Jan
12
The Darnell film at the 6th floor museum
Click picture to enlarge.
During and shortly after the recent Lancer conference I was in contact with two individuals, who would try to get in touch with Stephen Fagin of the 6th Floor Museum and ask about the Jimmy Darnell film. It was the late Gary Mack who mentioned a first generation copy in the museum’s possession from 2008. His last mention was shortly before he passed away in 2015. You can read more about this in the huge post I made a couple of years ago.
To some the answer to proving, as in cherry on top, that Prayer Man is actually Lee Harvey Oswald lies in the Darnell film, to me not a chance in hell unless there happens to be a sharp frame in the roughly 5 seconds of that particular film sequence. The film, and especially the happenings on the stairs, offer some value in those frames. Some of the detail has been washed out and is too blurry to actually identify all people on those steps. S some individuals could be recognised with a better copy, but when it comes to ID-ing Lee Oswald being there on the first step below the landing is doubtful.
Alan Dale asked Stephen Fagin after a talk during the Lancer Conference in Nov. 2018 about whether the 6th Floor Museum had a copy of the Darnell film and if so when could scholars get access to it?
This then got the reply: “Funny as you mention this we are about to give access to a digital 2K copy of the Darnell film in our reading room”. That is partial good news, its existence has been acknowledged, but 2K is not 4K which it should have been. Since this film could give a lot of info on T.S.B.D. employees I would have not spared any money to get the best optimal result from the 16 mm film.
Stu Wexler had one of his friends go there and I asked Scott Reid to pay the Museum a visit as he happened to be in Dallas at that time. Sadly neither could give me anything conclusive and on top of that Scott managed to tell me that he could only stop and start the movie, not zoom in nor go for a slow motion setting either, so overall that was not very helpful.
The big let down is the fact that the film can only be seen in the Reading Room inside the 6th floor museum, you have to physically be there. Copies cannot be made for copyright reasons. I have asked whether it would be possible to get some still copies and that might still be possible, the powers that be will need to give their consent before this happens, whenever that may be. Will keep you posted.
Nov
23
Updated March 29th 2019.
Tom Alyea is the WFAA cameraman who managed to get inside the T.S.B.D. and filmed the D.P.D. searching inside and while filming them also recorded other people of interest such as Kent Biffle. And who could forget the Truly and Baker get together on the first floor. I have added a nice video that has an interview of him in the background with a lot of unseen footage. Thanks to Malcolm Blunt for this.
If you want to read his take on what happened inside the T.S.B.D. and especially with the shell casings and the boxes then go HERE (Facts and photos from Connie Kritzberg’s Secrets from the Sixth Floor Window, pp. 39-46 and Alyea’s own addendums).
This Alyea interview provides more insight on the happenings inside the building as well, the rifle i/e and ends with Baker’s so called lunch room confrontation, and I do not agree with his assertion, be that as it may.
Malcolm Blunt was kind enough to send me some documentation from the A.R.R.B. which is quite a dispute regarding the film and its future use and residency. See for yourself. But most interesting is the letter from Alyea to Tom Samoluk of the A.R.R.B. in which he states that the W.C. testimony of Lt. Carl Day and Det. Studebaker, both of the D.P.D., is completely false. This is someone who believes in Oswald’s guilt, but was witness to certain things inside the book depository which were twisted around by the D.P.D.
I for one would love to see a HD version of the film in its most complete form, who knows maybe one day……
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- Jeremy Gun to Laura Naide June 27 1996
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- Jeremy Gunn to Tom Alyea July 3 1996-1
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- Jeremy Gunn to Tom Alyea July 3 1996-2
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- Jeremy Gunn to Tom Alyea July 8 1996-1
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- Jeremy Gunn to Tom Alyea July 8 1996-2
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- Tom Alyea to Jeremy Gun July 15 1996-1
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- Tom Alyea to Jeremy Gun July 15 1996-2
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- Tom Alyea to Jeremy Gun July 15 1996-3
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- Tom Alyea to Samoluk Aug 15 1997
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- Tom Alyea and 6th Fl Museum Aug 21 1997
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- Tom Alyea to Tilly 23 Jan 1998
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- Jeremy Gunn to Stephen Tilly Jan 27 1998
Jul
24
About 6 weeks ago I was approached by S.T. Patrick of Midnight Writer News to do an interview for his show after a few weeks we finally managed to do this. Listening back to it one month after I did it I have to say I did not do too bad. I am very critical of myself when I do these things, and the good thing is that after listening to 50 mins of it I haven’t turned it off yet!
I am talking about the research done and of course, the 2nd floor lunch room encounter, T.S.B.D., Dallas P.D. and Prayer Man all pass the avenue during this interview.
A thoroughly enjoyable experience.
Thank you S.T. Patrick.
Go HERE to hear the interview and read up about it on the Midnight Writer News Website.
During the interview I mistakenly refer to me as having received the JFK Lancer Pioneer Award, which is wrong it was the New Frontier Award actually. Apologies for the mix-up.
Jul
09
Oswald in the corridor Nov 22nd, after his Tippit arraignment which was at 7:10 PM.
A week ago I posted a silent version of this video , I then found this one with audio attached to it from a Canadian TV program. And since hearing the audio now, I can safely say that this is the same moment as in the video posted below this one, but all the way from the other side. Kinda cool. This is where it pays of looking and comparing at the film material of those happenings inside that corridor. There was a lot made that day and the weekend after, but so little has been released in decent quality.
This is after Oswald’s arraignment inside Fritz’s office for the Tippit murder.
This door leads to the jail elevator.
Third floor plan Dallas City Hall. Click pic. to enlarge.
And then from that very same door Oswald emerges at about 19:50 hrs, the Patsy sequence. Again requesting legal representation and exclaiming his innocence of shooting The President.
Think about it in a time frame of roughly 40 minutes Lee Oswald, twice mentioned the hearing without legal representation. Not allowing him to have any, and steadfastly denying he shot anyone.
Jun
30
The last week there has been some debate about an old myth: The Sun Plane in the Prayer Man images.
Originally brought up by Brian Doyle in his many word salad postings a couple of years ago, and in that whole period Doyle has never brought forward how it is supposed to look or give a rough estimation of it. So like a flat earther he ended up posting “his findings” on the net and everybody else would have to believe his “research” on his say so.
This tactic doesn’t work very well for Doyle, people are smarter than that. And yes Doyle = Cinque, there is no doubt about that.
Then there was Barry Pollard who posted an image of Billy Lovelady going down the steps in the Wiegman film and claimed that Lovelady wore a black jacket as he could not explain the shadow on the left half on Lovelady’s (2) torso.
Yet with Bill Shelley (3) in the background it could be that Lovelady walks exactly halfway in the shadow and the sun. Be aware that this is an enlargement of a small detail of a 16 mm film shot with a wide angle lens. The steps occupants look much closer together due to these factors.
Prayer Man = 1, Billy Lovelady = 2 and Bill Shelley = 3. Click pic to enlarge.
Click to enlarge.
Take a look at the shadow of the people at the front and the sharp angle it is coming at, granted they may not stand exactly parallel to the people on the steps, but for a rough indication this ought to show that the shadow is much longer than originally discussed.
I can pinpoint it even more precise.
Take a look at Buell Wesley Frazier in the Darnell film. And you will see the shadow of the top left corner of the wall (just underneath the TSBD sign) creates a shadow of a 90 degree-ish angle on him, his head is in the shade no less. Above Frazier and JoeMolina is a glass pane and that is partially illuminated and so is the glass on the far eastern side. This illumination is from a reflection of the eastern wall.
Click pic. to enlarge.
Look at Maddie Reese in both images, in Wiegman standing southwesterly below Lovelady in Wiegman and Frazier in Darnell.
Click to enlarge.
So now anyone drawing the TSBD steps in 3D is able to pinpoint how the sun plane is actually going correctly as so far no one has done this as it ought to be. The shadow ends up way more Eastwards than has been shown so far. And honestly I trust the photos more. Furthermore the three people that have started to make 3d drawings of the steps of the T.S.B.D. put the shadowline in as a 2d object, whereas the shadow would resemble some sort of half a sphere instead.
Thanks to Brian Kelshaw.
Thanks to Brian Kelshaw.
You are welcome Brian Doyle!
Jun
21
Here is a nice high res. image of Lee Oswald’s ring from the marines and his bracelet.
Lee Oswald’s Marine Core ring and his bracelet. Pic. courtesy Dallas Municipal Archives. Thanks to Malcolm Blunt. Click to enlarge.
May
27
Greg Parker posted this on FB recently, he pretty much IDed Baker in footage from the evening of the 23rd (about 30 hours after the assassination) of Baker seeing Oswald while he is about to be escorted through the hall and ducks away.
Now let me be very cynical for a change, but if I didn’t know any better then Baker looks at the guy who is being railroaded for the murder of The President, and after what has been going on about the second floor lunch room encounter that had only been public knowledge earlier that day and he cannot bear to look at him any longer after clocking him. That’s what the cynic inside tells me after looking at the man’s body language. I look too much at this stuff, but it’s one of those tells. Like Oswald’s face when he hears “You have been charged for murdering The President”. One of those moments were a picture starts to speak a thousand words.
There has to be more footage of this, as I have never seen this transfer of Oswald on the eve of Nov. 23rd before. It was from a documentary that I only had in a low resolution so never bothered to properly check it myself. Thanks to Greg Parker we all can see Baker on the 23rd no less. Closer inspection also reveals that this encounter is coincidental as Baker just tries to make his way past when the door has just opened with Oswald coming out.
I shall post some screen shots of this footage Greg pointed at. A very short snippet of The Lost JFK Tapes docu.
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- Marrion Baker Nov 23 1963
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- Marrion Baker Nov 23 1963
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- Marrion Baker Nov 23 1963
The video below will play the clip once in real time, and once in a crude slow motion.
Go to the Marrion Baker page to see more pictures.
Before people will bring J.W. Courson into the picture. Well his face shows something of a likeness, but it is not him..
Marrion Lewis Baker, click pic. to enlarge.
May
20
Thanks to Malcolm Blunt I have been handed a document on Wesley Liebeler, who was one of the senior lawyers of the W.C. And although this document has been described at 22november1963.org.uk , there is no active link to the document itself. Liebeler is ploughing through and raises his questions, offers feedback and proposes amendments to Chapter IV of the Warren Report dated Sept. 6th 1964. Compared to the date that the Warren Report was issued to L.B.J. on Sept 24th 1964. Not that much notice was given to Liebeler’s remarks since not a lot changed in those 18 days.
Ladies and gents have a good read, as some of his observations are golden.
What is mentioned by Wesley Liebeler are: the rifle, the finger/palm prints on the boxes, Buell Wesley Frazier, the description of Oswald after his departure from the T.S.B.D., Amos Euins, questioning the 2nd floor encounter, Victoria Adams’ descent, the bus ride, the line-ups, the revolver, the arrest at the T.T., Johnny Calvin Brewer, Walker shooting, Marin Oswald, the rifle scope and its firing tests.
Even though the document is mentioned at the site above, you only get to read a summarisation, whereas now you have the whole thing at your own leisure.
I love the ending of the document: “I forgot to mention that some question might be raised when the public discovers that there was only one eyewitness to the Tippit killing, i/e one person who saw him kill him. All the rest only saw subsequent events. Mrs. Markham is nicely buried there, but I predict not for long.”
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
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- Wesley Liebeler on Chapter IV of the Warren Report.
