Scope and Content Note
Cameramen’s dope sheets (detailed notes of stories filmed), continuity sheets (synopses of newsreels distributed to theaters), and turnovers (one sentence descriptions of each story filmed) from this major pioneer in the newsreel industry. Collection also contains other paper materials including telegrams, speeches, photographs, programs, and memoranda that provide details of the newsreels created by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Although the entire Fox Movietone newsreel collection spans 1919-1971, the materials documenting the World War II period are in a companion finding aid.
This collection is organized into four series: Dope Sheets , Continuity Sheets , Turnovers , and Index Cards . The Continuity Sheets Series is organized into two subseries: Lavenders and Summaries.
The first series, Dope Sheets , 1919-1971, contains the most detail for all stories filmed. They can include the cameraman's name, their notations of story topic, location where the story was shot, dates surrounding the filming, principal personalities in the story, shot-by-shot descriptions of the story, environmental conditions during filming, length of footage shot, and other details germane to the story and its filming. Ancillary materials may also be found within each story and can include photographs, telegrams, news clippings, speeches, biographies of personalities, and event programs. The Dope sheets are arranged numerically, with each film assigned a unique story number. Prominent figures are frequently featured in these materials. Material from the silent era has not been processed as of 2024, and will be added to this series at a later date.
The second series, Continuity Sheets , 1919-1963, is organized into two subseries: Lavenders and Summaries. Continuity Sheets record the stories that made up the newsreels distributed to theaters, and the dates of distribution. They do not include all stories filmed. They provide synopses of the details included in the Dope Sheets. What differentiates the two subseries is: Lavenders supply the individual story numbers that create the newsreel; Summaries supply the footage length of each finished newsreel segment. Continuity Sheets are arranged in chronological order, with a volume and release number assigned to each distribution date.
The third series, Turnovers , 1928-1971, is organized by year, then date distributed to theaters, with a volume and release number assigned to each distribution date. For each distribution sheet, a list of story numbers, a one-sentence description for each story number, and the cameraman or creator for each story is listed. In addition, each turnover sheet separates the stories that were included in newsreels from those that were not. Scanning this series for specific stories is a good place for researchers to begin, if one knows the approximate date of the story sought. No turnovers from 1951 and 1954 are present in the collection.
The fourth series, Index Cards , is organized into subseries by category, then alphabetically or sequentially, according to type. Within a given category, the Fox Movietone library contained often 2 or 3 separate ranges across different file cabinets; these ranges have not been interfiled, so researchers should check each range to ensure a complete index.