Captain Kidd's Gold is a 1939 colour film made by LeRoy Crooks during a visit to Nova Scotia and Oak Island. The film survives in vivid natural colour from the early Kodachrome era and is one of the earliest surviving moving-image records of Oak Island.
Crooks was on the island during the period of Erwin Hamilton's 1938 to 1942 excavations, in which Hamilton cleared earlier shafts and conducted exploratory drilling that produced finds at depths of 176 and 190 feet. The film preserves footage of Oak Island during this active search period.
The film also documents Crooks's broader Nova Scotia visit, including footage of the 1939 royal tour of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in Halifax, Halifax Citadel and Dingle Tower, Halifax street cars and the Public Gardens, Peggy's Cove, and Lunenburg shipbuilding including the launch of the small sail boat Bluebeard.
The film passed through Oak Island research community custody through the mid-twentieth century and was held by archivist Amos Nauss from the early 1940s onward. The current online hosting at the Oak Island Treasure YouTube channel operated by Jo Atherton makes the film publicly accessible.
What this source documents
Erwin Hamilton-era Oak Island activity in 1939, during the period of Hamilton's 1938 to 1942 excavations; surrounding Nova Scotia footage from 1939 including the royal tour of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in Halifax, Halifax public spaces, Peggy's Cove, and Lunenburg shipbuilding; one of the earliest surviving moving-image records of the Oak Island search.
Why it matters
For research questions involving the visual record of Oak Island during the Hamilton-era searches, the Crooks film is a principal primary source. The film predates the establishment of Oak Island Tours, the Triton Alliance, and the modern television-era search, and it preserves the appearance of the island and surrounding Nova Scotia at a specific moment in 1939. The provenance through Hamilton-era custody and the Oak Island Treasure archive supports the film's documentary value.
