AFI Archive – Print Collections
The AFI Print Collections are comprised of manuscript collections related to the history of cinema, including screenplays, storyboards, sketches, correspondence, contracts, production documents and personal papers spanning the life and work of Charles K. Feldman, Martin Scorsese, Leo McCarey, Thomas Rickman, Fritz Lang, Stuart Cornfeld and more.
THE AFI COLLECTION
The American Film Institute Collection spans the history of the institution (1966-present) and beyond, and reflects the establishment, growth and history of the Institute, the AFI Conservatory and AFI DWW+. The collection is composed of a variety of materials including correspondence and memorandums, brochures, memorabilia, administrative and financial records, reports, monographs, periodicals, press clippings, press releases, programs, lists, biographies, transcripts and audio-visual materials relating to the institutional memory and records.
ART DIRECTION COLLECTION
This is a collection of orphaned work, consisting of reproductions and original drawings of interior and exterior set designs and storyboards from several films including FROM NOON TILL THREE, THE DEVIL AT 4’OCLOCK, A MAGIC FLAME and LADYHAWKE, with works by Production Designers Robert Clatworthy, John Beckham, Walter Holscher and Wolf Kroeger.
CHARLES K. FELDMAN PAPERS
The Charles K. Feldman Papers span his life (1904-1968) and beyond and reflects the management of his company and his assets after his death. The collection contains materials relating to Charles K. Feldman’s work as producer and talent agent, creator of the “packaged deal,” business relationships with Darryl Zanuck, Louis B. Mayer, William Holden, Howard Hawks and many others. Also included is Feldman’s formation of the Hollywood Victory Committee, a precursor to the USO Show, and the film industry’s response to World War II.
CHARLEY VARRICK COLLECTION
The CHARLEY VARRICK Collection spans the years 1968 to 1972. The materials relate to the screenwriting process from original story treatment to the final script and include draft versions of the screenplay, along with notes, correspondences and revisions.
DIE TOTE VON BEVERLY HILLS PAPERS
The DIE TOTE VON BEVERLY HILLS Collection (1963) consists of preproduction materials, such as scripts, schedules and budgets. Despite being a German film, all of the manuscripts are in English.
EDMUND GOULDING PAPERS
The Edmund Goulding Papers span Goulding’s professional life in the film industry and on Broadway (1925–1959), and beyond. Most of Goulding’s papers relating to his screenwriting and directing work in the film industry are from projects he never completed. His papers relating to his playwriting, writing, composing and inventing concern both unrealized and realized projects.
EDWARD LUDWIG COLLECTION
The Edward Ludwig Collection is comprised of 12 scripts from 3 IS A FAMLY, YOUNG AMERICANS SEQUEL, and SMUGGLER’S ISLAND; notes on SATIRE ON COMMENTATORS; and research notes and research photographs from the film SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON.
FRANK PIERSON COLLECTION
The Frank Pierson Collection spans from 1987 to 1999 and includes scripts, personal reflections, and notes by Frank Pierson.
FRITZ LANG PAPERS
The Fritz Lang Papers are comprised of personal and business correspondence, financial records, newspaper clippings, film production documents, MGM memorandums, household records and date books.
GEORGE CHANDLER COLLECTION
The George Chandler Collection includes motion picture scripts from the 1930s through the 1970s.
GEORGE SEITZ PAPERS
The George Seitz Papers contains materials relating to three MGM films directed by Seitz in 1937 and 1938, UNDER THE COVER OF NIGHT, YOU’RE ONLY YOUNG ONCE and YELLOW JACK.
HARRY HORNER COLLECTION
The Harry Horner Collection includes scripts, research notes, location photographs and budget information relating to the films HARRY AND WALTER GO TO NEW YORK, MOMENT TO MOMENT and SIX WEEKS.
HENRY HATHAWAY COLLECTION
The Henry Hathaway Collection consists of bound annotated scripts and scrapbooks each related to a film project. The annotated scripts include production notes, correspondence, storyboards and photographs that span from 1932 –1971, encompassing over 80% of Hathaway’s films. The scrapbooks include press clippings, correspondence, photographs, promotional materials, production stills, program, and research materials relating to the production, promotion and reception of Hathaway’s various films spanning from 1934–1949.
JACK MINTZ PAPERS
The Jack Mintz Papers range from 1921–1948 and are composed of a variety of documents including both personal and business records.
LEGEND PAPERS
The LEGEND Papers span from 1983 to 1985. The collection contains preproduction material, such as scripts, correspondence, schedules, breakdowns, budgets, storyboards and press clippings related to the film.
LEO MCCAREY PAPERS
The Leo McCarey Papers span 1934 –1971, covering the bulk of his work as a Hollywood director and screenwriter, to slightly after his death in 1969. The collection is composed of both personal and business papers, including correspondence, film scripts, music and lyrics, photographs, plays, press clippings and various financial documents relating to investments and real estate. The materials reflect his deep religious beliefs and anti-communism sentiments, as well as revealing the Hollywood establishment’s view on censorship, among other topics. Some of his most popular films are represented, such as AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER, THE BELLS OF ST. MARY’S and GOING MY WAY.
LILLY KILVERT COLLECTION
This collection came to AFI in two boxes filled with 21 binders. The collection consists of research and production design references for 4 known films, 5 unknown films, one binder of pre-production materials for the film ENDURANCE, one photo album from the set of LEGENDS OF THE FALL, and one album from the set of OPERATION VALKYRIE.
MARTIN SCORSESE PAPERS
The Martin Scorsese Papers are comprised of a variety of materials relating to Scorsese’s various feature and short films, plays and television work from his early career, including MEAN STREETS, ALICE DOESN’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE, TAXI DRIVER, NEW YORK NEW YORK, RAGING BULL, THE KING OF COMEDY, AFTER HOURS and CAPE FEAR (1991). The materials from the latter half of Scorsese’ career to the present currently reside at Wesleyan University’s Cinema Archives.
MITCHELL LEISEN PAPERS
The Mitchell Leisen Papers span his film and television career from the early 1930s until the late 1960s. Scripts, production stills, research notes and bound scripts reflect Leisen’s thorough involvement, hands-on approach to directing and attention to detail and include notes, ideas, doodles and more.
THE FORTY DAYS OF MUSA DAGH
THE FORTY DAYS OF MUSA DAGH Collection includes iterations of the screenplay, dated between 1935 and 1982. Containing seven decades of attempts to produce a film depicting a fictionalized account of the Armenian Genocide, based on the novel by Franz Werfel, the scripts illustrate the various socio-political temperaments of their time periods.
ORAL HISTORY COLLECTION
The Oral History Collection is comprised of interviews conducted between 1969–1975 with noted individuals who worked within the motion picture industry, such as directors, producers, screenwriters, set decorators, costume designers, film editors, composers and illustrators. The collection includes audio recordings and printed transcripts, many of which are digitally available.
PETRIE FAMILY SCRIPT COLLECTION
The Petrie Family Script Collection contains bound scripts, photographs and other ephemera related to the careers of Dorothea and Daniel Petrie.
PUBLIX OPINION COLLECTION
The Publix Opinion Papers span from 1927 to 1930 and is comprised of four bound volumes of Publix Opinion newsletters. The Publix Theatres Corporation was formed after Paramount Famous Players-Lasky acquired the Balaban & Katz Theater Corporation of Chicago in November of 1925. Publix was created as a combination of Paramount’s theaters and Balaban & Katz’s theaters. Publix Opinion was the newsletter sent out to each of the Publix theater managers throughout the country. Much of its content consists of articles about the many theaters owned by Publix, as well as advice on advertising, biographies of theater managers and speeches by the president of Publix, Sam Katz.
RADIO DAILY NEWSPAPER COLLECTION
The Radio Daily Newspaper Collection is comprised of 125 issues. The content of the publication includes radio and television news in reference to individual regional radio stations, major national networks, agencies, advertising trends, union negotiations, broadcasting company stock exchange information, regulations, reviews of specific programs, birthday announcements and advertisements for broadcasting equipment and services. The multilingual nature of the United States and Canada is reflected in the advertisements from radio stations that feature programming in Italian, Yiddish, Polish and more.
RICHARD LEVINSON AND WILLIAM LINK COLLECTION
The Levinson and Link Collection spans a variety of materials pertaining to the life and work of Richard Levinson and William Link. Levinson and Link worked together for 41 years, writing and producing in a variety of formats, including television films and series, motion pictures, radio, theater and literature. Subjects include individuals such as Hollis Alpert, Patty Duke, Michael Eisner, Peter Falk, and Aaron Spelling; television films such as MY SWEET CHARLIE, PRESCRIPTION: MURDER and THAT CERTAIN SUMMER; and television series such as COLUMBO and MURDER, SHE WROTE.
RKO FLASH NEWSLETTER COLLECTION
The RKO Flash Newsletter Collection spans late 1931 into 1932 through 1952 (1946 and 1947 not present) and is comprised of RKO Radio Pictures weekly company newsletters. The newsletters were distributed internally and include columns written by RKO management, lists of company birthdays, news regarding recent releases and successes, rankings of city-based sales teams, salesmen portraits, business-related cartoons and more.
ROBERT WAGNER’S SCRIPT COLLECTION
This collection contains 302 issues of the periodical Rob Wagner’s Script dating from 1929 to 1941. It includes issues from Volumes 2 through 26. Subjects include actor biographies, commentaries, articles on present issues in Hollywood, and human-interest stories.
SAMUEL GOLDWYN STUDIOS SOUND RECORDING MANUALS COLLECTION
The Samuel Goldwyn Studios Sound Recording Manuals Collection contains manuals and technical information bulletins relating to the operation, maintenance and instruction for the Western Electric sound recording systems, machines and recorders.
SERGEI M. EISENSTEIN COLLECTION
This collection contains artwork by Sergei Eisenstein spanning from 1917 to 1946 and reflect different aspects and inspirations of his career. All the works in this collection are reproductions created by the specialists of the Leningrad Ivan Fedorov Press and were published in 1968¬–1971 by the Association of Filmmakers of the USSR.
STEVEN JAY RUBIN PAPERS
The Steven Jay Rubin Papers span a series of interviews, transcripts and writings relating to Rubin’s work as a film historian and author of books relating to the history and making of the James Bond films and combat films. Subjects include, but aren’t limited to, individuals such as Albert (Cubby) Broccoli, Sean Connery, Roald Dahl, Ian Fleming, Carl Foreman, William Holden, Stanley Kramer, Maximilian Schell and Terence Young; films such as BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, DR. NO, FROM HERE TO ETERNITY, FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, GOLDFINGER, LIVE AND LET DIE, ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE, PATTON, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, TARZAN and YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE; historic events such as World War II; and various aspects of film production and associated topics.
STEWART CORNFELD COLLECTION
The Stewart Cornfeld Papers reflect his career as a film producer and include photographs, production documents, concept art, costume design, scripts and casting materials, as well as publicity, press and ephemera related to the films THE FLY, KAFKA, TENACIOUS D IN THE PICK OF DESTINY and the television series FALLEN ANGELS.
THEODORE J. FLICKER PAPERS
The Theodore J. Flicker Collection includes scripts, treatments, contact sheets and story ideas from Flicker’s film career, including THE TROUBLEMAKER, SPINOUT, DON’T MAKE WAVES, THE CROWDED BED, THE MAN FROM MEDICI and THE PRESIDENT’S ANALYST.
THOMAS RICKMAN PAPERS
The Thomas Rickman Papers reflect his career as a screenwriter and include scripts, contracts, research notes and more relating to films such as COAL MINER’S DAUGHTER, HOOPER and THE RIVER RAT.
THE AFI COLLECTION
ART DIRECTION COLLECTION
CHARLES K. FELDMAN PAPERS
CHARLEY VARRICK COLLECTION
DIE TOTE VON BEVERLY HILLS PAPERS
EDMUND GOULDING PAPERS
EDWARD LUDWIG COLLECTION
FRANK PIERSON COLLECTION
FRITZ LANG PAPERS
GEORGE CHANDLER COLLECTION
GEORGE SEITZ PAPERS
HARRY HORNER COLLECTION
HENRY HATHAWAY COLLECTION
JACK MINTZ PAPERS
LEGEND PAPERS
LEO MCCAREY PAPERS
LILLY KILVERT COLLECTION
MARTIN SCORSESE PAPERS
MITCHELL LEISEN PAPERS
THE FORTY DAYS OF MUSA DAGH
ORAL HISTORY COLLECTION
PETRIE FAMILY SCRIPT COLLECTION
PUBLIX OPINION COLLECTION
RADIO DAILY NEWSPAPER COLLECTION
RICHARD LEVINSON AND WILLIAM LINK COLLECTION
RKO FLASH NEWSLETTER COLLECTION
ROBERT WAGNER’S SCRIPT MAGAZINE COLLECTION
SAMUEL GOLDWYN STUDIOS SOUND RECORDING MANUALS COLLECTION
SERGEI M. EISENSTEIN COLLECTION
STEVEN JAY RUBIN PAPERS
STEWART CORNFELD COLLECTION
THEODORE J. FLICKER PAPERS
THOMAS RICKMAN PAPERS
Only a small portion of the AFI Archive is presented online. Materials held by the AFI Archive may be protected by copyright. To learn more about the full collection or to obtain permission to use AFI Archive materials, please contact [email protected].
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