RKO Radio Pictures records, circa 1921-circa 1956

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Summary

Creators:
RKO Radio Pictures
Abstract:
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. was founded in 1928 and continued as a major motion picture studio for more than 27 years. The collection consists of script files, production information files, music scores and arrangements, script synopses and reader's reports, story submission cards, payroll records, and books from what appears to be the story department library. Included within the collection is information pertaining to ca. 3,000 plus produced and/or unproduced projects related to the studio's history.
Extent:
2042.5 Linear Feet (4085 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], RKO Radio Pictures Studio Records (Collection PASC 3). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of script files, production information files, music scores and arrangements, script synopses and reader's reports, what appears to be Story Department files consisting of story submission cards and books, and payroll records. Included within the collection is information related to 2500-plus produced and/or unproduced projects produced and/or distributed by RKO.

The script files may include various script drafts for 2000-plus feature films and shorts, both produced and unproduced or distributed by RKO. Included are files for 400-plus RKO shorts such as Deep House, Dummy Ache, Scratch-As-Catch-Can, and Should Wives Work?; 50-plus Path; shorts, and assorted RKO serials. The feature film writings include Alice Adams, Cat People, Cimarron, Gay Divorcee, Gunga Din, I Remember Mama, The Informer, King Kong, Kitty Foyle, Love Affair, Morning Glory, My Favorite Wife, The Sea Around Us, Shall We Dance, Stage Door, Suspicion, and Top Hat, to name a few.

The production information files are day-to-day production records for RKO features films and some shorts. Each project file may include a mix of cast call sheets, extra talent requisitions, set accounting records, and possibly on-set production memoranda. Among the large number RKO productions represented in the files are the feature films Carefree, Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer, Bringing Up Baby, and Enchanted Cottage; projects such as the Broadway Headliners series; and productions featuring the comedy team of Clark and McCullough, actors Edgar Kennedy, Leon Errol, Harry Sweet, and country and western singer, Ray Whitely, among others.

The music files may include scores, parts for individual instruments, and music cue sheets for feature films and some shorts. The music files showcase composers such as Bernard Herrmann, Alfred Newman, Max Stiener, Franz Waxman, and Roy Webb to name a few.

The script synopsis-reader report files include story synopsis-reader reports and occasional interdepartmental communication with comments about the works/story. Individual reports generally include title and author of the original work, type of work (i.e. Biographical), theme, summary, and reader name. The story submission cards contain resume-like information related to literary materials offered to or covered by RKO from 1928-1958. The file is organized by story title and by author name. Additionally there is a subject file index (which is not as voluminous as the title and author index files). The library of books comprises original literary properties including published plays, novels, and reference books. The payroll records include start and close payroll advice cards for various studio employees covering ca. 1921-1956 (with gaps

Notably absent from the collection are legal records, stills, and publicity material related to RKO productions.

Biographical / historical:

RKO Radio Pictures was founded in 1928 and operated out of the former Robertson-Cole studios in Hollywood (now part of the Paramount lot). The company was born out of mergers among the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), the Film Booking Offices of America (FBO) and the Keith-Albee-Orpheum vaudeville circuit in the 1920s. The result was Radio-Keith-Orpheum, better known as RKO. The studio built its prestige upon a generally high production standard and the participation of major stars, such as Fred Astaire, Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers. Additionally, were the stars from behind the camera such as Edward Dmytryk, John Ford, Howard Hawks, Val Lewton, George Stevens, and Orson Welles, among others. Amongst its productions were The Bells of St. Mary's, Bringing Up Baby, Cat People, Cimarron, Citizen Kane, The Farmer's Daughter, Gunga Din, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Informer, King Kong, Kitty Foyle, Little Women, The Magnificent Ambersons, Morning Glory, Notorious, Suspicion and the classic Fred Astaire titles Carefree, Flying Down to Rio, Follow the Fleet, The Gay Divorcee, Roberta, Shall We Dance, Swing Time and Top Hat. Aside from its own productions, RKO also released Goldwyn, Disney and Selznick films such as The Best Years of Our Lives, Becky Sharp, It's a Wonderful Life, and a variety of Disney feature animation films up until 1954. The company continued as a major motion picture studio for more than 27 years. In 1948 Howard Hughes acquired a large share of RKO stock and gained control of the company. After a period of financial difficulties, the company ceased production in 1958, and the studio lot was closed and the real estate sold to Desilu. (Note: historical note based on information from Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Margaret Herrick Library website.)

Acquisition information:
Gift of RKO Pictures, 1987.
Processing information:

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.

Processed by UCLA Library Special Collections staff, pre-1999. Revised by Tim Wilson of the Performing Arts Special Collections Center for Primary Research and Training, 2008. Descriptive Summary and series notes updated by Julie Graham, 2010 and 2014.

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 feedback about how our collections are described, and how they could be described more accurately, by filling out the form located on our website: Report Potentially Offensive Description in Library Special Collections.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized into the following series:

  • Series 1. Feature Films and Shorts
  • Series 2. Story Department Records
  • Series 3. Payroll Records

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.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The payroll cards in this collection are restricted. Inquiries regarding these materials should be directed, in writing, to Special Collections reference (spec-coll@library.ucla.edu).

Terms of access:

Property rights to the physical 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.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], RKO Radio Pictures Studio Records (Collection PASC 3). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
Website