Hi all-
Got my copy of it yesterday and wanted to share it with you. The book was reviewed by Ron Standerfer for Reader Views. Here it is....
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Whatever happened to all those news reels we used to watch in the movie theaters when we were kids? Or those training films they made us watch when we were drafted or enlisted in the military? How about those carefully crafted films depicting life in America during the Twentieth Century; some dating back to early 1900s? I’m sure many of us would like to see them again just to see what life was like in those days. The good news is that many of those films are alive and well, tucked safely away in the care of the federal government. The bad news is that finding a specific film can be a difficult and frustrating task. Until now.
In one fell swoop, “America’s Film Vault: A Reference Guide to the Motion Pictures Held by the U.S. National Archives,” by award-winning author and film-sleuth Phillip W. Stewart has leveled the playing field for historians, film buffs, and curiosity seekers. How significant is his new book? Consider this: for the first time ever, the whereabouts of over 360,000 film reels that document a century of American and world history have been assembled in book form. As a matter of fact, it is safe to say that some of the best kept history secrets are buried deep within Stewart’s book.
Considering the scope of “America’s Film Vault” I expected the review copy to arrive on a hand truck bearing a book somewhere in size between the Manhattan telephone directory and the oldfashion dictionaries that sit perched on large walnut stands in the libraries. To my surprise, it was quite modest in size; about 280 pages. But what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for it in sheer volume of information it contains between the covers.
Finding a specific title amongst the 360,000 or so films listed is relatively simple. For ease of search, the book is divided into five sections: Civilian Films; Military Films, Donated Films, Title Index, and Subject Index. Each film section begins with an overview which provides general information concerning what type of films the searcher can expect to find there. Of the three film sections I found the Donated Film section to be the most fascinating, mainly because it contains a treasure trove of newsreels. The subjects of these newsreels vary from the mundane to stories of epic proportions. Here’s an example of the former that was filmed by Universal Newspaper Newsreel: “Runaway Train Plunges Down Mountain: New Castle, PA - 210,000 tons of coal spilled, 32 cars wrecked, but nobody is hurt. Some of the derailed cars hung on the edge of a steep embankment.”
Can’t you just picture this?
So far “American Film Vault” has been warmly received by those in the know. For example, according to William T. Murphy, former Chief of the Motion Picture, Sound, and Video Branch of the National Archives, “America’s Film Vault” is, “...a convenient overview of National Archives and Records Administration's motion picture holdings, one difficult to obtain from any other source.”
“American Film Vault” is the third book Phillip Stewart has written as part of The Historic Footage Project. You can learn more about this project by visiting his website. Meanwhile, I am prepared to accept the challenge he laid down on the cover of his book; namely, “If you’re ready to play detective, take a crack at the combination, and investigate the bowels of the vault, you need a guide map...and this is it! Discover “reel” treasures with “America’s Film Vault.” I can’t wait to get started.
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If your interested, “America’s Film Vault” is available at Amazon.com.
More soon
Phil
Aerofilm Archives
Aerofilm Archives
William T. Murphy
As the co-author of the original guide to the National Archives and Records Administration's (NARA) motion pictures, I take some pride in noting its durability, but no one can dispute the need for a timely revision. Since 1972, the audiovisual records and collections have dramatically increased in size and complexity. For example, in early 1970's there are few films about the war in Vietnam, and now NARA has thousands of reels transferred by the Department of Defense. Morever, since NARA's on-line database, Archives Research Catalog (ARC), can never be comprehensive or up to date due to backlogs, new acquisitions, and chronic shortages of cataloging staff, only publications like this one can give the best overview. Finally, for those of us who may still be a little partial to research in 0ld-fashion libraries, this publication offers the opportunity to browse and thus find unexpected subjects that spark the imagination and serve as the basis for new research projects.
In this new publication, Phil stewart provides a convenient overview of NARA's motion picture holdings, one difficult to obtain from any other source. Only NARA's Guide to Federal Records, availalbe on its website, offers this kind of detailed information, but the motion picture entries as well as those for other audiovisual materials are dispersed and buried at the end of long entries describing office files and other textual records.
This does not mean that motion picture records should be viewed in isolation or taken out of context. After all, the films themselves tell only part of the story. On the contrary, these images represent essential records of our national history possessing a unique audiovisual dimension of information that the written or printed word can never replace. And yet, as many researchers realize, documents and files give these iflms context and meaning that help us understand their historical value today. In the ideal world of research and scholarship, researchers should have all relevant documents accessible to them regardless of format. Databases, like NARA's ARC, make cross-media searches possible. Autovisual researchers, though, the most likely group to benefit from this publication, often do not have the luxury of time to work with textual records due to production deadlines or other constraints.
Finally, in the ideal world all archival films will be individually cataloged, facilitating title and subject searches. NARA is nowhere near that level of description and probably will never be in view of other priorites for preservation and access. In the meantime, interim guides like this one serve a very useful purpose.
William T. Murphy
Bill Murphy retired from the NARA after a long career in the management of audiovisual archives. Subsequently, he established AVArchives Services, which provides consulting services for libraries, archives, and musueums and for documentary producers. He has written books on documentary films on the preservation of American television.
In this new publication, Phil stewart provides a convenient overview of NARA's motion picture holdings, one difficult to obtain from any other source. Only NARA's Guide to Federal Records, availalbe on its website, offers this kind of detailed information, but the motion picture entries as well as those for other audiovisual materials are dispersed and buried at the end of long entries describing office files and other textual records.
This does not mean that motion picture records should be viewed in isolation or taken out of context. After all, the films themselves tell only part of the story. On the contrary, these images represent essential records of our national history possessing a unique audiovisual dimension of information that the written or printed word can never replace. And yet, as many researchers realize, documents and files give these iflms context and meaning that help us understand their historical value today. In the ideal world of research and scholarship, researchers should have all relevant documents accessible to them regardless of format. Databases, like NARA's ARC, make cross-media searches possible. Autovisual researchers, though, the most likely group to benefit from this publication, often do not have the luxury of time to work with textual records due to production deadlines or other constraints.
Finally, in the ideal world all archival films will be individually cataloged, facilitating title and subject searches. NARA is nowhere near that level of description and probably will never be in view of other priorites for preservation and access. In the meantime, interim guides like this one serve a very useful purpose.
William T. Murphy
Bill Murphy retired from the NARA after a long career in the management of audiovisual archives. Subsequently, he established AVArchives Services, which provides consulting services for libraries, archives, and musueums and for documentary producers. He has written books on documentary films on the preservation of American television.
Reviewer's Choice!
Projected History: A Catalog of the U.S. National Stories Released by Universal Newsreel Volume One 1929-1930 lists over 1275 nationally released newsreel titles, covering the first two years of what was once known as the Universal Newspaper Newsreel. The reference to each individual news story is no more than a title and one or a handful of sentences encapsulating the story, such as "Runaway Train Plunges Down Mountain: New Castle, PA - 210,000 tons of coal spilled, 32 cars wrecked, but nobody is hurt. Some of the derailed cars hung on the edge of a steep embankment." A solid archive of history's highlights, compiled into an easy-to-use resource for quick reference, and enhanced with an exhaustive title index.
James A. Cox
The Midwest Book Review
Film & History Magazine
..."Mr. Stewart has performed a valuable service to researchers, filmmakers, and writers wishing to examine the visual images of World War I. BATTLEFILM includes additional information and has become the basic research tool for people working on the portrayal of the United States armed services in World War I. He must be praised for providing such a valuable catalogue..."
Larry Suid
Film & History
Larry Suid
Film & History
Over The Front
It is unlikely that a large number of World War I aviation enthusiasts collect copies of documentary film footage held in various archives -- right now, that is. But with rapid technological advances that situation could change when archives determine that revenue can be generated by making available reasonably-priced, digitized copies of unedited footage. Affordable, Do-It-Yourself documentaries could become a serious leisure time and/or scholarly interest. An example (if it is still available on-line when you read this) is the clip: http://www.realmilitaryflix.com/public/522.cfm
This footage is very nicely described in the narrative for Reel No. 1 (Activities of the 94th Aero Squadron) on page 68 of WAR WINGS: Films of the First Air War. Indeed, over more than 20 years the author viewed and catalogued the 2,553 motion picture scenes of World War I aviation activities held by the U.S. National ARchives and Records Administration (NARA). That footage is now held at the new Archives II facility in College Park, MD and, in addition to U.S. Army and Navy films, also includes British, French and German footage.
Almost 50 years ago, the late Colonel G.B. Jarrett, USA (Ret.), who established the U.S. Army Ordnance Museum in Aberdeen, MD, offered 8mm copies of various World War I and World War II films held by the NARA, which were snapped up by history buffs at the time. Now, thanks to Phillip Stewart's landmark book pertaining to World War I films, with scene-by-scene descriptions of the action shown, those old films have taken on a new meaning. Going beyond the original NARA narratives, stewart has indentified people, aircraft and other points not noted in the original film captions.
Just as Col. Jarrett "liberated" these NARA film treasures and made them publicly available at affordable prices in the late 1950's, the footage may well enjoy renewed life in the digital age. In addition to being an outstanding guide, the new book WAR WINGS: Films of the First Air War reinforces the historical value of these early films and is highly recommended.
Peter Kilduff
Over the Front Magazine
Treasure Trove Re-Discovered
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Editor's Choice!
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War Wings Wins!
War Wings Wins Two Awards!
Film researcher Phillip W. Stewart's book WAR WINGS was selected as an Award Finalist in both the Military History and Film/TV/Radio categories of the National Best Books 2008 Awards.
Film researcher Phillip W. Stewart's book WAR WINGS was selected as an Award Finalist in both the Military History and Film/TV/Radio categories of the National Best Books 2008 Awards.