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New film surfaces of JFK before assassination

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By The Associated Press | Wednesday, February 21, 2007 1:12 AM CST | () comments

(THE ASSOCIATED PRESS) First lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy and President John F. Kennedy are seen before his assassination in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, in this image from a recently discovered home movie.

(Updated 3:09 p.m.) DALLAS — A recently discovered home movie shows a brief but clear glimpse of President Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy just seconds before his assassination.

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

To view the clip, click here.

The silent, 8 mm color film is “the clearest, best film of Jackie in the motorcade,” said Gary Mack, curator of the Sixth Floor Museum, which focuses on Kennedy’s life and assassination. The film was unveiled Monday on the museum’s Web site.

The film shows a clear glimpse of President Kennedy and the first lady a few blocks from Dealey Plaza and roughly 90 seconds before the killing. Also visible is Secret Service agent Clint Hill riding on the back of the car.

The assassination is not shown in the 40-second clip.

The film ends with some footage the next day outside the Texas School Book Depository, the building from which assassin Lee Harvey Oswald fired the fatal shots on Nov. 22, 1963.

Amateur photographer George Jefferies, 82, took the footage and held onto it for more than 40 years, Mack said. Jefferies mentioned it in a casual conversation with his son-in-law, Wayne Graham, and the two agreed to donate it to the museum.

At least 150,000 people lined the motorcade route, and Mack said he believes there are more film and photographs out there.

“I know there are pictures out here that have not surfaced,” Mack said. “The museum is always on the lookout for pictures. The bottom line is don’t throw anything away.”