The SS Manhattan, 1932 |
Description: The SS Manhattan and the SS Washington were a pair of cabin-class ocean liners built for the United States Lines. The first, the SS Manhattan, was first American-built passenger liner since the 19th century. The Movietone archives has three films of its first months of operation: 00:06 shows the SS Manhattan being welcomed in New York harbor on July 26, 1932. This segment includes some voice-over from the original newsreel feature. At 04:35, Alice Roosevelt Longworth hits her head as she boards. Pier 59 was too low for the new ship, and the following week carpenters hastily constructed a boarding platform on the pier. At 05:55 is a shot of Captain George Fried with Kermit Roosevelt, president of United States Lines' operating company. 06:07 Shows the SS Manhattan departing on its maiden voyage. It's a night departure, and four powerful Army searchlights have been brought in at the behest of the newsreel cameras. The result is a somewhat surreal scene as the four circles of light play on the liner as it backs out of the pier. There's crowd of over 8000 on the pier to see her go, and they're plenty audible. 10:01 On its return voyage from Europe, the Manhattan comes directly into the path of the 1932 eclipse, and the passengers and newsreel cameras are able to get a prime view. The SS Manhattan became the troop transport USS Wakefield (AP-21) in WWII. She was decommissioned in 1946, put in the Hudson River Reserve Fleet, and scrapped in 1965. 
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