, rounded parked cars, a steel lattice tower, raised cargo booms and a pale ship superstructure.
Film character: Muted color, grain, scattered dust marks, soft projected detail and slight handheld drift give the capture its small-gauge archival texture.
Edit role: Use the continuous passage as a maritime establishing shot, waterfront cutaway or transition between transport and leisure sequences.
Historical context: The composition places recreational shore fishing and parked automobiles immediately beside large-vessel harbor activity.
Research note: People, vehicles and a vessel are visible with indistinct faces and no readable names; copyright licensing is separate from any applicable likeness or property permissions.
Research search match: The clip answers searches for circa 1953 harbor home movies, a smoking ship funnel, cargo booms and anglers beside parked waterfront cars.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with this reel's anglers and naval ship or waterfront seafood business, then probable California footage around circa 1953, followed by broader harbor and shore-fishing scenes.

Still Frames From This Clip

Probably California, circa 1953: cargo booms rise over a passing ship behind a steel waterfront tower, anglers and a rounded sedan. — Raised cargo booms and a long hull appear behind the waterfront fishing spot.
License this still · $49

Probably California, circa 1953: the pale superstructure of a passing vessel emerges beside cargo booms as people fish near parked cars. — The pale superstructure becomes clearer to the left of the foreground tower.
License this still · $49

Probably California, circa 1953: a ship's smoking funnel and pale upper decks pass behind anglers, a rounded sedan and a steel tower. — A smoke plume extends from the funnel as the vessel passes the fishing area.
License this still · $49

Probably California, circa 1953: a large vessel's superstructure fills the harbor background while an angler holds a rod beside parked automobiles. — The passing superstructure fills the background while an angler remains at the water's edge.
License this still · $49

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