Scope and Content Note
The Sid Zins Collection consists of reports, correspondence, photographs, tear sheets, and various other documents relating to his over 30 year career working as a motion picture exploiter for Columbia Pictures and other film studios.
As a motion picture exploiter in the Washington, D.C. area, Sid Zins organized promotional events and activities to raise public awareness and interest in the films produced by his employers (generally Columbia Pictures during the period 1944-1974). Sid would arrange for radio, television and newspaper advertising, contests, parades, fashion shows, merchandising tie-ins, V.I.P. screenings (including military and Congressional leaders, ambassadors, and even First Ladies), and actor appearances. The materials, particularly the photographs included in the collection, provide a fascinating ground level peek into mid-20th century moviegoers and moviegoing experiences.
Series 1, Exploitation Campaigns, consists of files for film campaigns that Sid Zins worked on for Columbia and other film studios. In general, each file contains the materials for a single film campaign in a single city, e.g. Washington, D.C. or Baltimore, Md. Most files include a field exploitation report which summarizes all of the activities that Zins exploited to promote films within the market. Many files will also include correspondence, photographs, and tear sheets from newspapers which were used as evidence of Zins activities. Additional documents that occasion include advertisig contracts and schedules, guest or contact lists, and notes. The files are arranged alphabetically by movie and then by city.
Series 2, Personal Appearances, contains files for actor and filmmaker appearances, generally for the purpose of promoting recent films. Typical documents in these files include itineraries, photographs, corresponedence, and tear sheets. Of particular note are the extensive series of files for multi-city tours by actors Charlotte Austin, Jerome Courtland, Terry Moore, and Aldo Ray in the Carolina, Florida, Ohio Valley, and Virginia/Maryland regions respectively. Files are arranged by personal name and then by city.
Series 3, Subect Files, consists of miscellaneous files related to Zins' business activities.
Series 4, Theatre Logs and Schedules, consists of materials from Zins' early career in motion picture theatre management in New York City.
Series 5, Sid Zins Personal Files, contain biographical and other personal materials.