Finding aid for the Dwain Esper papers, 1928-1984 LSC.2301
Machine-readable finding aid prepared by Caroline Cubé.
UCLA Library Special Collections
Finding aid last updated 14 July 2016.
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Business Number: 310-825-4988
Fax Number: 310-206-1864
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Dwain Esper papers
Creator:
Esper, Dwain
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.2301
Physical Description:
1.8 linear feet
(2 document boxes and 1 oversize flatbox)
Date (inclusive): 1928-1984
Abstract: This collection primarily contains material belonging to movie producer and director Dwain Esper and his wife Hildagarde,
including photographs, correspondence, business records, and advertisements, many of which are connected to Esper's movies
and career.
Physical Location: Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Restrictions on Access
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained
by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue
the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Francis M. Woods and Kimberly Douglas, 2014.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Dwain Esper Papers (Collection 2301). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Processing Information
Processed by Anh Kiet Ngo, under the supervision of Melissa Haley.
Several credit card receipts were deaccessioned from collection.
Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user
interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides
a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive
processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.
We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating
existing description of our materials that contains language that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit
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Biography/History
Dwain Esper (1892-1982) was an American producer and director of exploitation films including
Narcotic (1933),
Maniac (1934),
Marihuana (1936), and
Sex Madness (1938). He is best-known as producer/distributor of the cult classic
Reefer Madness (1936). In 1920, Esper married Hildagarde Stadie (1895-1993), who also wrote some of his movies.
Scope and Content
This collection consists of correspondence, legal and copyright material, photographs, and advertisements related to Dwain
Esper's films, and well as business and financial records. Also present are some personal papers and photographs, as well
as two sex education booklets by Hildagarde Esper. There is no material in this collection related to the film
Reefer Madness.
Organization and Arrangement
The collection is organized into the following series:
- Series 1. Film-related papers
- Series 2. Business records
- Series 3. Personal material
- Series 4. Photographs
- Series 5. Advertisements
- Series 6. Books
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Maniac (Motion picture: 1934)
Exploitation films
Esper, Hildagarde
Renay, Liz
Series 1. Film-related papers
1930-1984
Scope and Content
Series includes copyright paperwork, legal agreements, publicity material, correspondence, ratings paperwork, and a script
(Maniac) related to specific films produced by Esper or of interest to him. Also present is a small amount of financial records,
primarily invoices for film prints, as well as correspondence regarding theatrical releases and M.J.W. Theatrical Enterprises,
Inc. Advertisements for Esper's films are located in Series 5.
box 1, folder 1
"Egyptian Picture"
undated
box 1, folder 2
French Peep Show
1972-1977
box 1, folder 4
Hitler's Strange Love Life
1973
Scope and Content
Alternative titles include Will It Happen Again? and Conform or Die.
box 1, folder 5
How to Undress in Front of Your Husband
1935, undated
box 1, folder 8
Will It Happen Again?
1948, 1975
Scope and Content
Alternative title for Hitler's Strange Love Life.
box 1, folder 9
Legal/copyright records
1950-1984
box 1, folder 10
Correspondence
1950, 1971-1976
box 1, folder 11
Financial records
1972-1973
Series 2. Business records
1957-1970
Scope and Content
Includes financial records, correspondence, and reports relating to other business or real estate dealings of Dwain and Hildagarde
Esper.
box 1, folder 12
Tempest Mining Corporation
1970
box 1, folder 13
Warm Springs Lead-Zinc Prospect
1957
box 1, folder 14
Financial records
1957-1964
Series 3. Personal material
1942-[1984]
Scope and Content
Series includes Esper's membership cards, notes. clippings, entertainment magazines, and ephemera. Also present are photographs
(box 1), clippings, and posters related to cult film star and burlesque performer Liz Renay (1926-2007).
box 1, folder 16
Membership cards
1942-1969
box 2, folder 1
Magazines and ephemera
1945-1979, undated
box 2, folder 2, box 1, folder 18
Series 4. Photographs
[1900s]-1960
Scope and Content
Series contains primarily reprints of historic photographs of 20th century figures and events, including Adolf Hitler, Eva
Braun, Benito Mussolini, and Vladimir Lenin, as well as Nazi concentration camps. Also present are film stills from Forbidden
Adventure, images of marquees of theaters screening Esper's films, and family photographs.
box 1, folder 19
Hitler/Nazi Germany
undated
box 1, folder 20
Buchenwald/concentration camps
undated
box 1, folder 24
Other historical figures
undated
box 1, folder 25
Forbidden Adventure stills
undated
box 1, folder 27
Film stills (non-Esper)
undated
box 1, folder 28
Family photographs
[1900s]-1960
Series 5. Advertisements
Undated
Scope and Contents note
Series consists of lobby cards for Forbidden Adventure and mock-ups of advertisements for other Esper films, as well as some
promotional material for a few non-Esper films.
box 2, folder 3
Forbidden Adventure
undated
box 2, folder 5
Hitler's Strange Love Life
undated
Scope and Content
Includes one full-size poster.
box 1, folder 29
Ads (relief mats)
undated
box 3
Series 6. Books
1934-1948
Scope and Content
Contains two sex education booklets by Hildagarde Esper: Your Sex Questions Answered... What Every Modern Mother and Father
Should Know (1934), and Facts of Life: What Every Adult Should Know about Sex and Its Relation to Human Happiness (1948).
Also present is The Book of Poe: Tales, Criticism, Poems (1934).
