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Finding Aid to the Geoffrey Bell Papers, 1953-1989, bulk 1964-1989
BANC MSS 90/130 c
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Table of contents
Collection Title: Geoffrey Bell papers
Date (inclusive): 1953-1989,
Date (bulk): bulk 1964-1989
Collection Number: BANC MSS 90/130 c
Creators :
Bell, Geoffrey, 1909-
Extent:
Number of containers: 8 cartons, 1 box, 2 card file boxes, 2 oversize boxes
Linear feet: 12.4
Repository: The Bancroft Library
Berkeley, California 94720-6000
Abstract: The Geoffrey Bell papers contain materials relating to his career as a film historian and film producer, chiefly about early
film-making in the San Francisco Bay Area. The bulk of the collection, which has been arranged in six series, consists of
correspondence, synopsis, scripts, drafts, research and production files, notes, publicity, reviews, clippings, and financial
reports for Bell's films, books, articles, and speeches. The collection contains material both created and collected by Bell
in the course of his work, and includes some original programs and clippings from the 1910s that are not reflected in the
date span of the collection.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English
Physical Location: Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information
on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft
Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which
must also be obtained by the reader.
[Identification of item], Geoffrey Bell Papers, BANC MSS 90/130 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
There are no alternate forms of this collection.
Videotapes/sound recordings have been transferred to the Microforms Collection of The Bancroft Library.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Motion picture industry--California--San Francisco Bay Area--History
Motion pictures--History
Anderson, Gilbert M., 1882-1971
Essanay Film Manufacturing Co.--History
Western films--United States--History and criticism
Muybridge, Eadweard, 1830-1904
London, Jack, 1876-1916.--Biography
Harte, Bret, 1836-1902--Biography
Manuscripts for publication
Scripts (documents)
Photographs
The Geoffrey Bell Papers were given to The Bancroft Library by Geoffrey Bell in February 1990.
No additions are expected.
Processed by Iris Donovan and Lisa de Larios in 1998.
Mr. Bell, after retiring from a career in the U.S. Coast Guard, studied film at San Francisco State University. He has produced
and directed several award-winning documentary films and published a number of articles and a book on film history,
The Golden Gate and the Silver Screen.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Geoffrey Bell papers contain materials relating to his career as a film historian and film producer, chiefly concerning
early film-making in the San Francisco Bay Area. The collection includes files relating to Bell's best known films,
Movies Go West, First (Motion) Picture Show, and
Those Daring Young Film Makers by the Golden Gate, among others, and for his book,
The Golden Gate and the Silver Screen. There is material both created and collected by Bell in the course of his work, including some original programs and clippings
from the 1910s. His papers conclude with a small amount of correspondence with personal friends, acquaintances, and others
interested in Bell and his work on film history, as well as a few miscellaneous items concerning Geoffrey Bell and the Bell
family.
Bell's two films about California authors:
My Jack London: a Daughter Remembers, and
Bret Harte: Chronicler of the West, are well represented in the collection, which also includes materials relating to his two early films,
Point Reyes and Maya. Files for his book,
The Golden Gate and the Silver Screen, include detailed card indices created during the project, plus a large quantity of copy prints he gathered in the course
of his work. There are also drafts and research materials for an unpublished book,
Broncho Billy: The First Reel Cowboy.
The bulk of the collection, which has been arranged in six series, consists of correspondence, synopsis, scripts, drafts,
research and production files, notes, publicity, reviews, clippings, and financial reports for Bell's films, books, articles,
and speeches.