This post was written by Audrey Amidon. Audrey is a Preservation Specialist in the Motion Picture Preservation Lab and writes for The Unwritten Record. James Wong Howe was one of America’s greatest cinematographers, with a career stretching from the golden age of silent cinema to the early 1970s. Nominated for ten Academy Awards, Howe won … Continue reading James Wong Howe: Hollywood’s Ace Cinematographer
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. During World War II, the U.S. government produced propaganda films to rally public support. Among the most famous of those motion pictures is Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress released in 1944. The … Continue reading Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress
Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park On February 4, 1950, Howland H. Sargeant, then Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs wrote George V. Allen, then U. S. Ambassador to Yugoslavia, that “Miss Myrna Loy has been here for the past week…doing more … Continue reading Myrna Loy: Her World Beyond Hollywood, Part II 1950-1993
Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park Myrna Loy was an American actress whose 129 movie career made her a household name for decades. A New York Times reporter wrote in November 1987, that “During the many years Myrna Loy reigned as one of America’s … Continue reading Myrna Loy, Her World Beyond Hollywood, Part I 1905-1949
Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park. During World War II, over 100,000 Italians helped at least 10,000 Allied escapees and evaders, by providing material and financial assistance to them in their efforts in avoiding being seized by the Germans and Fascists, as well as … Continue reading “Let’s Make a Movie:” The Allied Screening Commission (Italy) and the documentary Onore al Merito (To Whom Honor is Due), 1946
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. In 1959, United Artists released the major motion picture On the Beach, based on the 1957 novel of the same name by Nevil Shute. Both the book and the movie depict a post-apocalyptic world … Continue reading Preparing for the release of “On the Beach”
By David Langbart “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” is considered one of the great motion pictures produced by the American movie industry. In 1989, the Library of Congress added this masterpiece to the United States National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” The movie, starring James Stewart as Jefferson Smith (the “Mr. … Continue reading “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”: Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy as Movie Critic
Today's post is written by Cody White, Archivist at the National Archives at Denver “This is only one more step in our national disintegration, a loss of respect for things sacred to our history. This guardianship has been entrusted to you and it’s high time you did something about it.” It was August 1959 and an … Continue reading “North by Northwest” Starring…Mount Rushmore?
Today's post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher. Elizabeth Hamer, the chief of the National Archives Exhibits and Publications staff, maintained a very detailed daily diary of everything she and her staff did between 1946 and 1951. While conducting research for an article on the 1946 accessioning and exhibiting of Adolf Hitler’s Last Will and … Continue reading 13 Rue Madeleine and the National Archives
