Scope and Content Note
The papers of Sherman Samuel Krellberg (1892-1979) span the period circa 1919-1989, with the bulk of the material dating from 1931 to 1970, and document his long career as an independent film distributor and producer of feature films, serials, and theatrical productions. Sherman Krellberg's father operated a nickelodeon on the Lower East Side of New York City in the early part of the twentieth century. Krellberg first became an attorney, but ultimately joined in the family business. His papers are organized into three series: Office Files, Financial Papers, and Oversize.
The Office Files series comprises most of the Krellberg Papers and contains records from the companies and ventures he formed and undertook in the course of his career, including the Amusement Securities Corporation, Filmcraft, Goodwill Pictures Corporation, Goodwill Systems Exchanges, Krellbar Pictures Corporation, Principal Film Exchange, Regal Distributing Corporation, Regal Talking Pictures Corporation, Theatre Securities Syndicate, Ultra Film Distributors, and Ultra Pictures Corporation. The longest lasting of these companies was Principal Film Exchange. Records in the Office Files illustrate the technical and financial aspects of making and distributing films. Appearing throughout the papers is Budd Rogers, with whom Krellberg had a variety of working relationships, including a partnership in Ultra Pictures Corporation. Krellberg's career, spanning over sixty years, was not always a financial success. There are past due bills and demands for tax payments throughout the collection, as well as evidence that in 1968 Krellberg declared bankruptcy.
A main portion of Krellberg's business involved the distribution of second feature or "B" movies and serials. In a films section of the Office Files are records relating to six films featuring the singing cowboy Hopalong Cassidy, including translations of the dialog into Spanish and Portuguese for distribution in foreign markets. Krellberg also distributed pictures featuring Lightning the Marvel Dog and Kazan the Wonder Dog, both billed as sons of Rin Tin Tin. There is also extensive material on Singing in the Dark, starring Moishe Oysher and Joey Adams. In addition, there are files relating to White Zombie starring Bela Lugosi and the American releases of the Fritz Lang films, The Last Will of Dr. Mabuse and M. Other files relate to serials featuring the characters Ace Drummond, Buck Rogers, and Flash Gordon. In addition, there is material on The Lost City, which Krellberg produced, and the earliest work documented in the collection, the 1919 silent serial The Fatal Fortune.
Krellberg also produced stage plays, particularly in the 1950s. Theatrical productions represented in the collection include The Fifth Season and The Pink Jungle, which starred Ginger Rogers and closed in 1959 before reaching Broadway. Krellberg produced the 1964 stage show Josephine Baker and Her Company, which appeared on Broadway and toured the country for several months. The financial details of the Josephine Baker tour are well documented.
Also contained in the Office Files is a group of scripts and treatments, many of which were never produced. These include manuscripts from the 1960s and 1970s which Krellberg purchased from Bryanston Films. The scripts range widely in subject matter, including "Hard to be a Jew" by Sholom Aleichem, 1931, "Promises Written on Water" by Sylvester E. Stallone, 1970, and an undated musical stage play "The Count of Ten" by William Penzner, slated to be directed by Busby Berkeley.
The Financial Papers series includes ledger books and bank records relating to Krellberg's companies. There are also ledgers on RKO and Universal films which Krellberg distributed through his companies. Several of these ledgers, particularly the ledgers for the Principal Film Exchange, document the distribution of films to theaters in New York and New Jersey.