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Richard Koszarski collection of research material on the early history of Universal Pictures Corporation, 1906-1996

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Series 1. Early History of Universal Pictures Corporation, 1906-1974 (continued)
Universal Pictures business, legal, and financial papers (continued)
BOX-FOLDER 2/9 Reorganization of executive staff, 1935
Memo from Carl Laemmle, jr.
BOX-FOLDER 2/10 Theaters
Notes on annual profit/loss; Carl Laemmle's contract.
BOX-FOLDER 2/11 Memos regarding merger
BOX-FOLDER 2/12 Picture costs and grosses, 1931-1935
BOX-FOLDER 2/13 Laemmle-Cochrane correspondence, Dec 1935-Jan 1936
BOX-FOLDER 2/14 Miscellaneous memos of Carl Laemmle and R. H. Cochrane, 1930s
BOX-FOLDER 2/15 Proposed 1935 purchase by Warner Bros. (legal file)
BOX-FOLDER 2/16 Standard Capital correspondence regarding merger, Dec 1935
BOX-FOLDER 2/17 Standard Capital correspondence regarding merger, Jan-June 1936
BOX-FOLDER 2/18 Standard Capital correspondence regarding execution of merger, 1936
BOX-FOLDER 3/1 Manuscript copy of "black notebooks" found in Universal's Hudson Street warehouse
(52 manuscript pages)
Said by staff to be contents of Carl Laemmle's personal safe (impossible to verify). Copied by Richard Koszarski in 19xx. Notebooks consisted of annualized costs, grosses and profit/loss of Universal features and program series released between 1921 and 1936. These figures differ from those in official reports prepared for public consumption.
Carl Laemmle historical documents
BOX-FOLDER 3/4 Carle Laemmle personal
BOX-FOLDER 3/5-7 Carl Laemmle memoirs
BOX-FOLDER 3/8 [Miscellaneous recent Carl Laemmle]
Questionaire re: James Friedman documentary; brochure for 100 Years of Hollywood: The Laemmle Effect traveling exhibit (German-American Heritage Foundation of the USA).
Universal Pictures historical documents
BOX-FOLDER 3/9 Universal studio histories, 1947, 1953, 1959
BOX-FOLDER 3/10 Universal studio histories, 1951, 1965, 1972
BOX-FOLDER 3/11 Universal junk list, 1948
Correspondence regarding destruction of negatives.
BOX-FOLDER 3/12 Show-at-home movie library
Notes, catalog, contracts.
BOX-FOLDER 3/13 Universal master feature list, 1914-1974
BOX-FOLDER 3/14 Universal Studio Club News, 25th anniverary edition, 1952
Individual Motion Pictures
BOX-FOLDER 4/1-13 Paul J. Rainey's African Hunt, 1912
Stills, frame enlargements, photographic copies of title cards.
BOX-FOLDER 4/14 Where Are My Children?, 1916
Continuity and subtitles (Lois Weber); pressboook and herald.
BOX-FOLDER OSD 1/2 Where Are My Children?
BOX-FOLDER 4/15 Is Any Girl Safe? (Anti-Vice M.P. Company), 1916
Continuity and subtitles (Jacques Jaccard).
BOX-FOLDER 4/16 Hell Morgan's Girl, 1916
Legal file regarding censorship of the film (NY Supreme Court) including testimony and argument, with continuity and subtitles (written by Ida May Park).
BOX-FOLDER 4/17 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, 1916
Multiple pages of notes transcribed by RK from legal documents and memos related to lawsuit in which Williamson Bros. sued Universal for payment regarding the special effects for this film. Includes abstract of Bahamas production diary.
BOX-FOLDER 4/18 The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, 1917
Continuity and subtitles of film in its original version (as Is a Woman a Person, by Lois Weber), with hand corrections regarding censorship.
BOX-FOLDER 4/19 A Kentucky Cinderella, 1917
Film report from studio manager H. O. Davis (xerox, 5pp.).
BOX-FOLDER 4/20 Universal-Smithsonian African expedition film, 1919
22 photographs documenting Belgian Congo train wreck which killed Universal director William Stowell and Dr. William Armstrong, the Smithsonian's business manager for the expedition.
BOX-FOLDER 4/21-24 King of Jazz, 1930
Employment contracts of Paul Whiteman and John Murray Anderson; music cue sheets for 1930 version; xerox copy of 1933 continuity; xerox copies of telegrams regarding production.
BOX-FOLDER 4/25 Air Mail, 1932
By John Ford. Publicity file including national clippings, pressbook, and promotional releases.
BOX-FOLDER OSD 1/3-4 Air Mail
BOX-FOLDER 4/26 Diamond Jim, 1935
Screenplay by Preston Sturges; producer James Grainger's copy, with blue pages.
Series 2. Financials gathered in connection with 1935-1936 corporate sale.
These are graphs, charts, tables, reports and memos, most of which were apparently gathered and/or created by J. Cheever Cowdin of Standard Capital Corp. They present a detailed picture of Universal's operating structure and financial history. Each exhibit contains multiple pages.
Mimeographed documents
BOX-FOLDER OSC 1/1 Coast contracts, 1935
Exhibits 1-2.
BOX-FOLDER OSC 1/2 Feature financing schedule, 1934-1935
Exhibits 3-5.
BOX-FOLDER OSC 1/3 Schedule of depreciation, overhead, payroll
Exhibits 6-11.
BOX-FOLDER OSC 1/4 Schedule of average negative cost, 1924-1934
Exhibits 13-14.
BOX-FOLDER OSC 1/5 Universal Pictures payroll and operating expenses, 1932-1934
Exhibits 16-20.
BOX-FOLDER OSC 1/6 Universal Pictures and subsidiary companies, profit and loss, thru 1935
Exhibits A-P (subset of above series?).
BOX-FOLDER 3/2 Report of findings, 1935
Executive summary of above materials.
BOX-FOLDER 3/3 Confidential memo, 1935
J. Cheever Cowdin's ideas on how Standard Capital should proceed.
Veloxed documents
BOX-FOLDER OSC 1/7 Universal features, profit and loss, 1926-1936
Spread sheets with detailed costs, grosses and profits for all features (23 pp.).
BOX-FOLDER OSC 1/8-13 Fold-out hand colored graphs
These oversized pages (67 sheets) chart all aspects of Universal's income and operating expenses during the 1920s and 1930s, and cover inventories, salaries, foreign business, studio operations, theater and exchange income, etc. Some begin as early as 1921 and most end in the mid-1930s, but others extend through 1940.
Series 3. Corporate publications, 1914-1917, 1920, 1925-1927, 1929-1965
BOX-FOLDER 5/1 Universal Film Manufacturing Company, semi-annual report, November 15, 1916
Extremely detailed report listing all assets and liabilities, with production cost of all negatives both released and unreleased (approximately 200 pages).
BOX-FOLDER 5/2 Bluebird Photoplays, Inc. balance sheet, January 21, 1917
BOX-FOLDER 5/3 Bluebird Photoplays, Inc. semi-annual report, July 22, 1917
These two reports document all aspects of Bluebird's financial operations, including costs of films with grosses broken out by territory, as well as inventories, accounts receivable, etc.
BOX-FOLDER 5/4-8 Consolidated balance sheets/annual reports, Universal Pictures Company, Inc., 1925-1927, 1929-1931, 1933-1965
Plus additional mid-year report for 1934. Sometimes these are bare-bones CPA summaries, but certain periods, especially the 1940s, are elaborately illustrated with color stills and detailed charts and graphics.
BOX-FOLDER 5/9 Universal Pictures Company and MCA, Inc. agreement of purchase and sale, dated December 16, 1958
45 pages.
BOX-FOLDER 5/10 MCA, Inc. and Universal Pictures Company, lease and facilities agreement, dated December 16, 1958
80 pages. These two documents record the sale of the studio property to MCA, and the conditions under which the facilities were leased back to Universal by MCA.
BOX 6 New Universal News Flashes, June 17, 1939--November 4, 1939
16 pamphlets; 4 x 9 inches; staple-bound
BOX 6 The Motion Picture Weekly/Universal Weekly, October 31, 1914--January 28, 1933
38 loose issues, plus one issue (February 1, 1916) of El Anunciador Universal, the Spanish-language version of The Universal Weekly (content not identical to English-language version).
Title Vol. No. Date
The Universal Weekly n/a n/a Oct. 31, 1914
The Universal Weekly n/a n/a Nov. 14, 1914
The Universal Weekly n/a n/a Dec. 26, 1914
The Universal Weekly n/a n/a Jan. 9, 1915
The Universal Weekly n/a n/a Jan. 16, 1915
The Moving Picture Weekly 1 1 July 3, 1915
The Moving Picture Weekly 1 3 July 17, 1915
El Anunciador Universal 2 12 Feb. 1, 1916
The Moving Picture Weekly 3 18 Dec. 16, 1916
The Moving Picture Weekly 4 4 Mar. 10, 1917
The Moving Picture Weekly 4 5 Mar. 17, 1917
The Moving Picture Weekly 4 6 Mar. 24, 1917
The Moving Picture Weekly 4 8 Apr. 7, 1917
The Moving Picture Weekly 4 9 Apr. 14, 1917
The Moving Picture Weekly 4 10 Apr. 21, 1917
The Moving Picture Weekly 4 11 Apr. 28, 1917
The Moving Picture Weekly 4 13 May 12, 1917
The Moving Picture Weekly 4 14 May 19, 1917
The Moving Picture Weekly 4 15 May 26, 1917
The Moving Picture Weekly 11 12 Nov. 6, 1920
The Moving Picture Weekly 11 13 Nov. 13, 1920
The Moving Picture Weekly 11 14 Nov. 20, 1920
The Moving Picture Weekly 12 15 Nov. 27, 1920
The Moving Picture Weekly 12 16 Dec. 4, 1920
Universal Weekly 21 18 June 13, 1925
Universal Weekly 23 13 May 8, 1926
Universal Weekly 23 16 May 29, 1926
Universal Weekly 24 18 Dec. 11, 1926
Universal Weekly 29 24 July 20, 1929
Universal Weekly 31 23 Nov. 19, 1932
Universal Weekly 31 25 Dec. 3, 1932
Universal Weekly 32 1 Dec. 17, 1932
Universal Weekly 32 2 Dec. 24, 1932
Universal Weekly 32 3 Dec. 31, 1932
Universal Weekly 32 4 Jan. 7, 1933
Universal Weekly 32 5 Jan. 14, 1933
Universal Weekly 32 7 Jan. 28, 1933
Series 4. Richard Koszarski's various Universal projects, 1971-1978, 1996
BOX-FOLDER 7/1-9 American Film Institute Universal Pictures project, 1971-1977
Notes on screenings, archival sources and interviews. Correspondence file focuses on dispute over AFI's claim of ownership of all scholarship funded by Louis B. Mayer Oral History Program.
Oral history interviews, 1972-1974
BOX-FOLDER 7/10 Gertrude Astor, July 12, 1973
Interview transcript; photocopies of news articles.
See audiocassette RYR 2034
BOX-FOLDER 7/11 Harry Burke, August 15, 1974
Interview transcript; permission form.
See audiocassette RYR 2042
BOX-FOLDER 7/12 Leslie Carey, August 7, 1974
Permission form.
See audiotape reel RXK 0309
BOX-FOLDER 7/13 David Garber, August 9, 1974
Interview transcript; permission form.
See audiocassettes RYR 2041-2042
BOX-FOLDER 7/14 Tay Garnett, June 7, 1973
Interview transcript.
See audiocassette RYR 2029
BOX-FOLDER 7/15 Ted Kent, January 20, 1972
Interview transcript.
See audiocassette RYR 2024
BOX-FOLDER 7/16 Ted Kent, June 5, 1973
Interview transcript.
See audiocassettes RYR 2027-2028
BOX-FOLDER 8/1 Paul Kohner, August 14, 1974, and August 28, 1974
Interview transcript; copy of document on realignment of exective staff.
See audiocassettes RYR 2040 and 2044
BOX-FOLDER 8/2 Ann Little, September 3, 1973
Interview transcript.
See audiocassette RYR 2032
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