1902 film shot in Indianapolis makes National Film Registry

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A film shot in Indianapolis in 1902 that captures a menagerie of Ringling Bros. circus animals parading through the city’s downtown has landed a spot on the National Film Registry.

The 3-minute-long silent film, titled “Ringling Bros. Parade Film,” is part of a class of 25 films recently added to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry. The film features elephants, camels and caged lions traveling past the Indiana Statehouse and other locations.

An Oakland, California, couple who found the film in their basement in the 1970s donated it to the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum in Fremont, California, which restored it.

Other films recently added to the National Film Registry include “Return of the Jedi,” “WALL-E,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” “The Long Goodbye” and “Selena.”