FOLLOW-UP COMMENTS.....
MY E-MAIL REPLIES TO A PERSON WHO PREFERS TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS.....
DAVID VON PEIN SAID:
Hi [xxx],
Thanks for your comments and observations. I think your knowledge of this
"Zapruder Film" subject is likely far greater than my meager knowledge.
But this topic of "Was The Z-Film Available For Public Viewing Back In
1964?" is, indeed, an interesting one, especially since many conspiracy
believers seem to think the Z-Film was being hidden away from the public
for many years just after the assassination.
I just now looked at the date that is attached to my raw file for my
digital copy of the 1964 Secret Service film, and it shows that I
downloaded that video file to my computer on June 27, 2011. So it's been
on my system for 6 years now, and yet (prior to yesterday) I never once
slapped myself on my forehead and said, "Gee, the Zapruder Film is
actually being shown in real time within this Secret Service film! And
this SS film was produced way back in '64! That seems strange!"
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9E6ed_4-hx6clV0SHhkN1dESHM/view
As for the history of the Secret Service film and its potential audience,
I haven't the foggiest idea. I was just guessing in my previous post
regarding this matter when I speculated that the SS film probably was
available to the general public right after it was made by the Secret
Service. And I labelled the film with a "1964" date on my websites (and at
YouTube) mainly due to the "post-Warren Commission" information that is
being revealed in the film by narrator Jim Underwood of KRLD. But I now
see, after probing into this matter a little bit more today, that my
"1964" caption for the SS film is, indeed, entirely accurate. I confirmed
that fact by way of information posted on the "Zapruder Film Timeline"
page at the Sixth Floor Museum's website....
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WNy4Vez24sQ/WT_CVf8ncAI/AAAAAAABL_8/emUQDfXjJm4mMrUzWeAOJXizKxs1EFaBACLcB/s1600/History-Of-1964-SS-Film.png
See the entire Z-Film Timeline at the link below:
http://www.jfk.org/the-collections/abraham-zapruder-film/abraham-zapruder-film-timeline/
The above-linked information doesn't say exactly WHO had access to the '64
SS film, but further down in that "Z-Film Timeline" it does state that
when the Zapruder Film was shown in a New Orleans courtroom at the Clay
Shaw trial on February 13, 1969, it marked the "film's first public
showing".
An intriguing word is used, IMO, in the Sixth Floor's Z-Film Timeline
concerning the description of the '64 SS film when it is referred to as an
"educational" film. That is, btw, exactly the same
word—"Educational"—that has been floating around in my
head for the last two days as well, which prompted me to write this in my
post yesterday --- "It possibly was made available at certain libraries,
schools, and universities around the country."
So, if the Secret Service film was produced as an "Educational film", then
WHO was it intending to educate? Just people inside the U.S. Government?
Or the American people in general? My guess would be the latter. ~shrug~
BTW, the date of "March 1964" shown on that "Timeline" page at the Sixth
Floor website has to be incorrect. There's no way the film was made that
early in the Warren Commission's investigation, because the SS film
contains details and images from the Commission's May 24, 1964,
re-enactment in Dealey Plaza. So it must have been produced after at least
May of '64, and probably was made after the Warren Commission closed up
shop completely in September of '64.
EDIT --- Just a few minutes after I wrote the paragraph above, I dug up an
older version of the Sixth Floor's Z-Film Timeline (which I saved about a
year ago via Archive.org's handy "Wayback Machine"), and this older
version confirms what I said above---that the SS film was not produced
until AFTER the Warren Report was released in late 1964 (click the second
link below to see the older "Timeline" with the different—and more
accurate—description of the Secret Service film)....
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m9xg6lTd-5M/WT_LOCKrmHI/AAAAAAABMAM/01pGa1QR9-0XBJonVDwMpFlXCfMkrgiywCLcB/s1600/Z-Film-Timeline-02.png
http://web.archive.org/web/20150702014536/http://www.jfk.org/go/collections/about/zapruder-film-chronology
DAVID VON PEIN LATER SAID:
Well, this question that I asked just a little while ago....
"So, if the Secret Service film was produced as an "Educational film",
then WHO was it intending to educate?"
....is a question that perhaps can be answered by simply watching the
first minute of the '64 SS film, where these words appear on the screen:
"For the United States Secret Service" (screen capture below)....
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SkfBdYGEU0I/WT_WzntQ3rI/AAAAAAABMAc/PsoBjF6oRAIdj8j7opZerwWcS5zph_QIACLcB/s1600/1964-SS-Film-Screen-Capture.png
Now, perhaps the words "For the Secret Service" could also be interpreted
as "On behalf of the Secret Service", as [Mr. Anonymous] noted [in my
e-mail conversation with him], rather than meaning the film is being made
exclusively "For" the SS. I guess that could be possible. I just do not
know, but I'm still wondering if perhaps the SS film was available to
ordinary citizens who weren't part of the Secret Service. Obviously, it is
available to everybody now. But the question is, was it commonly available
to the public back in 1964 or 1965, via possibly a FOIA request? Or was it
shown in classrooms around the country as an "Educational film"? I have no
idea. But it's interesting to ponder the possibilities.
David Von Pein
June 13, 2017