The Great Falls film
Baseball manager Nick Mariana filmed two bright, spinning objects crossing the sky over Great Falls. He handed the film to the Air Force, and later said the first frames came back missing. A newly released Navy Photographic Interpretation Center memo analysed this film together with the 1952 Tremonton film. Its tentative finding was that the objects behaved unlike any natural phenomenon or known aircraft, and it asked for a better-funded investigation that never came.
Evidence, in date order (1)
- 1953Navy Photographic Interpretation Centerofficialfilm analysis found the objects unlike known aircraft or natural phenomena war.gov: Navy film analysis of the Montana and Utah films, 1953
How plausible · High
A named civilian's film was analysed by the Navy, whose released memo could not explain it.
- ●●Access He filmed it.
- ●●Checkable details check out Navy memo.
- ●●Physical traces or official reaction Film.
- ●○Cost of speaking Named.
- ●○No gain sought Later lectures.
- ●○Consistent over time Steady account.
Plausibility weighs how well an account fits where secrecy hides the documents by design, so missing records never count against it. Strength measures what is documented. Assessed 2026-10-23.
On the record
- The Navy Photographic Interpretation Center's film analysis memo, 1953, covering the Montana and Utah films.