Newsreels of 1961, Volume 2

Between 1929 and 1967, Universal-International Newsreels were released twice weekly, many narrated by famed announcer Ed Herlihy. It was almost impossible to attend a motion picture that was not preceded by one. Top production crews traversed the nation and the globe to bring the leading stories in politics, entertainment, sports as well as national and global affairs, back to eager audiences.

Highlights from this collection include the revolt in Cuba. Rebel bombers drop their loads on Castro's forces and then land in Miami. Castro claims rebels were trained and armed by America. In Paris, the House Of Dior's closely-guarded new collection has a sensational debut. President Kennedy delivers his famous "pay any price... to secure the survival and success of liberty" speech. A new major league baseball team, the Minnesota Twins, play their first game. Soviets fill Red square to honor their space hero, Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in a spectacular celebration. A revolutionary new concept, a movie shown on a commercial air flight, makes it debut. Responding to the crisis in Berlin, President Kennedy announces that the U.S. will hold firm. Portions of his speech hold haunting harbingers of horrors to come in Southeast Asia.