Schmidt film

Object number2008.008.0001

Date10/22/1960

ClassificationsFilms

Photographer Schmidt

ObjectFilm, 16mm

Credit LineThe Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza Collection

MediumFilm

DimensionsGauge: 16mm; Camera Speed: 16 fps

Terms

Collections

DescriptionOriginal 16mm color home movie made by a German immigrant whose last name was Schmidt, showing then-presidential-candidate Senator John F. Kennedy at the Crestwood Plaza Shopping Center near St. Louis in Crestwood, Missouri. Senator Kennedy's campaign stop there on October 22, 1960 included these remarks: "We are here in this state, in the heartland of the United States, a state which has produced in the last 15 years a great president. About two weeks ago, Mr. Nixon thought that he would dismiss me by calling me, 'He is just another Truman.' I said I regarded that as a compliment because he was just another Dewey. And after we had exchanged those remarks, I never heard that statement from him again." At the end of the 1-minute-long film, the sequence showing Senator Kennedy is repeated, zoomed in to show the candidate more closely.

Curatorial Commentary

The Museum's efforts to locate the original filmmaker, Schmidt, or a family member have been unsuccessful. - Gary Mack, Curator