ABSTRACT Title of Document: OUT OF THE PAST: PUBLIC POLICIES, POLITICAL PRESSURES, AND AMERICAN FILM PRESERVATION Brian Real, Doctorate of Philosophy in Information Studies, 2015 Directed By: Professor John Carlo Bertot, College of Information Studies Professor Paul T. Jaeger, College of Information Studies This dissertation analyzes the federal government’s support for motion picture preservation, beginning with the founding of the American Film Institute (AFI) as a federally funded, nonprofit organization in 1967 and continuing through various government actions to support film preservation through the 1990s. The nature of this support, funding or otherwise, has varied greatly over the past decades, being informed by contemporary contexts and the perceived needs of the United States government. From the founding of cinema through the middle of the 1930s, most films were considered expendable within several years after their release. This changed in the United States when the Museum of Modern Art began collecting motion pictures. The federal government began supporting the activities of this institution and other film archives soon after and into the following years. Federal support for film preservation was generally sporadic, with the government often ceasing funding when its perceived needs were met, until the founding of the AFI. At this point, film preservation became an ongoing concern of the federal government, and it has remained so since. Beyond the AFI, landmark moments for film preservation have included the National Film Preservation Acts of 1988, 1992, and 1996 and the founding of the National Film Preservation Foundation in 1996. This study used a holistic approach, considering how various stakeholders have influenced or been influenced by the federal government’s actions regarding film preservation. Such stakeholders include film preservationists and archivists, businesses that produced or own the rights to films, the creative talent that makes movies, media scholars, and the general public. This analysis provides a history that will be of interest to practitioners in the field of motion picture preservation and it will help them to understand how to navigate the competing interests that influence their profession. OUT OF THE PAST: PUBLIC POLICIES, POLITICAL PRESSURES, AND AMERICAN FILM PRESERVATION By Brian Real Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy 2015 Advisory Committee: Professor John Carlo Bertot, Chair Professor Paul T. Jaeger, Co-Chair Oliver Gaycken, PhD Ricardo Punzalan, PhD Elizabeth A. Papazian, PhD © Copyright by Brian Real 2015 Acknowledgements This dissertation could not have been completed without the considerable support of numerous individuals over the past decade. My interest in film preservation began for two key reasons. First, my work for the Calvert Library, a public library system in southern Maryland, introduced me to librarianship and generated my interest in other information institutions such as archives. The years 2006 through 2010 were perhaps the most important for my personal and professional develop, due to the high level of support I was given for my work during these years. The fact that I am not thanking anyone personally for my time at Calvert Library is a result of there being too many individuals deserving of recognition. Second, although I previously had an interest in film studies and silent cinema, I was introduced the concepts underlying film preservation when I attended Le Giornate del Cinema Muto – also known as the Pordenone Silent Film Festival – after receiving funding to be part of its annual “Collegium” of students, young scholars, and young professionals in 2007 and 2008. I met some of my closest friends in the film studies and film archives fields at this festival, at Le Giornate del Cinema Muto in Bologna, and at various academic conference throughout the United States in the ensuing years. All of these individuals have contributed to this work in some way, but I am particularly grateful for the help and support of James Layton, Laurel Howard, Daniel Wiegand, Jelena Rakin, Andreas Thein, Ashley Blewer, and Travis Wagner. The staff of Library Media Services at the University of Maryland provided me with invaluable training in media librarianship, as well as ongoing moral support over the years following my departure from this library. I am grateful to Allan Rough, ii Carleton Jackson, Linda Sarigol, Ying Guo, and Fernando Jimenez for sharing their knowledge with me. Elizabeth Papazian and Caroline Eades deserve special recognition for bringing me into the film studies working group at the University of Maryland and giving me an opportunity to contribute to the creation of the university’s film studies program and the promotion of cinema culture on campus. Both offered a level of trust in my abilities and ongoing guidance that allowed me to create an impact on the University of Maryland of which I am particularly proud. Liz, in particular, has provided feedback over the years that has made me a better scholar and contributed significantly to shaping this dissertation through her service on my committee. I am grateful for the support and collegiality of faculty members Valerie Anishchenkova, Jonathan Auerbach, Hester Baer, Peter Beicken, Oliver Gaycken, Saverio Giovacchini, Judith Hallett, Regina Harrison, Jason Kuo, Michele Mason, Zita Nunes, Valerie Orlando, Orrin Wang, and Eric Zakim over the past five years. Oliver was particularly gracious in agreeing to serve on the committee for this dissertation, and both he and Jonathan Auerbach have provided useful feedback in response to my ideas in the past years. Likewise, fellow graduate assistants Mike Quilligan, Arielle LaBrecque, and Jeff Eastman, as well as fellow grad students Andy Black, Paul Cote, and Adam Nixon helped me to feel like part of a community of peers while at UMD. My knowledge of Information Studies was fostered by faculty mentors during my time with Maryland’s iSchool. Bruce Ambacher and Jean Dryden provided me with my initial academic understanding of archives, while John Bertot and Paul Jaeger have worked with me over the past four years to guide my transition into iii academia and shape my knowledge of information policy. John and Paul guided the committee for this dissertation, and they have given me a wealth of opportunities to work on projects that have developed my professional reputation and competencies in recent years as I have worked under them at the Information Policy and Access Center (iPAC). I cannot overstate the value of their guidance and patience. Faculty members who have helped me in my development at the iSchool are too numerous to list in full. Ricky Punzalan deserves recognition for serving on my committee and for his considerable contributions to archival education at UMD and in the field broadly. Beth St. Jean was exceptionally kind and supportive in teaching me how to teach. Mega Subramaniam, Katie Shilton, Andrea Wiggins, Kari Kraus, Brian Butler, Michael Kurtz, and Doug Oard all provided academic guidance and a feeling of collegiality that made it a pleasure to be part of the iSchool. Likewise, the sense of community within iPAC was greatly enhanced by fellow PhD students Ursula Gorham, Natalie Greene Taylor, and Amanda Waugh, MLS Coordinator Lindsay Sarin, graduate research associates Frank Bonnevier, Liz Larson, Jean Lee, Ruth Lincoln, Abby McDermott, Becca Oxley, Johnna Percell, Kim White, and Erin Zerhusen, and many others. I am grateful for the various opportunities I had to test out and refine the concepts presented throughout this dissertation. The editors of The Moving Image, then Marsha Gordon and Devin Orgeron, provided much needed feedback on my article on the National Film Preservation Acts, which became the basis of chapters five and six. I am also grateful to the two anonymous peer reviewers, whose remarks were indispensable in helping me to refine my thoughts and find sources I had iv initially overlooked. I presented earlier versions of the discussions of George Stevens Jr. and the USIA Motion Picture Service, now part of chapter three, at the 2013 Northeast Historic Film Summer Symposium and the 2013 graduate conference Special Affects, organized and hosted by the Film Studies Graduate Student Organization at the University of Pittsburgh. Additionally, I was allowed to present some of my early thoughts on the founding and operations of the AFI at the 2013 Film & History Conference in Madison, WI. Without these opportunities to present my work to audiences and receive valuable feedback, this dissertation would not be what it is today. Archival materials for this study include Anthony Slide’s personal papers at the Center for Archival Studies at Bowling Green State University, as well as the Fred Zinnemann and Larry Karr papers at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Margaret Herrick Library. I am grateful to the staff of all of these institutions for their time and considerable patience. Anthony Slide deserves recognition for meticulously maintaining his and Larry Karr’s papers, as does Snowden Becker for providing me with a place to stay while conducting research at the Academy. Eric Schwartz, George Stevens Jr., and David Shepard were extremely generous with their time during interviews, and their candidness was much appreciated. Likewise, Paul Spehr, David Pierce, and Kim Tomadjoglou provided a wealth of informal advice. Their knowledge of the field of motion picture preservation cannot be understated and was indispensable for shaping this study. Beyond these three individuals, the film preservation community has been extremely v welcoming over the recent years, and I appreciate of the many individuals who have allowed me to be part of this world. Most importantly, I thank Sarah Cantor for her support over the last four years, including her patience with innumerable drafts of this text, her willingness to listen as I attempted to work through ideas, and being there during moments of doubt that inevitably come with an undertaking of this scale.