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Screen Gems Collection

Outtakes from Decision: The Conflicts of Harry S. Truman

Compiled by Brent Pennel, Pauline Testerman, and Amy L. Williams (2003); Pauline Testerman (2007, 2009).


The Screen Gems Collection consists of outtakes created during the production of the film series, Decision: The Conflicts of Harry S. Truman. Included is material created by both Talent Associates, Ltd. and Screen Gems, Inc. Material ranges from informal interviews with Truman, members of his family, and associates, to more formal, scripted readings by Truman. There are a few instances of historical footage from unknown sources that was gathered for use in the production. The subject matter includes Truman's personal life as well as his decisions as president. Sound recordings comprise about 90% of the collection. Formats include 35mm and 16mm black and white film, reel-to-reel tape, and 35mm and 16mm soundtracks.

The outtakes are listed below by accession number, which is the number researchers need when requesting to view or obtain a copy of an outtake. All of the films in the Truman Library's collection are available for viewing at the Library and for copying. The films are not loaned. For additional information about the Screen Gems Collection, please contact the archives staff by telephone at 816-268-8228, by e-mail at truman.reference@nara.gov, or by writing to the Library at 500 West U.S. Highway 24, Independence, Missouri 64050.

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Search Results: 551

Screen Gems Collection

/49 seconds
Description:

Former president Harry S. Truman, presumably referring to the McCarran Act, discusses his dislike of legislation that allowed government officials to harass citizens.

/38 seconds
Description:

Former president Harry S. Truman discusses being worried about an issue (probably domestic communism), and did the best he could about it. He admits that sometimes you have to make a quick decision and the next day you wish you hadn't.

/37 seconds
Description:

Mary Jane Truman characterizes her mother, Martha Ellen Truman, as fair minded with high ideals, which she taught to her children. Harry Truman is Mary Jane's brother.

35mm/1 minute 31 seconds
Description:

Ben Gradus interviews Harry S. Truman about Truman's waterway plan (for international waterways). Sound only.

/2 minutes 26 seconds
Description:

Former president Harry S. Truman compares Germany during World War II to Missouri during the Civil War. He is discussing Order Number 11, which was a repressive measure enacted by a Union general against the residents of western Missouri.

/1 minute 9 seconds
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Former president Harry S. Truman discusses the challenges he faced with discharging the troops after the end of conflict in Europe after World War II.

/1 minute 11 seconds
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Former president Harry S. Truman discusses the issue of communists in government, and the his disapproval of the actions of the House Un-American Activities Committee.

/1 minute 8 seconds
Description:

Former president Harry S. Truman says he's not ready to be considered with the likes of Washington, Jackson, Lincoln, or Weizmann. Presumably he is talking about having a statue made in his likeness. Segment repeats with different camera angle.

/28 seconds
Description:

Former president Harry S. Truman says that people will only stay frightened for so long. It doesn't take long for the truth to come out, and for people to listen to the facts. He is probably referring to anti-communism efforts during the McCarthy era.

35mm/1 minute 53 seconds
Description:

Former president Harry S. Truman says that it takes effort and compromise to make a treaty. He speaks of his approval of the Limited Test Ban Treaty.

/2 minutes 51 seconds
Description:

Former president Harry S. Truman discusses the importance of talking with the Russians in order to keep the peace. Mr. Truman has a particularly difficult time remembering his lines in this series of out takes.

35mm/18 seconds
Description:

Harry S. Truman defining the meaning of "police force" in relation to the United Nations action in Korea. This segment may have been used in preparing episode 23. Sound and picture. 

35mm/9 minutes 28 seconds
Description:

Harry S. Truman speaks about how he would classify Franklin D. Roosevelt as an orator, and describes his feelings during his first term. Sound only.

/20 seconds
Description:

Former president Harry S. Truman says the American people are good, and have the opportunity to achieve their good ends because they live under the greatest government ever known, the constitutional democracy of the United States.

/26 seconds
Description:

Former president Harry S. Truman stands in front of a screen showing artist George Caleb Bingham's Order No. 11 (Martial Law) painting. He says you couldn't blame the people of Jackson County for feeling badly about the order. He states that a civil war is the worst thing that can possibly happen to anybody.

35mm/43 seconds
Description:

Harry S. Truman reading a script describing the end of the Berlin Blockade. Sound only.

/1 minute 28 seconds
Description:

Former president Harry S. Truman discusses the status of Berlin after World War II. He said it became of symbol of forcing the Russians to carry out their agreements. This segment repeats with a different camera angle.

/1 minute 17 seconds
Description:

Former president Harry S. Truman discusses his relationship with Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin.

/1 minute 32 seconds
Description:

Former president Harry S. Truman compares the climate of atomic one-upmanship to a dangerous intersection in Jackson County: it is so dangerous that no one ever had an accident there. He also talks about making the decision to save Berlin.

35mm/37 seconds
Description:

Harry S. Truman reading a script describing his pride in the brave, tireless boys of the military and how Russia sealed off Berlin. Sound only.

/1 minute 59 seconds
Description:

Former president Harry S. Truman, standing in front of a map of Europe, indicates where the Allied forces were located around Germany near the end of World War II. The locations were determined by General Eisenhower, who claimed that Berlin was no longer of strategic value. Eisenhower's judgment of Berlin was a mistake, as Berlin has been under contention ever since.

/1 minute 3 seconds
Description:

Former president Harry S. Truman discusses civil rights, executive order 9908, and reads from the Civil Rights Committee report that a single lynching is one too many.

35mm/1 minute 8 seconds
Description:

Harry S. Truman reads from script speaking of the victims of the Berlin Airlift, the American boys. Sound and picture.

/1 minute 30 seconds
Description:

Former president Harry S. Truman discusses the debate in Congress over the Brannan Plan, which was a farm bill helped postwar farmers financially with their surpluses. The segment repeats with a different camera angle.

/43 seconds
Description:

Former president Harry S. Truman how farmers cannot buy the things they need or take care of their farms as they ought to be in a bad economy.