In memory of the Hindenburg Disaster 80 years ago on May 6, 1937 at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey. 35 of the 97 people aboard the airship died, as well as one member of the ground crew, which put an end to the golden age of passenger-carrying airships.
This video is a reconstruction the Hindenburg's final landing approach, containing footage from all four newsreels [Hearst/Universal, Paramount, Movietone and Pathé] of the crash synchronized to play back simultaneously, accompanied by the famous radio report by Herbert Morrison, with the pitch and playback speed slowed down as he should sound. Also included are scenes of the airship over New York on its last flight.
While I have tried to get the four newsreels to be in sync as much as I can, it may not be perfect, as not all the cameras were filming at a constant rate. As no known footage exists of the initial moments of the fire, I have included some scenes from the 1975 film "The Hindenburg", and the 2007 documentary "Hindenburg - Titanic of the Skies" (radio reporter Herb Morrison is played by Gerard Monaco) - the accuracy of these particular scenes cannot be guaranteed. The actual newsreel footage has been upscaled to high definition from a lower definition source (although they have been digitized to HD on a few occasions they usually contain watermarks which I wanted to avoid).
The footage for Hearst News of the Day was filmed by James Seeley, who was accompanied by soundman Charles Peden. Of the four newsreels, this is most complete in showing the crash sequence, though it doesn't show much of what is going on below the ship, and ends earlier than other newsreels. The Universal Newsreel shows Seeley's footage of the disaster, because their cameraman had enough of the bad weather and delays, and went to see a show in New York. It is said that the Universal cameraman, whose name is not known, did not show up for work the next day, for he knew he was fired. Although some sound may have been included in the Hearst newsreel, both it and the Universal newsreel featured extensive dubbing with dramatic music, and canned screaming in the case of Universal. The Universal Newsreel was narrated by Graham McNamee
The Paramount newsreel was filmed by Tommy Craven using a telephoto lens. Like Seeley, he had his tripod positioned on the ground. His film has a detailed view of the passengers jumping out of the windows and the Hindenburg's name being erased by flames. Craven was out-of-work and Paramount offered him to cover the Hindenburg's landing. (I couldn't find a copy of the full Paramount newsreel in high quality, but it actually ends later than the Pathe footage). The Paramount newsreel was narrated by Gregory Abbott.
Al Gold was on the scene for Fox Movietone News. He was positioned with his camera on top of his newsreel van roof. Tommy Craven's footage of the ship dropping the mooring lines show's Al Gold filming simultaneously in the foreground (see at 3:24). He was accompanied by soundman Addison Tice, as well as cameraman Larry Kennedy and assistant Deon de Titta, who were positioned closer to the airship. His footage starts at the moment the ship's tail is about to hit the ground. Out of frame, the flame is starting to burst through the nose. Gold was disgruntled about filming the Hindenburg's landing - his managing editor insisted on filming every landing for he believed the ship would explode someday. The Movietone newsreel appears to contain actual sound from the disaster, as someone can be heard saying "you're alright now, Al!" amid the burning sounds, but this is difficult to confirm.
William Deeke of Pathé News had trouble with his camera's motor drive, and when the fire started he switched to a hand crank. His footage of the crash is the shortest of the four newsreels, but his footage also maintains a view of the side longer than all but the Paramount newsreel. Look carefully and you can see the passenger deck is still intact and people are still jumping out of the windows. The Pathé newsreel is also important in showing the ship's final sharp turn, all three water ballast drops and the apparent stern heaviness which many investigators attributed to hydrogen leaking.
Two more films showing the crash have surfaced in recent years. One short footage is extremely shaky and taken from a similar vantage point as the other four newsreels but slightly closer to the ship - I believe it might have been filmed by Larry Kennedy of Movietone. It starts showing the crash slightly after the Pathe Newsreel. The other film was taken by a spectator in the visitor's area of the Lakehurst Naval Air Station. This footage shows the fire at a slightly earlier stage than the Hearst newsreel, shortly before the stern falls from the sky, but has thus far only been shown in poor quality on NBC. There are rumours of other films but they have not surfaced.