Title: Playdate Department Correspondence: United Artists Corporation Records, Series 3K
Inclusive Dates: 1936-1950

Creator:

• United Artists Corporation

Call Number: U.S. Mss 99AN/3K

Physical Description: 3.4 cubic feet (9 archives boxes)
Repository:

Housed at the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives and Museum Collections; owned by the Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Correspondence, including memos, telegrams, rushgrams, and letters requesting approvals, dealing with the specific terms, prices, and playdating issues.

Note:

Forms part of the United Artists Corporation collection.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-99an003k

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This series incorporates the papers of three United Artists employees. John Hughes joined United Artists about 1935 working his way up to become manager. In that capacity, he supervised the dating of all pictures throughout the United States and Canada. Hughes retired from United Artists in 1975. His files consist of a sampling of correspondence with the major exchanges filed chronologically by year and alphabetically by city. Also included are daily reports of box office grosses, letters from various production companies, and 1950 playdate rejections.

Howard Hengster joined United Artists in 1933 as a clerk in the Tabulating Department moving to the Accounting Department in 1937 and the Sales Department in 1938. He entered the Playdate Department in 1945 as a correspondence clerk and became manager in 1946. He left United Artists in 1951. Hengster's correspondence, dating from 1947-1950, consists of alphabetically arranged exchange correspondence along with some miscellaneous corporate communications including news releases from the Publicity Department, box office grosses for 1947 and movie schedules.

John Wrege joined United Artists as a sales clerk in 1932 and moved to the Sales Promotion Department in 1934. Although he continued to be identified with the Sales Promotion Department, his correspondence is similar to that of Hughes and Hengster and some was originally labelled playdate correspondence. As a result, there is some uncertainty regarding his exact position and duties. His correspondence includes exchange correspondence for the years 1936, 1939, and 1943 together with a subject file that contains similar material that is alternately arranged. Also included are folders for the films I'll Be Seeing You and Since You Went Away as well as some circular letters and correspondence from United Artists executives and complaints from theater managers. According to United Action August 1946, Wrege was playdate manager for ten years. At that time he was assistant to Maury Orr, the Western Sales Manager.

Processing Information

The records in this series were extracted from acccesion M95-233 which was comprised of unprocessed and partially processed files. The files were received in 1969 and some work was done on them prior to box and folder lists being prepared and call numbers being assigned in 1994-1995.

Motion picture industry.Motion pictures -- Distribution.

U.S. Mss 99AN/3K	Series: John Hughes
	Chronological correspondence
Box   1   Folder 1-18	Exchange correspondence, 1945
Box   1   Folder 19-34	Atlanta-Minneapolis, 1946
Box   2   Folder 1-10	New Haven-Washington, D.C., 1946
Box   2   Folder 11	Kansas City, 1947
Box   2   Folder 12-20	Boston-Washington, D.C. exchange correspondence, 1950
	Circuit correspondence
Box   2   Folder 21	Brandt Circuit, 1950
Box   2   Folder 22	Fabrian Circuit, 1950
Box   2   Folder 23	Loew's Circuit, 1950
Box   2   Folder 24	RKO Circuit, 1950
Box   2   Folder 25	Shea Circuit, 1950
Box   2   Folder 26	Warner Circuit, 1950
	Circular letters
Box   2   Folder 27-28	General, 1950
Box   2   Folder 29	Army/Navy, 1950
Box   2   Folder 30	Selling instructions, 1950
	General correspondence
Box   3   Folder 1	Breakdown summary of weekly P & E, 1949-1950
Box   3   Folder 2	Bulletins from Publicity and Advertising Department, 1950
Box   3   Folder 3	City Lights terms and prices, undated
Box   3   Folder 4	Confidential reports research for United Artists, undated
Box   3   Folder 5	Cramblet, Ralph S. (Chicago district manager), undated
Box   3   Folder 6-7	Daily box office grosses, 1949-1950
Box   3   Folder 8	Exchange letters, 1950
Box   3   Folder 9	Hilton, Robert, undated
Box   3   Folder 10	Keith, W.T. (mid-continent district manager), undated
Box   3   Folder 11	Lazarus, Paul N., undated
Box   3   Folder 12	Legal correspondence (regarding competitive bidding), 1950
Box   3   Folder 13	Miscellany, 1945-1946
Box   3   Folder 14	Muller, Harry, undated
Box   3   Folder 15	Nathanson, Nat (east and central sales manager), undated
Box   3   Folder 16	O'Loughlin, J.J. (mid-continent district manager), undated
Box   3   Folder 17	Popkin Productions, undated
Box   3   Folder 18	Quicksand, undated
Box   3   Folder 19	Release date schedules, 1945-1950, undated
Box   3   Folder 20	Scalfani, Gus, undated
Box   3   Folder 21	Sears, Gradwell (circular letters), undated
Box   3   Folder 22	Small (Edward) Productions, undated
Box   3   Folder 23	Stromberg (Hunt) Productions, undated
Box   4   Folder 1	Calculation of expenses, undated
Box   4   Folder 2-3	Deal memos, 1948-1951
Box   4   Folder 4	Distribution analysis, 1934-1936
Box   4   Folder 5	Rejections, undated
	Series: Howard Hengster	⇧
	Chronological correspondence
Box   5   Folder 1-26	Atlanta-Washington, D.C., 1947
Box   5   Folder 27-37	Canada-Washington, D.C., 1948
Box   5   Folder 38-39	Correspondence, 1946-1950
	Miscellany
Box   6   Folder 1	Circular letters, 1949
Box   6   Folder 2-3	Daily report of box office grosses, 1947-1948
Box   6   Folder 4-5	Nationwide movie schedules, undated
	Series: John Wrege	⇧
	Chronological file
Box   6A   Folder 1-2	Sales correspondence, 1936
Box   7   Folder 1	General, undated
Box   7   Folder 2-16	Cleveland-St. Louis, undated
Box   7   Folder 17-38	Atlanta-Washington, D.C., 1939
Box   7   Folder 39-57	Atlanta-Washington, D.C., 1943
	Subject file
Box   8   Folder 1-2	Circular letters, 1942, 1948
Box   8   Folder 3	Complaints from theater managers, 1946-1948
Box   8   Folder 4	Cramblet, Ralph S. (Chicago manager), undated
Box   8   Folder 5	Disney cartoons, 1936-1937
Box   8   Folder 6	Durwood Theaters expenses and earnings, undated
Box   8   Folder 7	Exchange correspondence, 1948
Box   8   Folder 8	I'll Be Seeing You, 1945
Box   8   Folder 9	Kelly sales drive, 1941
Box   8   Folder 10	Lazarus, Paul, Jr., 1942, 1948
Box   8   Folder 11	Los Angeles exchange, 1937-1950
Box   8   Folder 12	Pittsburgh daily box office receipts, undated
Box   8   Folder 13	Since You Went Away, 1946-1948
Box   8   Folder 14	Unger, J.J., 1948
Box   8   Folder 15	Vanguard Films withdrawal, 1948