Synopsis
The year is 1968. Across the United States, it was a year of turmoil: the Vietnam War, Civil Rights protests in cities and on college campuses, the assassination of Martin Luther King. Yet, in many small cities and towns a relative calm, almost innocence, prevailed. The documentary film 1:47 tells the story of one such community - Richmond, Indiana - that would lose that calm and innocence in a single fateful day: Saturday, April 6, 1968.
photo by: Ralph Pyle
...but at 1:47 everything changed
On that day, downtown Richmond bustled with shoppers looking for Easter outfits, kids watching an Elvis matinee at the movie theater, friends strolling the streets, enjoying a beautiful spring afternoon.
But at 1:47 p.m., everything changed. A huge double explosion rocked the downtown, leaving forty-one people dead, injuring hundreds more, and devastating the heart of the city.
photo by: Ralph Pyle
The documentary film 1:47 tells the story of the explosion in Richmond - how it came to happen and how the city's ordinary - and extraordinary - residents responded to this disaster. Making use of black and white photographs, color slides, archival news film footage, and interviews from eyewitnesses, survivors, and those who worked to rebuild the city, 1:47 will reveal how the explosion happened, the effects it had on the city and people of Richmond, and untangle the web of responsibility and blame that followed. In telling this story, 1:47 will also explore the cherished ideal of small town America against the unique and vibrant background of the late 1960's.