Dorothy Arzner papers, circa 1920-1979

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Summary

Creators:
Arzner, Dorothy, 1900-1979
Abstract:
Collection consists of clippings, sketches, photographs and motion picture stills, correspondence, scrapbooks, audio recordings, and ephemera related to Dorothy Arzner's personal life and career as filmmaker. Includes stills the films Anybody's Woman, The Bride Wore Red, The Covered Wagon, Craig's Wife, Dance Girl Dance, Fashion for Women, First Comes Courage, Get Your Man, Manhattan Cocktail, Merrily We Go To Hell, Nana, Old Ironsides, Ten Modern Commandments, and Working Girls.
Extent:
3.5 Linear Feet (7 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Dorothy Arzner papers (Collection PASC 175). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists of clippings, sketches, photographs and motion picture stills, correspondence, scrapbooks, audio recordings, and ephemera related to Arzner's personal life and career as filmmaker. Includes stills the films Anybody's Woman, The Bride Wore Red, The Covered Wagon, Craig's Wife, Dance Girl Dance, Fashion for Women, First Comes Courage, Get Your Man, Manhattan Cocktail, Merrily We Go To Hell, Nana, Old Ironsides, Ten Modern Commandments, and Working Girls.

Biographical / historical:

Arzner was born Jan. 3, 1900; studied medicine at Univ. of So. CA; ambulance driver in WWI (1917-18); in 1919, she was hired by William C. De Mille as a stenographer in the script dept. at Famous Players-Lasky (Paramount), and was later promoted to script clerk, film cutter, and film editor; editor for Realart, a subsidiary of Paramount, 1922; wrote and edited "Old Ironsides," 1925; met Marion Morgan, choreographer and dancer, in the early 1930s and the two remained companions until Morgan's death in 1971; retired from directing in 1943; produced WAC training films during WWII; taught at UCLA and made commercials for Pepsi-Cola; her credits include, "Christopher Strong" (1933), "Nana" (1934), and "Craig's Wife" (1936); honored at the 1st International Festival of Women's Films, NY, 1972, and by Director's Guild of America, 1975; died Oct. 1, 1979 in La Quinta, CA.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Mildred Sumner, 1985.
Processing information:

Processed by UCLA Library Special Collections staff.

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.

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Arrangement:

Arranged in the following series:

  1. Audio recordings (box 2)
  2. Clippings (box 5)
  3. Negatives (box 6)
  4. Personal sketches (box 5)
  5. Personal photographs (boxes 5-6)
  6. Personal correspondence (box 7)
  7. Scrapbooks (boxes 1,3,4)
  8. Stills (box 6)
  9. Tributes (boxes 6-7)
  10. Writings by and about Arzner (box 7)

Physical / technical requirements:

CONTAINS AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: This collection contains processed audiovisual materials. All requests to access audiovisual materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

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:

Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

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], Dorothy Arzner papers (Collection PASC 175). 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