The film, shot by William Ward Warren, provides a rare, high-quality colour close-up of John and Jackie Kennedy as they arrived in Dallas. The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza put the film on display for public viewing on Presidents Day.
Gary Mack, curator at The Sixth Floor Museum calls it “the best home movie known to exist of the Kennedy arrival in Dallas on November 22, 1963” that he has ever seen.
On November 22, 1963, local television stations were broadcasting live coverage of the Kennedy arrival at Dallas Love Field airport.
At that time, media outlets nationwide were primarily using only black and white video and movie cameras.
Except for one White House photographer, whose brief film remained unreleased for years, the only colour images of President Kennedy in Dallas were made by amateurs filming their personal views of the First Family, the museum said.
The vast majority have never been seen by the public, including amateur film shot by Warren of Dallas. Now 61, Warren was 15 at the time of the assassination.
Students were given the day off of school for the presidential visit, so he decided to take his camera to capture the arrival at Love Field.
“My dad operated a furniture store adjacent to the airport, and so that morning on his way to work, he dropped me off at the airport to see (President Kennedy) come in,” Warren recalls.
“I was very excited. It had rained the night before and cleared off that next day, which was an interesting event. It was cool and yet the sun was shining bright, and there was lots of excitement.” Warren has donated this 8mm colour home movie to The Sixth Floor Museum.
