Guide to the United States Signal Corps Film Unit Records

Title: United States Signal Corps Film Unit Records

Date (inclusive): 1945 - 1946

Collection number: Bernath Mss 139

Extent: .3 linear feet (1 oversize box)

Repository: University of California, Santa Barbara. Library. Department of Special Collections

Physical location: Del Sur

Language of Material: Collection materials in English

None.

Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.

United States Signal Corps Film Unit Records. Bernath Mss 139. Department of Special Collections, Davidson Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Purchase, 2005.

This collection consists of a large binder containing caption sheets, critical evaluations, and other paperwork relating to films shot during 1945 and 1946 by soldiers serving in the U.S. Army Signal Corps film units, particularly one Sergeant William McClure. Events covered by the material in the collection include the war crimes trials of two Japanese generals, Tomoyuki Yamashita and Masaharu Homma; German atrocities discovered in Hanover; the liberation of American POWs; reactions among soldiers to V-E Day celebrations; activities of the Red Cross; the plight of displaced persons; the conversion of the port of Bremen for use by American forces; and even boxing matches held in Manila. Also included are several Motion Picture Coverage Reports, marked "Confidential," which discuss issues of technique while evaluating the output of the various film units; as well as copies of the newsletters Photo News, Front Focus, and The Pathe Rooster.

The caption sheets provide both specific information on the technical aspects of the filming and detailed descriptions of what was captured on each roll, including summaries of what the subjects were saying. Occasionally, direct quotations are transcribed as well. The evaluations deal primarily with technical problems, but also shed light on the Army's desire to maximize the propaganda potential of the footage while it was being shot.

The film footage created by the U.S. Army Signal Corps is now housed at the National Archives Special Media Archives Services Division in College Park, Maryland.