Researching Movie Production

[FancyJimSherwood]

Hi,

This is my first post after lurking for a few years. I recognise a lot the names on here from posting in the silent movies newsgroup back in the late '90s and '00s, glad to see the gang is still out there.

I'm posting in the hopes of getting some advice from the film historians on here.

I'm trying to get some production information on The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (Warners '39) and The Fighting Prince of Donegal (Disney '66 - produced in England) for a history/film project of mine. Given that I am based in Ireland, is there anyway of getting information on these films' productions without literally going to California and sifting through some university's storage boxes?

I'd appreciate any direction.

And I hope the obscurity of my username is appreciated by someone!

[Harold Aherne]

For Elizabeth and Essex, the Warner production files are at the University of Southern California:
http://www.usc.edu/libraries/collections/warner_bros/

...but that probably doesn't help, unless you have a friend in California willing to get the information for you. Couldn't tell you who to contact for Disney.

-HA

[Frederica]

For Elizabeth and Essex, the Warner production files are at the University of Southern California:
http://www.usc.edu/libraries/collections/warner_bros/

...but that probably doesn't help, unless you have a friend in California willing to get the information for you. Couldn't tell you who to contact for Disney.

-HA

You could hire someone here to do it for you, which will save you a heap of airfare and lodging.

[Brooksie]

There is always the Media History Digital Archive (http://mediahistoryproject.org" target="_blank" target="_blank). Industry magazines of the time will have information on the '39 production.

[FancyJimSherwood]

Thanks for the tips, maybe a USC film student interested in a few hours work might be the way to go.

It will probably end up as an aritcle in a minor history journal, so, it's not exactly worth the trip to California but I am also eager to research the article the best I can.

Edit I've just noticed you can request scanned documents from the Warner archive, so, that might work out.

[bobfells]

Let me suggest another path, less satisfactory but perhaps more economical. You might run down secondary sources, i.e., books and essays about WB, Flynn, Davis, Steiner or whatever aspect you are researching. A high profile film like ELIZABETH AND ESSEX has probably already had researchers drawing on the WB Archive and that research, secondary though it is, may be found in publications easily acquired through the library system.

This film is a favorite of mine, its shortcomings notwithstanding, so I just did a little research myself and found this interesting account through Google Books:
http://books.google.com/books?id=50zStE ... MQ6AEwCTgU" target="_blank

The book itself is Elizabeth I in Film and Television: A Study of the Major Portrayals
by Bethany Latham, published 2011 by McFarland here in the states.

BTW, isn't Fancy Jim Sherwood the character name of Douglas Fairbanks in THE MAN FROM PAINTED POST? I know this because of my vast knowledge of film history, and also because I just looked it up on Google.

[FancyJimSherwood]

This film is a favorite of mine, its shortcomings notwithstanding, so I just did a little research myself and found this interesting account through Google Books:
http://books.google.com/books?id=50zStE ... MQ6AEwCTgU" target="_blank" target="_blank

Thanks for the suggestions but I really need a level of detail that I am only going to find in the production documentation.

On a related note, my interest has always been in films with historical subjects, I was always intrigued when I was younger flicking through a film dictinary and finding references to George Arliss' Richlieu and The Iron Duke. I thought them so obscure I was amazed to come accross your Arliss site. Still haven't managed to see them though!

[bobfells]

Thanks for the suggestions but I really need a level of detail that I am only going to find in the production documentation.

On a related note, my interest has always been in films with historical subjects, I was always intrigued when I was younger flicking through a film dictinary and finding references to George Arliss' Richlieu and The Iron Duke. I thought them so obscure I was amazed to come accross your Arliss site. Still haven't managed to see them though!

You'll be in for a treat whenever you manage to catch up with any of the Arliss biopics. Biased towards them though I am, I feel safe in saying that these films have a unique style you won't find elsewhere in this genre. Biopics are not known for their humor, especially from the main character, but this is not the case with Arliss.The early ones established his popularity in films (DISRAELI, ALEXANDER HAMILTON) and hold up very well today. Oddly, the later ones are even better such as VOLTAIRE, HOUSE OF ROTHSCHILD, and RICHELIEU. Only THE IRON DUKE, made between ROTHSCHILD and RICHELIEU, and also his first UK film, is a step backwards. But as Leonard Maltin has said, DUKE gets better as it moves along, and I'd say it's a pretty good movie on its own terms.

[pwl]

Here's a book that might come in handy:

Inside Warner Bros. (1935-1951), edited by Rudy Behlmer (New York: Viking Penguin, 1985)

Reprints studio correspondence, production reports, and letters concerning major productions, mostly drawn from USC's files. Similar format to Behlmer's Memo from David O. Selznick.

[silentfilm]

Here's a book that might come in handy:

Inside Warner Bros. (1935-1951), edited by Rudy Behlmer (New York: Viking Penguin, 1985)

Reprints studio correspondence, production reports, and letters concerning major productions, mostly drawn from USC's files. Similar format to Behlmer's Memo from David O. Selznick.

This book has six pages of memos from Jack Warner, Hal Wallis, Bette Davis, Roy Orbringer, Frank Mattison, and Gradwell Sears about the production of this film, including problems with the title, actors working after 6 p.m., and Bette Davis' wanting to be billed first. It's definitely worth picking up this book.