Elmer Dyer papers

Catalogued by Almendarez, Val
Margaret Herrick Library. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
333 S La Cienega Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Published January 2023


Descriptive Summary

Abstract: The collection consists of scripts; pressbooks; programs; financial records; biographical material, including many articles that Dyer wrote on his career, aerial photography, and Paul Mantz; correspondence of both a personal and business nature, particularly extensive for the period from 1916 to 1921; books; pamphlets; periodicals; catalogs regarding photography, photographic equipment, and supplies; and a scrapbook. Scripts for several U.S. Navy flight training films document Dyer's work during World War II.
Collector: Dyer, Elmer
Dates: 1910-1969
Dates: 1930-1959
Collection number: 21
Collection Size: 4 linear ft. of papers
Repository: Margaret Herrick Library. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

Access

Available by appointment only.

Publication Rights

Property rights to the physical object belong to the Margaret Herrick Library. Researchers are responsible for obtaining all necessary rights, licenses, or permissions from the appropriate companies or individuals before quoting from or publishing materials obtained from the library.

Preferred Citation

Elmer Dyer papers, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Stacy McCullough, 1985

Collection Scope and Content Summary

The Elmer Dyer papers span the years 1910-1969 (bulk 1930s-1950s) and encompass 4 linear feet. The papers consist of production files and subject files relating primarily to his professional career and his various businesses. The production material consists of scripts, pressbooks, programs, and other papers relating to some of the films Dyer worked on, both for the major studios—such as NIGHT FLIGHT (1933), THE GOOD EARTH (1937), TAIL SPIN (1939), and THE FLYING DEUCES (1939)—and for independent producers—including SPECIAL AGENT K-7 (1937) and THE ATTACK FOR 1940 (1939, short). THE BIG CIRCUS (1959) is the last film covered. Scripts for several U.S. Navy flight training films document Dyer's work during World War II. There is also a small number of scripts for unproduced properties. Of particular interest is SHADOW OF THE WING, which Michael Balcon was to have produced for MGM in 1937. The remainder of the collection consists of bills, receipts, and other financial records covering 1920-1965; biographical material about Elmer Dyer, including many articles that he wrote on his career, aerial photography, and Paul Mantz; correspondence, of both a personal and business nature, particularly extensive for the period from 1916 to 1921; books, pamphlets, periodicals, and catalogs regarding photography, photographic equipment, and supplies; and one oversize scrapbook containing clippings and other biographical information.

Biography

Elmer G. Dyer (1892-1970) was born in Lawrence, Kansas. His family moved to Los Angeles in 1906. Dyer worked as a glass cutter and designer for a number of years and for a short time was an assistant set dresser at Universal. Dyer's purchase of a camera led to his work as a freelance cinematographer from 1916 to 1921, and he sold footage to such firms as Paramount-Bray Pictorials, Universal Weekly, and the Gaumont Company. During the 1920s he photographed several Westerns but soon became known for his aerial photography using an Akeley camera. After working on HELL'S ANGELS (1930), he began to specialize in aerial photography and aerial stock shots and was closely associated with stunt pilot Paul Mantz for many years. His output during the 1930s and 1940s included AIR MAIL (1932), I WANTED WINGS (1941), ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS (1939), and AIR FORCE (1943); he received an Academy Award nomination in cinematography for the latter. During World War II Dyer served in the Army's First Motion Picture Unit and shot aerial footage for training films. Dyer began his own stock-shot library in the 1940s and in later years concentrated his energies on this business.

Arrangement of the Collection

1. Production files, subseries A-B as follows: A. Produced; B. Unproduced; 2. Subject files, subseries A-B as follows: A. General; B. Books and periodicals; 3. Scrapbooks

Indexing terms

Dyer, Elmer
Cinematographers


 

Manuscripts

 

Production files/Produced

folder 1

ACE OF THE LAW--pressbook Circa 1924--1924

Record ID: 71325779

Scope and Content Note

folder 2

AIR MAIL--general Circa 1932--1932

Record ID: 71325783

Scope and Content Note

mock-up pages for insert shots
folder 3

THE ATTACK FOR 1940--script 1939--1939

Record ID: 71325784

Scope and Content Note

script, July 12, 1939, 16 pages
folder 4

THE ATTACK FOR 1940--production material 1939--1939

Record ID: 71325785

Scope and Content Note

a breakdown of the aerial shots needed; letter from John A. Freese to Walter Bieling, with a strip of film, July 19, 1939; telegrams from John Freese, July 19, 1939, and July 25, 1939; telegram from Walter Bieling to Elmer Dyer, July 26, 1939; copy of an agreement with the Navy Department
folder 5

THE BIG CIRCUS--correspondence 1958--1958

Record ID: 71325786

Scope and Content Note

copies of letters from the Niagara Falls Park Commissioners, October 31, 1958, and November 5, 1958
folder 6

THE BIG CIRCUS--storyboards Circa 1959--1959

Record ID: 71325787

Scope and Content Note

five oversized pages with storyboards for the walk over Niagara Falls sequence
folder 7

BOWS AND ARROWS--correspondence 1939--1939

Record ID: 71325788

Scope and Content Note

copy of the agreement with Columbia for the rights to the film, August 9, 1939; copy of a letter from Columbia, September 7, 1939; letter from Columbia, September 8, 1939; payment receipts
folder 8

THE CEMENT PILLOW [television]--script

Record ID: 71325789

Scope and Content Note

script by Warren Douglas, undated, 41 pages
folder 9

DARE DEVILS OF THE AIR--publicity

Record ID: 71325790

Scope and Content Note

folder 10

DIRIGIBLE--program 1931--1931

Record ID: 71325791

Scope and Content Note

folder 11

DIVE BOMBER--script 1941--1941

Record ID: 71325792

Scope and Content Note

final screenplay, part 1, by Frank Wead and Robert Buckner, March 11, 1941, 146 pages
folder 12

FLIGHT--program Circa 1929--1929

Record ID: 71325793

Scope and Content Note

folder 13

THE FLYING DEUCES--script Circa 1939--1939

Record ID: 71325794

Scope and Content Note

screenplay, 79 pages
folder 14

THE FLYING DEUCES--production material Circa 1939--1939

Record ID: 71325795

Scope and Content Note

tentative schedule for aerial shots; breakdown of the process shots needed; storyboard drawing
folder 15

GALLANT JOURNEY--script 1946--1946

Record ID: 71325796

Scope and Content Note

final draft screenplay by Byron Morgan and William A. Wellman, January 18, 1946, 143 pages
folder 16

GLIMPSES IN A NUDIST COLONY--titles

Record ID: 71325797

Scope and Content Note

list of titles for the film
folder 17

GLIMPSES IN A NUDIST COLONY--publicity

Record ID: 71325798

Scope and Content Note

folder 18

GOLDEN TRAILS--pressbook

Record ID: 71325799

Scope and Content Note

folder 19

THE GOOD EARTH--script 1935--1935

Record ID: 71325800

Scope and Content Note

screenplay by Marc Connolly, August 21, 1935, 119 pages
folder 20

THE GOOD EARTH--production memos 1935--1935

Record ID: 71325801

Scope and Content Note

instructions for photographing clouds from Mr. Fleming, November 12, 1935; memo from Frank Messinger to John Arnold regarding cloud photos, November 20, 1935, attached to a memo from Frank Messinger to Mr. Basevi with a script extract, November 7, 1935
folder 21

HELL'S ANGELS--general 1929--1929

Record ID: 71325802

Scope and Content Note

memo announcing the end of shooting, undated
folder 22

I WANTED WINGS--script 1940--1940

Record ID: 71325803

Scope and Content Note

screenplay, August 16, 1940, 126 pages
folder 23

LIGHTNING STRIKES WEST--script 1940--1940

Record ID: 71325804

Scope and Content Note

screenplay by Martha Chapin, January 20, 1940, 71 pages
folder 24

THE LOST SQUADRON--script 1931--1931

Record ID: 71325805

Scope and Content Note

first draft script, September 24, 1931, 124 pages
folder 25

THE LOST SQUADRON--script 1931--1931

Record ID: 71325806

Scope and Content Note

final script (incomplete) by Dick Grace, October 31, 1931, 23 pages
folder 26

MILE-A-MINUTE-MORGAN--press sheets Circa 1924--1924

Record ID: 71325807

Scope and Content Note

folder 27

MURDER IN THE CLOUDS--script 1934--1934

Record ID: 71325808

Scope and Content Note

final screenplay by Dore Schary and Roy Chanslor, August 21, 1934, 114 pages
folder 28

MURDER IN THE CLOUDS--script Circa 1934--1934

Record ID: 71325878

Scope and Content Note

breakdown pages
folder 29

NIGHT FLIGHT--script 1933--1933

Record ID: 71325809

Scope and Content Note

screenplay by Oliver H. P. Garrett, March 28, 1933, 101 pages
folder 30

NIGHT FLIGHT--script 1933--1933

Record ID: 71325810

Scope and Content Note

breakdown of scenes needing aerial photography, March 31, 1933, 8 pages
folder 31

NIGHT FLIGHT--script 1933--1933

Record ID: 71325811

Scope and Content Note

conference notes dictated by Clarence Brown, April 12, 1933, 8 pages
folder 32

PORT OF SEVEN SEAS--script 1937--1937

Record ID: 71325812

Scope and Content Note

temporary complete script, "Fanny," August 19, 1937, 106 pages
folder 33

PRIMARY FLIGHT TRAINING FILMS--script 1946--1946

Record ID: 71325813

Scope and Content Note

script number 9B, "Wingovers," revised July 1, 1946, 38 pages [light annotations]; script number 9C, "Slips," revised July 1, 1946, 30 pages [medium annotations]; script number 12, "Fly-Through Aerobatics," revised July 1, 1946, 62 pages [medium annotations]
folder 34

PRIMARY FLIGHT TRAINING FILMS--script 1946--1946

Record ID: 71325814

Scope and Content Note

script number 12, "Fly-Through Aerobatics," revised July 1, 1946, 62 pages (second copy) [medium annotations]; script number 13, "Aerobatics Involving Stalls," script, revised July 1, 1946, 25 pages [light annotations]
folder 35

RANGER BILL--pressbook Circa 1925--1925

Record ID: 71325815

Scope and Content Note

folder 36

SEPTEMBER MORN--titles

Record ID: 71325816

Scope and Content Note

list of titles for the film
folder 37

SEPTEMBER MORN--publicity

Record ID: 71325817

Scope and Content Note

folder 38

SPECIAL AGENT K-7--script Circa 1937--1937

Record ID: 71325818

Scope and Content Note

screenplay, 193 pages
folder 39

SPECIAL AGENT K-7--publicity Circa 1937--1937

Record ID: 71325819

Scope and Content Note

folder 40

TAIL SPIN--script 1938--1938

Record ID: 71325820

Scope and Content Note

final script by Frank Wead, August 20, 1938, 158 pages
folder 41

TAIL SPIN--breakdown 1938--1938

Record ID: 71325821

Scope and Content Note

breakdown of exterior and interior sequences related to flying, August 23, 1938, 55 pages
folder 42

TIMBER FURY--script Circa 1950--1950

Record ID: 71325822

Scope and Content Note

screenplay, 62 pages [medium annotations]
folder 43

THE WEB OF THE LAW--pressbook Circa 1923--1923

Record ID: 71325823

Scope and Content Note

folder 44

WEST POINT OF THE AIR--script 1934--1934

Record ID: 71325824

Scope and Content Note

screenplay by Philip Dunne, February 21, 1934, 151 pages
folder 45

THE WINNER'S CIRCLE--script Circa 1948--1948

Record ID: 71325825

Scope and Content Note

third draft screenplay by Howard J. Green, 84 pages (2 copies)
 

Production files/Unproduced

folder 46

ALL IS CONFUSION--script 1937--1937

Record ID: 71325826

Scope and Content Note

first draft continuity, February 24, 1937, 160 pages [lightly annotated]
folder 47

ALL IS CONFUSION--breakdown

Record ID: 71325828

Scope and Content Note

breakdown of process shots
folder 48

FACES--script

Record ID: 71325829

Scope and Content Note

treatment, 4 pages
folder 49

FLYING GOLD--script 1950--1950

Record ID: 71325830

Scope and Content Note

screenplay by Arthur L. Marble, 1950, 105 pages
folder 50

FOUR CARS--script 1936--1936

Record ID: 71325831

Scope and Content Note

first mimeograph, July 31, 1936, 16 pages
folder 51

GUN NOTCHES--script 1950--1950

Record ID: 71325832

Scope and Content Note

script for episode number 8, "Alarums and Excursions," by Paul Franklin, April 19, 1950, 25 pages
folder 52

I'M DADDY TO A BIRD--script 1939--1939

Record ID: 71325833

Scope and Content Note

first rough outline, May 13, 1939, 6 pages
folder 53

I'M DADDY TO A BIRD--breakdown

Record ID: 71325834

Scope and Content Note

breakdown of process shots
folder 54

LANDING AIDS, ARCATA--script 1948--1948

Record ID: 71325835

Scope and Content Note

modified shooting script, August 6, 1948
folder 55

SHADOW OF THE WING--script

Record ID: 71325836

Scope and Content Note

screenplay, 154 pages
folder 56

SHADOW OF THE WING--breakdown 1937--1937

Record ID: 71325837

Scope and Content Note

breakdown of shots needed, May-August 1937; memo from Michael Balcon, May 21, 1937
folder 57

SHADOW OF THE WING--production memos 1937--1937

Record ID: 71325838

Scope and Content Note

copies of two telegrams from Michael Balcon, June 10, 1937 and June 17, 1937
folder 58

WHAT A DAY--script 1938--1938

Record ID: 71325839

Scope and Content Note

treatment by Robert F. Lander, 1938, 24 pages
folder 59

WINGS OVER SAN ANTONIO--script

Record ID: 71325840

Scope and Content Note

screenplay, 127 pages
folder 60

WINGS OVER SAN ANTONIO--breakdown

Record ID: 71325841

Scope and Content Note

breakdown of aerial sequences
 

Subject files/General

folder 61

Bills and receipts 1920--1937

Record ID: 71325842

Scope and Content Note

bills and receipts, both personal and business
folder 62

Biographical material 1925--1966

Record ID: 71325845

Scope and Content Note

membership list for the Two Three Three Club, 1927; magazine articles written by, or about, Mr. Dyer, 1928-1966; newspaper clippings, 1925-1965
folder 63

Contracts 1924--1924

Record ID: 71325846

Scope and Content Note

contract with Independent Comedies, Inc., July 10, 1924; blank contracts with Lichtig & Englander Agency
folder 64

Correspondence 1910--1919

Record ID: 71325847

Scope and Content Note

correspondence from "Rural World Magazine," September 19, 1917; Devil's Gate Children's Camp, October 9, 1918; the Tuberculosis Society, September 17, 1918; numerous letters from Dyer's mother, Mrs. Bina Belle Root, 1915-1918; letters from Dyer's sister, Alice Winkler, July 10, 1917 and April 11, 1918; draft of a letter from Mr. Dyer to Mr. Kelso regarding an auto accident, undated; letter from the draft board with Dyer's classification, January 15, 1918; numerous letters with the following companies regarding the sale of documentary footage photographed by Mr. Dyer: Famous Players-Lasky (1919), Gaumont Co. (1916-1918), Ford Motor Co. (1917), Kinetacartoon Co. (1917-1918), C. L. Chester, Inc. (1916-1918), Keeley-Handy Syndicate (1916-1917), "Popular Mechanics" Magazine (1919), "Popular Science" Magazine (1919), Rothacker Film Mfg. Co. (1916), "Universal Screen Magazine" (1917), and the American Red Cross (1918)
folder 65

Correspondence 1920--1929

Record ID: 71325848

Scope and Content Note

wires from Whitman Bennet Studios, April 19, 1921, together with Dyer's reply, April 19, 1921; letters from Jesse J. Goldburg, October 21, 1921, and November 3, 1921; copies of letters from Dyer to Famous Players-Lasky, January 19, 1920, and August 20, 1921; letter from attorney A. P. Michael Narlion regarding the terms of Dyer's probation, April 11, 1929; receipts from the Prosecuting Attorney's office
folder 66

Correspondence 1930--1939

Record ID: 71325849

Scope and Content Note

Christmas cards; letter from Akeley Camera, December 4, 1930; certificate for writing from the Los Angeles School District for Gloria Dyer, January 29, 1931; fan letter from Ray Ashwell, undated; receipt for negative film from Paramount, September 23, 1932
folder 67

Correspondence 1940--1949

Record ID: 71325850

Scope and Content Note

a letter from "Durlam," October 21, 1946
folder 68

Correspondence 1950--1959

Record ID: 71325851

Scope and Content Note

letters of introduction for Dyer from Ray B. Bloker, TWA, July 29, 1955; letter from the U. S. Navy, December 4, 1950
folder 69

Correspondence 1960--1969

Record ID: 71325852

Scope and Content Note

a copy of a letter from the Spade ‘N' Gun Club, 1960; letter from Tom T. Matsumoto, February 17, 1969
folder 70

Educational footage titles 1916--1919

Record ID: 71325853

Scope and Content Note

"The Aquatic Farmer of Watts"; "Children's Open Air Health Camp"; "Expert Fly and Bait Casting"; "Feminine Life-Guards"; "Harvesting Kelp"; "How California Harvests Beans"; "The Life of the Bee"; "Making Hair Rope Novelties"; "Mt. Lowe Trip"; "One of the Curiosities of the West"; "Raising Imported Goats"; "Scientific Rose Culture"; "Soldiers Camouflaged Sleeping Bag"; "Spineless Cactus Man Tamed Desert Plant"; "A Tractor Demonstration"; "The Trap Door Spider"; "The Turbine Wind Engine"; "Utilizing the Potato"; "Utilizing the Sea Shell"; "War Dogs"
folder 71

Financial material 1923--1965

Record ID: 71325854

Scope and Content Note

two stock certificates from the Pacific Film Co., May 1923; Los Angeles County tax receipts, 1928-1929; Security Trust & Savings Bank loan notes, March 3, 1928, June 4, 1928, September 20, 1928; letter from the Whittier Building and Loan and Savings Bank, October 1, 1927; copy of Mr. Dyer's 1927 federal tax return; letter from the IRS accepting his 1928 tax return, November 21, 1929; cancelled checks; Allstate insurance policy, September 20, 1965
folder 72

Lab receipts 1953--1956

Record ID: 71325855

Scope and Content Note

receipts for film processing
folder 73

Miscellaneous 1936--1946

Record ID: 71325856

Scope and Content Note

a Royal Air Force Display program, 1937; National Air Races program, 1936; poster with photos of pioneer flyers; names and addresses [loose]; Castle Films Inc. film catalog; Hollywood Film Enterprises catalog, 1942; various sheets of letterhead for Mr. Dyer's companies; 25th Anniversary of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) booklet, 1946
folder 74

NuArt--correspondence 1936--1936

Record ID: 71325857

Scope and Content Note

letter from Joseph Halloran threatening a lawsuit, December 18, 1936; letter from Dwain Esper concerning the title SEPTEMBER MORN, January 5, 1936
folder 75

NuArt-orders 1936--1937

Record ID: 71325858

Scope and Content Note

orders for the 16mm films sold by the company
folder 76

Paramount-Bray Pictographs 1917--1921

Record ID: 71325859

Scope and Content Note

correspondence relating to the sale of footage photographed by Dyer
folder 77

Photographic catalogues

Record ID: 71325860

Scope and Content Note

price lists and instruction booklets for various cameras, lenses, paper, and chemicals
folder 78

Photographic catalogues

Record ID: 71325861

Scope and Content Note

Bell & Howell; Eastman Kodak; Western Electric; Akeley Camera; Bausch & Lomb; Zeiss Lenses
folder 79

Receipts 1965--1965

Record ID: 71325862

Scope and Content Note

receipts for the sale of stock footage for the year 1965
folder 80

Receipts 1965--1965

Record ID: 71325863

Scope and Content Note

receipts for the sale of stock footage for the year 1965
folder 81

Record books 1938--1942

Record ID: 71325864

Scope and Content Note

books with the record of sales of stock shots and negative for the following periods: 1938-1942, and January-October 1954
folder 82

Record books 1961--1964

Record ID: 71325865

Scope and Content Note

books with the record of sales of stock shots and negative for the following periods: July to December 1961, and January 1963 to July 1964
folder 83

Sketches

Record ID: 71325866

Scope and Content Note

two drawings of Dopey
folder 84

Whiffle-Giffs 1923--1923

Record ID: 71325867

Scope and Content Note

titles for "Whiffle-Giffs #3" (1923), a series of puppet cartoons made by Dyer
 

Subject files/Books and periodicals

folder 85

Books 1920--1944

Record ID: 71325868

Scope and Content Note

Eastman Kodak Co. "The Photography of Colored Objects "(4th ed.). Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak, 1920; Eastman Kodak Co. "Wratten Light Filters" (17th ed.). Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak, 1944; Dr. Othmar Helwich. "Practical Infra-Red Photography." London: The Fountain Press, undated; Mallinckrodt Chemical Works. "The Chemistry of Photography" (6th ed.). St. Louis: Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, 1940; C. E. K. Mees. "The Fundamentals of Photography." Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak, 1920; Fred Westerberg. "The Cinematographer's Book of Tables." Hollywood, CA: The International Photographer, 1934. [inscribed to Dyer by Lieut. Don Norwood.]
folder 86

Pamphlets 1920--1926

Record ID: 71325870

Scope and Content Note

Ansco Photoproducts, "Ansco Professional Pointer," 1926 (2 copies); Bausch & Lomb Optical Co., "Sigmar Lenses for Portrait Photography," undated; Eastman Kodak Co., "About Lenses," 1923; Eastman Kodak Co., "About Lenses," 1924; Eastman Kodak Co., "Color Films, Plates and Filters for Commercial Photography," 1924; Eastman Kodak Co., "Color Plates and Filters for Commercial Photography," 1921; Eastman Kodak Co., "Elementary Photographic Chemistry," 1920
folder 87

Pamphlets 1917--1933

Record ID: 71325871

Scope and Content Note

Eastman Kodak Co., "Enlarging," 1917; Eastman Kodak Co., "Lantern Slides," undated; Eastman Kodak Co., "Professional Enlarging," 1925; Eastman Kodak Co., "Reproduction Work with Dry Plates and Films," 1925; E. Leavenworth Elliott, "Artificial Light vs. Natural Light in the Studio," undated; Eastman Kodak Co., "Visual Acuity," undated; Dr. Clyde Fisher, "Carl Akeley and His Work," 1927; Frank R. Frapric, "How to Choose and Use a Lens," 1919; Hammer Dry Plate Co., "Hammer's Little Book," undated; D. R. White, "Photographic Effects Obtained with Infra D Negative," 1933
folder 88

Periodicals

Record ID: 71325872

Scope and Content Note

"American Photography," vol. XX, no. 6, June 1926; "Camera Craft," vol. XLI, no. 4, April 1934; "Evidence in Camera," vol. 6, no. 12, March 20, 1944; "Photographic Digest," vol. 9, no. 7, July 1919
folder 89

Periodicals 1926--1926

Record ID: 71325873

Scope and Content Note

"The British Journal Photographic Almanac," 1926
folder 90

Periodicals 1927--1929

Record ID: 71325874

Scope and Content Note

"The British Journal Photographic Almanac," 1927, 1929
folder 91

Periodicals 1930--1934

Record ID: 71325875

Scope and Content Note

"The British Journal Photographic Almanac," 1930, 1934
 

Scrapbooks

 

Scrapbook Circa 1920--1932

Record ID: 71325876

Scope and Content Note

Dyer personal clippings, including biographical material covering the mid-1920s to early 1930s; clippings on stunt pilots and aerial photography; clippings on DIRIGIBLE (Columbia, 1931)