The Franklin D. Roosevelt
Presidential Library and Museum
recently received home movie footage
showing rare, candid scenes
of the private social lives of both
Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt
-- including film of FDR in his wheelchair --
from the film collection of FDR's longtime
personal secretary and confidante
Marguerite (Missy) LeHand
HYDE PARK, NY -- The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum recently received home movie footage showing rare, candid scenes of the private social lives of both Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt -- including film of FDR in his wheelchair --
from the film collection of Marguerite (Missy) LeHand, FDR's longtime personal secretary and confidante. Visit
fdrlibrary.org/LeHand-Films to view the films online.
Sourced from eleven digitally-restored home movies recently donated by Missy LeHand's family, these candid scenes, shot in both color and black-and-white, date roughly 1932 to 1941. They depict a wide range of personal relationships and activities enjoyed by the Roosevelts' large and dynamic group of friends, family, and advisers. The films show FDR driving around Hyde Park; casual visits with European royalty; picnics in the woods; egg races at Val Kill; boating and fishing trips; Eleanor knitting at Campobello; and swimming at Warm Springs.
These films include some of the most prominent figures of the 20th Century, including Cordell Hull, Joe Kennedy, Crown Princess Martha of Norway, and the Duke of Windsor. Many from the Roosevelt inner circle appear -- most notably FDR's devoted advisers Louis Howe, Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Harry Hopkins, Grace Tully, Stephen Early, Sam Rosenman, and Missy Lehand, herself. LeHand was FDR's longtime personal secretary and confidante. Her film collection brings new insight to our understanding of the people behind FDR's presidency.
In 2017, Barbara Collins Jacques donated the
Marguerite (Missy) LeHand Film Collection to the FDR Presidential Library. The donation was made in honor of her great aunt, Missy, and her mother, Marguerite Farwell Collins. It consists of eleven original 16mm home movies, all either captured by Missy, or given to her by others who shared company with the Roosevelts. Together the films total more than two hours in run time.
Film editors at the Pare Lorentz Film Center at the FDR Library are now preparing these primary source motion pictures for use in education programs, online exhibits, and social media sharing to come. Teachers, students, and historical researchers can access this new content in the Library's research room, by request to
[email protected], on YouTube, and soon via the National Archives Catalog.
For additional information about this footage please call Cliff Laube at (845) 486-7745.
