Mysteries in the Archives: 1927 Lindbergh's Atlantic Crossing

200726 min 28 secFilm: Documentary

Direction: Serge Viallet

Production: Florence Fanelli

Co-produced by ARTE France and Institut national de l'audiovisuel with the participation of Centre National de la Cinématographie, in association with YLE Teema - Ritva Leino and RTSI-Televisione Svizzera, and with the participation of the National Film Board of Canada.

This title is an acquisition.

Dawn on Friday May 20, 1927. A small airplane takes off from a Long Island field – the plane so overburdened with fuel that it flies, at best, with difficulty. The night owls are out to applaud the take off before going home to bed. 

In several days, the young timid pilot, Charles Lindbergh, is a hero. He had crossed the Atlantic in 33 hours and 30 minutes without stopping to refuel. New York to Paris, non-stop. A veritable exploit. But was it enough to justify the craze that overtook newsreel companies, captains of industry and finance in France, Belgium and England?  Everyone fought for the attention of the young, smiling Charles Lindbergh. 

Day after day, his adventure takes over the media and press. Soon, his image is seen everywhere. Why such fever? Why such passion for Lindbergh? What does the footage shot during his stay reveal?  

Subject categories


  • Transportation > Aeronautics and AerospaceAircraft and Aviation
  • History > Historical PerpectivesWorld History

Credits


idea
Serge Viallet
Cédric Lépée
series director
Serge Viallet
director
Serge Viallet
editor
Alexandre Auque
assistant editor
Vanessa Bozza
graphic design
Stéphanie Mée
Jean-Michel Moussu
musical illustration
Niels Poux
credit sequence design
Philippe Truffault
credit sequence production
Philippe Truffault
credit sequence editor
François Labat
translator
Dana Burns Westberg
narrator
Dana Burns Westberg
sound design
Guillaume Solignat
Benoît Ménager
Laurent Thomas
Jean-François Gasnier
mix
Guillaume Solignat
Benoît Ménager
Laurent Thomas
Jean-François Gasnier
colour correction
Rémi Berge
administrator
Yasmine Boucherat
production manager
Michèle Léveillé
Thierry Ippolito
production assistant
Chantal Lesieur
Vincent Encontre
Armelle Jayet
commissioning editor
Elisabeth Hulten
producer
Florence Fanelli