A never-before-seen 8mm film of President John F. Kennedy’s motorcade racing to Parkland Hospital after he was assassinated on November 22, 1963, is going up for auction later this month. Recorded by Dale Carpenter Sr., the footage captures the chaotic moments immediately following the fatal shots that hit President Kennedy as he sat next to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in his motorcade in Dallas. The film was viewed and analyzed by former FBI analyst Farris Rookstool III, who described it as a “fresh look” at the events surrounding JFK’s assassination. The auction is being held by RR Auction in Boston on September 28, with bidding already open online. As of Wednesday evening, the leading bid for the film stood at $12,100.
The rare footage features the motorcade’s rapid journey down Interstate 35 toward Parkland Memorial Hospital, where President Kennedy was later pronounced dead. The video also includes a glimpse of Secret Service Agent Clint Hill standing over Jackie Kennedy in her iconic pink suit. Hill famously jumped onto the back of the Kennedys’ limo when gunfire erupted as the motorcade drove past the Texas School Book Depository, where assassin Lee Harvey Oswald had perched himself with a sniper rifle to fatally shoot President Kennedy.
Although Carpenter’s footage is brief, lasting only about 10 seconds, it provides an unparalleled view of the intense scene that unfolded after the tragic event. Historian and documentarian Farris Rookstool III expressed hope that the film will find a home where it can be used by filmmakers to further explore the events surrounding JFK’s assassination.
The auction house has released some still images from the film, but no images of the motorcade racing down the highway have been made available yet. Despite the passage of over 60 years since the assassination, experts say that discoveries such as this one are not surprising, given the historical significance of the event and people’s inclination to preserve related materials in attics, garages, or other storage areas.
