I found this clip whilst cruising around the internet. It was produced in 1917 by the Detroit News for movie audiences of the day. Remember, boys and girls, there was no CGI in the movies then, no color, no sound even. So, Pixar Nation, YouTube Nation, MTV Nation and Twitter Nation may not be able to stay with this piece for its entire seven minutes, but, in my opinion, this is well worth the effort.
I searched, in vain, for landmarks I could recognize some 93 years later. But I was especially interested in the way the Detroit Police handled speeders (beginning at :50). The motorcycle cop, clocking the malefactor at a dizzying speed of somewhere between 40-45 mph, leaps from his motorcycle onto the vehicles running board. The motorcycle goes off on its own and comes to a rest on its side at a nearby curb. The officer puts his whole upper body through the cars open window, and somehow manages to get the speeder to the side of the road. Thankfully, police chase policies have changed a bit since then.
Speeding was no simple Civil Infraction in 1017. Offenders are sentenced to labor on the House of Correction "farm", and they are shown moving little bits of sand from one pile to another. Not exactly something out of "I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang" (Paul Muni, 1932). They are then summoned by bugle to "chow".
I am not sure whether this part of the newsreel was designed to show the efficiency of modern police procedures, or the price paid for violating the law. Not sure it succeeded on either count.
The Michigan State Trap Shooting competition is shown beginning at 6:30. The clay pigeons are launched mechanically by a machine operated a human being. This unfortunate is stationed behind a thin plywood shield placed directly in the line of fire!
Ah, nostalgia. It ain't what it used to be.
I must be slower than most. Mike, where is the link to this newsreel??
Posted by: Jesse Green | January 23, 2010 at 10:41 PM
I have just clicked on the video twice, and it did work for me. There is no sound.
Posted by: Mike Butler | January 23, 2010 at 11:10 PM