Other Film Coverage: British Pathe News
The first video "End of a Wonderful Flight" depicts news coverage from France, after the fliers made their way up North from their crash near the Azores. It begins with shots of the pilots in their plane, completely surrounded by onlookers, and Ruth standing to take off her aviator cap and scarf. The shot places Ruth in the distance, with hundreds of people in the foreground. There is a cut to a close-up shot of Ruth smiling. The second half of the footage shows clips of their sea-crossing from Lisbon, along with some on-land scenes, presumably in Portugal. It is worthy to note that the footage blatantly prioritizes Elder over Haldeman, as is evident in the first intertitle that declares the flight specifically as the end of "Miss Ruth Elder's" flight.
The second video takes place in New York City, when Ruth Elder is welcomed home. The shots in this footage are nearly identical to the Fox Movietone News "Elder Returns Home--Outtakes."
The third video is slightly perplexing as to where it fits chronologically. The preliminary intertitle states, "The Amazing Atlantic Airwoman: Start of Miss Ruth Elder's and Capt. G. Haldeman's flight, which ended in wonderful escape from disaster near the Azores." The footage indeed appears to depict the pair of them taking off for their flight, yet the intertitle notes the fate that's about to befall them. Perhaps the most likely hypothesis is that the footage was shot during their take-off, but not edited together until after their crash.
This page has paths:
- The Ruth Elder Project Sydney Crabaugh
