Michael Holman Family Home Movie #1

This film is from a collection of home movies filmed by the family of Michael Holman, an important figure in the history of hip hop. The collection predominately contains family vacation footage shot when Holman's father, Lt. Thomas Holman, was stationed in Europe with the US Army. Most of the footage was captured by Holman's grandmother, Pauline Thompson Wood. In addition to the European vacation films, the footage shot by Pauline Wood documents her involvement with the Baha'i Faith and includes footage of Baha'i events and pilgrimages to holy sites in Israel and Palestine. There is also footage of the family at home in San Francisco and other sites in California.

This film is from a collection of home movies filmed by the family of Michael Holman, an important figure in the history of hip hop. It consists of a single reel of 8mm silent acetate film with color (a), an original metal film reel (b), and an original cardboard film box (c).

The film begins with a shot of a man and two women standing in front of a dentist's office talking with one another, smiling, and walking towards the camera. This is followed by several shots of different groups of people posing for the camera and walking towards it at different locations in New Haven, Connecticut. Dorothy Lewis stands on the left of a group of three women and a man in front of a Tailor Shop and wears a navy coat and a white hat with a feather. Next, there are extended segments of small groups of people taking turns walking towards the camera. One group is a set of adults in front of someone's home and the other is a group of children at a playground. A section of overexposed film follows this segment.

The subsequent shots were taken at an outdoor event at a playground. There are portraits of various people and in the background a chorus can be seen performing. The banner for the chorus states "Rock-Hontas Chorus of Elks New Haven, Conn." A young toddler is prominently featured in many of these shots. Next is another set of portraits of people around town and then the footage switches to people in Ft. Dix, New Jersey. This is followed by multiple shots which feature Michael Holman as a young boy in a red sweater playing with Keith Holman in a playpen, Linda Holman wearing a dark blue dress and white collared shirt, Alice Holman wearing a light blue dress, and Pauline Wood wearing a white striped shirt and grey skirt.

The Technicolor 8mm film box (c) that accompanies the film has notes on its contents and a mailing address handwritten onto it in blue ink.