Newly emerged film video of former President John F. Kennedy’s motorcade driving down a freeway in Dallas, Texas, toward a hospital after he was fatally shot on Nov. 22, 1963, sold on Saturday for $137,500 at an auction. The home film was offered by RR Auction in Boston, Massachusetts, with the buyer wishing to remain anonymous. The auction house’s executive vice president, Bobby Livingston, said the film offers “a gripping sense of urgency and heartbreak,” as it captures the moments following Kennedy’s assassination. The film had been held by the family of Dale Carpenter Sr. since the day of the assassination, with Carpenter dying in 1991 at the age of 77.
In the footage, Carpenter just misses the limousine carrying President Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, but records other vehicles in the motorcade driving down Lemmon Avenue towards downtown Dallas. The video then shows that the president has been shot and captures the motorcade racing down Interstate 35 towards Parkland Memorial Hospital, where the president was pronounced dead. The shots were fired as the motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza in front of the Texas School Book Depository, where assassin Lee Harvey Oswald had positioned himself on the sixth floor. Carpenter’s footage from I-35 lasts about 10 seconds and shows Secret Service Agent Clint Hill jumping onto the back of the limousine as the shots were fired, hovering in a standing position over the president and first lady.
According to Carpenter’s grandson, James Gates, it was known in his family that his grandfather had film from the day of the shooting, but it was not often discussed. When the film, which had been stored along with other family films in a milk crate, was eventually passed on to him, Gates said he was unsure what his grandfather had captured. Gates was initially underwhelmed by the footage from Lemmon Avenue when he projected it onto his bedroom wall around 2010 until he observed the footage from I-35, which he described as shocking. The auction house has released still photos from the portion of the film showing the motorcade speeding down I-35, but it is not making video of that part publicly available.
This newly emerged film video offers a rare glimpse into the immediate aftermath of President Kennedy’s assassination, capturing the urgency and heartbreak of the moment. The film, held by the family of Dale Carpenter Sr. since the day of the assassination, was sold at an auction for $137,500. The footage shows the motorcade driving down a freeway towards a hospital after the president was shot, with Secret Service Agent Clint Hill captured in a standing position over the president and first lady as shots were fired. The auction house is keeping the video of that part of the film private, but still photos have been released to the public.
The auction house’s executive vice president, Bobby Livingston, described the film as offering a gripping sense of urgency and heartbreak, as it documents the tragedy that unfolded on Nov. 22, 1963. The footage captures the motorcade racing towards Parkland Memorial Hospital, where President Kennedy was pronounced dead. Carpenter’s grandson, James Gates, initially did not realize the significance of the footage until he viewed it and was shocked by what he saw. The film provides a historic record of the events that occurred on that fateful day, offering viewers a glimpse into a moment that changed American history forever.
