Title: Harry D. Buckley Files: United Artists Corporation Records, Series 2B
Inclusive Dates: 1922-1952

Creators:

• Buckley, Harry D., 1893-1955
• United Artists Corporation

Call Number: U.S. Mss 99AN/2B

Physical Description: 24.4 cubic feet (63 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:

Files documenting Harry D. Buckley's various executive responsibilities during his career at United Artists. The files, which include much correspondence, cover a 30 year time span, and are arranged into four series: Title Registration Files, Executive Correspondence, Exchange Files, and Labor Files.

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-99an002b

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Processing Information

The records in this series were extracted from accession 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.

Harry D. Buckley joined United Artists soon after World War I as manager of the Kansas City exchange. Later Douglas Fairbanks Sr. hired him as road manager for Robin Hood (1922) after which Buckley was appointed general manager for the Douglas Fairbanks Picture Corporation and then business and personal agent for both Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. Buckley resigned from this position in 1926 to become vice president at United Artists and assistant to Joseph M. Schenck. In 1934 he was appointed corporate treasurer and in 1941 became assistant secretary.

Buckley's files relate to the various executive responsibilities he exercised for the company and are arranged into the following series: Title Registration Files, Executive Correspondence, Exchange Files, and Labor Files. Much of the Executive Correspondence dating from the 1920s concerns Buckley's relations with the Douglas Fairbanks Picture Corporation (there is no direct correspondence with Fairbanks however), the foreign distribution of United Artists products, and the exhibition and distribution of particular films such as The House of Rothschild (1934).

Dating from the early years of his tenure as vice-president is correspondence with exchanges and the Hays Office. The majority of the material from this period is financial in nature covering such topics as shared advertising and exploitation expenses although there is some correspondence with production companies. Of special interest in this series is the impact of censorship on the advertising of the film The Outlaw (1943) starring Jane Russell.

Correspondence which appears to represent Buckley's work as assistant corporate secretary (1941-1950) also documents the career of Harry J. Muller who also served as assistant secretary from 1933-1950. This file contains financial and legal correspondence exchanged between the two men as well as correspondence of both executives with other parties.

The Exchange Files deal with office management, labor disputes, and supplies. Some of the files are broken down into subcategories on "frontroom" clerical employees and "backroom" blue color employees. A large portion of Buckley's later exchange correspondence appears to have been handled by A.E. Bollengier, the exchange manager, when it referred to routine matters pertaining to wages and salary adjustments.

Related to this aspect of the exchange correspondence are the Labor Files which consist of correspondence, agreements, documents presented in court or to the National Labor Relations Board, and employment and salary data for various unions (IATSE, Screen Office Professional Employees Guild, Screen Publicists Guild, Colosseum of Motion Picture Salesmen) that represented United Artists office personnel during the World War II era.

The Title Registration Files are included because Buckley was in charge of United Artists' dealings with the Title Registration Bureau of the Motion Picture Producers and Directors Association. Most of the correspondence, however, was actually the work of Buckley's assistants Flora Gordon and later a Miss Rees.

As a member of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MMPDA), United Artists had the power to register titles for its independent producers who were not members. As a result, the file consists mainly of correspondence between United Artists and producers and United Artists and the Title Bureau with United Artists channeling registration requests to the MMPDA and explaining the bureau's actions to the producers. A complete list of all of the represented film titles is included in the first box.

Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of AmericaMotion picture industry.Motion pictures -- Distribution.

U.S. Mss 99AN/2B	Series: Title Registration File
	Alphabetical file
Box   1   Folder 1-3	A, undated
Box   1   Folder 4	Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, undated
Box   1   Folder 5	Alexander the Great, undated
Box   1   Folder 6-7	B, undated
Box   2   Folder 1-4	B, undated (continued)
Box   3   Folder 1	Bachelor Party, undated
Box   3   Folder 2	The Big Country, undated
Box   3   Folder 3	Bride and Brother Karamazov, undated
Box   4   Folder 1-4	C, undated
Box   5   Folder 1-3	D, undated
Box   5   Folder 4	E, undated
Box   6   Folder 1-2	F, undated
Box   6   Folder 3	G, undated
Box   7   Folder 1	G, undated (continued)
Box   7   Folder 2-4	H, undated
Box   8   Folder 1-4	I-J, undated
Box   8   Folder 5	K, undated
Box   9   Folder 1-3	L, undated
Box   9   Folder 4	M, undated
Box   10   Folder 1-3	M, undated (continued)
Box   10   Folder 4	N, undated
Box   11   Folder 1-2	O, undated
Box   11   Folder 3-4	P, undated
Box   11   Folder 5	Q, undated
Box   12   Folder 1-3	R, undated
Box   12   Folder 4	Romeo and Juliet, undated
Box   13   Folder 1-5	S, undated
Box   14   Folder 1-2	S, undated (continued)
Box   14   Folder 3	Sabre Jet, undated
Box   15   Folder 1	Shark River, undated
Box   15   Folder 2-4	T, undated
Box   15   Folder 5	T-U, undated
Box   16   Folder 1	V, undated
Box   16   Folder 2-3	W, undated
Box   16   Folder 4	Y, undated
	Subject File
Box   17   Folder 1	Alperson, E. (Salkay Corporation), 1944
Box   17   Folder 2	Angelus Pictures Inc., 1943-1944
Box   17   Folder 3	Bagnall, George L., 1944-1946
Box   17   Folder 4	Bennett, Constance, 1944
Box   17   Folder 5	Bergner, Elizabeth, 1936-1940
Box   17   Folder 6	Bogeaus, Benedict, 1943-1944
Box   17   Folder 7	British Ministry of Information, 1943
Box   17   Folder 8	Bronston, Samuel, 1943-1944
Box   17   Folder 9	Cagney Productions, 1943-1944
Box   17   Folder 10	Chaplin Film Corporation, 1935-1944
Box   17   Folder 11	Comet Productions, 1945
Box   17   Folder 12	Cowan, Lester, 1944
Box   17   Folder 13	Crosby Productions, 1942-1945
Box   17   Folder 14	Eagle-Lion Films Inc., 1944-1945
Box   17   Folder 15	Ealing Studios, 1942-1944
Box   17   Folder 16	Goldwyn, Samuel, 1945-1946
Box   17   Folder 17	Gordon, Flora, 1934-1936
Box   17   Folder 18-19	Hays Office Title Committee, 1934-1944
Box   17   Folder 20	Lesser and Lubitsch, 1939
Box   17   Folder 21	Levey, Jules, 1944-1946
Box   17   Folder 22	Loew, David, 1939-1945
Box   18   Folder 1	Loew-Lyons, 1943-1944
Box   18   Folder 2-6	London Films, 1933-1946
Box   18   Folder 7	Miscellaneous films, 1937-1942
Box   19   Folder 1	Miscellaneous films, 1943-1945
Box   19   Folder 2-3	Pickford Company , 1933-1946
Box   19   Folder 4	Pressburger, Arnold, 1941-1945
Box   19   Folder 5	Producers Corporation of America, 1944-1945
Box   19   Folder 6	Protested titles, 1942-1944
Box   19   Folder 7	Ravinowitch, 1942-1945
Box   19   Folder 8	Roach Studios, 1938-1939
Box   19   Folder 9	Rogers, Charles R., 1942-1946
Box   19   Folder 10	Rowland, Richard, 1940-1944
Box   20   Folder 1	Selznick, David O., 1943-1945
Box   20   Folder 2	Sherman, Harry, 1943
Box   20   Folder 3	Skirball, Jack, 1944-1945
Box   20   Folder 4	Small, Edward, 1938-1945
Box   20   Folder 5	Stone, Andrew, 1943-1944
Box   20   Folder 6	Stromberg, Hunt, 1942-1945
Box   20   Folder 7	U.S. Sound Recording Company, 1937
Box   20   Folder 8	United Artists Productions, 1941-1944
Box   20   Folder 9	Vanguard Films Inc., 1943
Box   20   Folder 10	Wanger, Walter, 1936-1945
Box   20   Folder 11	World in Action (short subjects), 1942-1944
Box   20   Folder 12	World Window (scenic shorts), 1938-1939
	Series: Executive Correspondence	⇧
Box   21   Folder 1-6	Personal correspondence, 1925-1929
Box   21   Folder 7	Alibi, first run correspondence and agreements, 1929
Box   22   Folder 1-4	Allied Artists, correspondence and balance sheets, 1925-1927
Box   22   Folder 5	American Recono Inc. (film processing), 1930
Box   22   Folder 6	Applications, 1928
Box   22   Folder 7	Artistes Associes, 1926
Box   22   Folder 8	Associated Authors, 1925
Box   22   Folder 9-11	Australia, correspondence and balance sheets, 1925-1926
Box   23   Folder 1	Bankers Trust Company loan correspondence, 1941-1950
Box   23   Folder 2	Bitter Sweet, British distribution, 1933
Box   23   Folder 3	Black Pirate, exhibition material, 1926
Box   23   Folder 4	Blueprints of home office, 1944-1947
Box   23   Folder 5	Bogeaus, benefit, 1944-1945
Box   23   Folder 6	Boston, proposed theater construction, 1930-1932
Box   23   Folder 7	Branch operations committee, 1949-1953
Box   23   Folder 8	Broadway Theatre, 1947-1948
Box   24   Folder 1	Broadway Theatre, 1947-1948 (continued)
Box   24   Folder 2	Cagney Productions, 1943-1948
Box   24   Folder 3	Carnegie Hall, 1947-1948
Box   24   Folder 4	Catherine the Great, opening night arrangements, 1934
Box   24   Folder 5	Censorship boards, 1926
Box   24   Folder 6	Chaplin Studios, 1947-1950
Box   24   Folder 7	Cincinnati, theater building proposals, 1930-1931
Box   24   Folder 8	Comparative statements by country, 1926-1927
Box   24   Folder 9	Comparative statements for Robin Hood and Thief of Baghdad, 1924
Box   24   Folder 10-11	Confidential Reports Inc., 1945-1952
Box   25   Folder 1-3	Confidential Reports Inc., 1945-1952 (continued)
Box   26   Folder 1	Contracts and exhibition, 1927
Box   26   Folder 2	Copyright registration of Pickford releases, 1925
Box   26   Folder 3	Corporate data, 1935-1950
Box   26   Folder 4	Coslow, Sam (regarding Copacabana), 1946-1948
Box   26   Folder 5	Crosby Productions, 1945-1947
Box   26   Folder 6	D, 1925-1927
Box   26   Folder 7	Denison, E.J., 1928
Box   26   Folder 8	Discontinuing old pictures, 1929
Box   26   Folder 9	Egyptian Theatre (Hollywood), 1930
Box   26   Folder 10	Electrical Research Products, 1928
Box   26   Folder 11	Employment, Charles Stern, 1935
Box   26   Folder 12-18	Employment contracts for executives, A-W (including Giannini), undated
Box   27   Folder 1	European financial statements, 1926
Box   27   Folder 2	Exchange miscellany, undated
Box   27   Folder 3	Exhibitor correspondence, 1925-1926
Box   27   Folder 4	Equipment for Pickford/Fairbanks studio, 1924-1927
Box   27   Folder 5	F, 1925-1927
	Fairbanks Picture Corporation
Box   27   Folder 6-10	Correspondence, 1923-1926
Box   28   Folder 1-11	Correspondence, 1927-1933
Box   29   Folder 1	Correspondence, 1934
Box   29   Folder 2	Refunds requested and granted, 1925-1927
Box   29   Folder 3	Foreign release dates, 1925-1927
Box   29   Folder 4	Foreign release dates, sales to foreign countries, 1925-1926
Box   29   Folder 5	Far East balance sheets, 1925-1926
Box   29   Folder 6	Florida sales report, 1926
Box   29   Folder 7	Fox, C.D., 1926-1927
Box   29   Folder 8	G, 1925-1926
Box   29   Folder 9	The Gaucho, 1927-1928
Box   29   Folder 10-11	Germany, 1925-1927
Box   29   Folder 12	Gloria (Swanson) Productions, 1930-1934
Box   29   Folder 13	Goldfarb, Robert (regarding office equipment), 1947-1950
Box   29   Folder 14	Golden Pictures, 1945-1948
Box   29   Folder 15	Goldwyn, Samuel, 1928
Box   30   Folder 1	The Great Dictator souvenir books, 1940
Box   30   Folder 2	Griffith, D.W., Inc., 1928-1929
Box   30   Folder 3	Havana, 1928
Box   30   Folder 4-8	Hays Office, 1927-1947
Box   30   Folder 9	Home office lease, 1941-1947
Box   30   Folder 10	Hopalong Cassidy Productions (advertising and expenses), 1946-1948
	The House of Rothschild road show
Box   30   Folder 11	General correspondence, 1934
Box   31   Folder 1-2	Astor Theater (New York), 1934
Box   31   Folder 3	Majestic Theater (Boston), 1934
Box   31   Folder 4	Ohio Theater (Cleveland), 1934
Box   31   Folder 5	Hughes Productions (regarding The Outlaw censorship), 1946-1950
Box   31   Folder 6	J, 1925
Box   31   Folder 7	Justice Department, 1927-1928, 1938
Box   31   Folder 8	Kiddie Machine Corporation, 1950
Box   31   Folder 9	Krushen, Mori (manager of Exhibitor Service Department), 1945-1951
Box   31   Folder 10	Larkin, Mark (press representative for Fairbanks), 1925-1927
Box   31   Folder 11	Lazarus, Paul, Sr., 1939-1949
Box   31   Folder 12	Lazarus, Paul, Jr., 1945-1950
Box   32   Folder 1	Lesser Productions, 1945-1946
Box   32   Folder 2	Lesserman, Carl, 1941-1946
Box   32   Folder 3	Levey (Jules) Productions, 1942-1944
Box   32   Folder 4	Loew and Lewin Inc., 1940-1944
Box   32   Folder 5	M, 1925-1928
Box   32   Folder 6	Manhattan Productions, 1945
Box   32   Folder 7	Mexico, 1926
Box   32   Folder 8-10	Minneapolis (including lease of Pantages Theater), 1931
Box   32   Folder 11	Miscellaneous correspondence, 1939-1943
Box   33   Folder 1-2	Miscellaneous correspondence, 1944-1950
Box   33   Folder 3	Modern Times, Boston, 1936
Box   33   Folder 4	Modern Times, Philadelphia, 1936
Box   33   Folder 5	Mundus Distribution Corporation, 1934
Box   33   Folder 6	Musical scores for Don Q, Son of Zorro, 1925-1926
Box   33   Folder 7	Musical composition control by Maison Haugel, 1929
Box   33   Folder 8	National Electric Labs, 1943-1944
Box   33   Folder 9	O'Brien, Driscoll and Raftery, 1939-1944
Box   34   Folder 1	O'Brien, Driscoll and Raftery, 1945-1951
Box   34   Folder 2	Office personnel, 1944
Box   34   Folder 3	Philadelphia theater building proposal, 1930-1931
Box   34   Folder 4	Phillips, Joe, 1948-1950
	Pickford Company
Box   34   Folder 5-7	Correspondence, 1927-1928
Box   34   Folder 8	Exhibition correspondence, 1929-1931
Box   34   Folder 9	Refunds, 1925-1928
Box   34   Folder 10	Refunds, sales to foreign countries, 1925
Box   34   Folder 11	President's report, 1949
Box   34   Folder 12	Press releases, 1928
Box   34   Folder 13	Price Waterhouse audits, 1926-1927
Box   34   Folder 14	Private showings, 1925-1926
Box   34   Folder 15	Projection equipment, 1925-1927
Box   35   Folder 1	Puttin' On the Ritz, New York, 1930
Box   35   Folder 2	Radio short wave broadcasting station, 1927
Box   35   Folder 3	Receipts, Don Q, Son of Zorro, 1926
Box   35   Folder 4	Receipts, Little Annie Rooney, 1925-1927
Box   35   Folder 5	Refund requests, 1926-1927
Box   35   Folder 6	Regent Theater (Toronto), 1927-1928
Box   35   Folder 7	Riesenfeld, Hugo, 1928
Box   35   Folder 8	Roach, Hal, 1941-1947
Box   35   Folder 9	Ross Checking Service, 1930-1941
Box   35   Folder 10	Russia, 1925-1926
Box   35   Folder 11	Sadie Thompson, 1927-1928
Box   36   Folder 1	Sears, Gradwell, 1941-1951
Box   36   Folder 2	Silverstone, Maurice, 1934-1942
Box   36   Folder 3-4	"Sliding scale," 1942-1947
Box   36   Folder 5	Sociedad Commerciale agreement, 1925
Box   36   Folder 6	Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers, 1945-1948
Box   36   Folder 7	South Africa, 1926
Box   36   Folder 8-9	Sparrows (also includes some references to Black Pirate), 1925-1926
Box   37   Folder 1	State taxes, 1929-1931
Box   37   Folder 2	Statements, 1925-1926
Box   37   Folder 3	Strand Theater (New York), 1925-1926
Box   37   Folder 4-6	Surplus tax claim, 1931-1937
Box   37   Folder 7-9	Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation, 1926-1927, 1944-1950
Box   37   Folder 10	Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation, damaged prints, 1926
Box   37   Folder 11	Thomas, George, 1926
Box   38   Folder 1-3	United Artists Studio, 1929-1930
Box   38   Folder 4	United States, Internal Revenue Department, 1922-1925
Box   38   Folder 5	Veterans Administration, 1934
Box   38   Folder 6	Victor Talking Machine Company, 1928
Box   38   Folder 7	Welfare Fund, 1937-1942
Box   38   Folder 8	Winter Garden Theater, 1945-1946
Box   38   Folder 9	Withholding tax, 1936-1949
	Series: Labor Files	⇧
	Exchange employment files
Box   38   Folder 10-14	Atlanta-Chicago, undated
Box   39   Folder 1-22	Cincinnati-Washington, D.C., undated
	Series: Union Files	⇧
Box   40   Folder 1-5	Colosseum of Motion Picture Salesmen, 1947-1954
Box   40   Folder 6	Distributing, Processing and Office Workers of America, 1951-1954
	IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees)
Box   40   Folder 7	General, 1945-1946
Box   41   Folder 1	General, 1947-1954
Box   41   Folder 2	General, contracts, 1943-1950
Box   41   Folder 3-4	Home office (Local 63), 1946-1954
Box   41   Folder 5	Projectionists Union, 1938-1947
	Screen Office Professional Employees Guild
Box   41   Folder 6	Los Angeles Local #1391, 1942-1948
Box   41A   Folder 1	Los Angeles Local #1391, 1942-1948 (continued)
Box   42   Folder 1-6	New York Local #109, 1942-1951
Box   42   Folder 7	Screen Publicists Guild, 1941
Box   43   Folder 1-3	Screen Publicists Guild, 1943-1951
	Series: Exchange Files	⇧
	Atlanta
Box   44   Folder 1-2	General, 1939-1950
Box   44   Folder 3	Backroom, 1937-1945
Box   44   Folder 4	Frontroom, 1943-1945
	Boston
Box   44   Folder 5-8	General, 1939-1950
Box   45   Folder 1	Backroom, 1937-1945
Box   45   Folder 2	Frontroom, 1942-1945
	Buffalo
Box   45   Folder 3-4	General, 1939-1949
Box   45   Folder 5	Backroom, 1937-1950
Box   45   Folder 6	Frontroom, 1943-1945
Box   45   Folder 7	Calgary, 1947-1948
	Charlotte
Box   45   Folder 8	General, 1939-1941
Box   46   Folder 1-2	General, 1942-1951
Box   46   Folder 3	Backroom, 1937-1945
Box   46   Folder 4	Frontroom, 1943-1945
	Chicago
Box   46   Folder 5-7	General, 1938-1948
Box   47   Folder 1	General, 1949-1950
Box   47   Folder 2	Backroom, 1937-1945
Box   47   Folder 3	Frontroom, 1943-1945
	Cincinnati
Box   47   Folder 4-6	General, 1938-1950
Box   47   Folder 7	Backroom, 1937-1945
Box   48   Folder 1	Frontroom, 1943-1945
	Cleveland
Box   48   Folder 2-3	General, 1939-1945
Box   48   Folder 4	Backroom, 1937-1945
Box   48   Folder 5	Frontroom, 1943-1945
	Dallas
Box   48   Folder 6-7	General, 1939-1945
Box   49   Folder 1	General, 1947-1950
Box   49   Folder 2	Backroom, 1937-1945
Box   49   Folder 3	Frontroom, 1943-1945
	Denver
Box   49   Folder 4-5	General, 1939-1950
Box   49   Folder 6	Backroom, 1937-1945
Box   49   Folder 7	Frontroom, 1942-1945
	Detroit
Box   49   Folder 8	General, 1939-1942
Box   50   Folder 1-2	General, 1943-1950
Box   50   Folder 3	Backroom, 1937-1939
Box   50   Folder 4-5	Frontroom, 1943-1945
	Indianapolis
Box   50   Folder 6-7	General, 1939-1950
Box   50   Folder 8	Backroom, 1937-1941
Box   51   Folder 1	Backroom, 1942-1945
Box   51   Folder 2	Frontroom, 1943-1945
Box   51   Folder 3-6	Kansas City, 1937-1950
Box   51   Folder 7	Los Angeles, 1938-1943
Box   52   Folder 1-2	Los Angeles, 1944-1950
Box   52   Folder 3-5	Milwaukee, 1937-1950
Box   53   Folder 1-3	Minneapolis, 1939-1950
Box   53   Folder 4-8	Montreal, 1939-1949
Box   54   Folder 1-2	New Haven, 1939-1950
Box   55   Folder 1-3	New Orleans, 1939-1950
Box   54   Folder 3-5	New York, 1939-1950
Box   55   Folder 4	Omaha, 1937-1941
Box   56   Folder 1-3	Omaha, 1937-1950
	Philadelphia
Box   56   Folder 4-5	General, 1938-1945
Box   57   Folder 1	General, 1947-1950
Box   57   Folder 2	Backroom, 1937-1945
Box   57   Folder 3	Frontroom, 1942-1945
	Pittsburgh
Box   57   Folder 4-5	General, 1938-1950
Box   57   Folder 6	Backroom, 1937-1945
Box   57   Folder 7	Frontroom, 1943-1945
Box   57   Folder 8	St. John, 1947-1949
	St. Louis
Box   58   Folder 1-4	General, 1939-1950
Box   58   Folder 5-6	Backroom, 1938-1945
Box   59   Folder 1	Frontroom, 1942-1945
	Salt Lake City
Box   59   Folder 2-3	General, 1938-1950
Box   59   Folder 4	Backroom, 1937-1945
Box   59   Folder 5	Frontroom, 1942-1945
	San Francisco
Box   59   Folder 6-8	General, 1940-1950
Box   60   Folder 1	Backroom, 1937-1945
Box   60   Folder 2	Frontroom, 1942-1945
	Seattle
Box   60   Folder 3-4	General, 1939-1950
Box   60   Folder 5	Backroom, 1937-1945
Box   60   Folder 6	Frontroom, 1943-1945
	Washington, D.C.
Box   60   Folder 7-8	General, 1942-1945
Box   61   Folder 1-2	General, 1947-1950
Box   61   Folder 3-4	Backroom, 1938-1945
Box   61   Folder 5	Frontroom, 1943-1945
Box   61   Folder 6	Winnipeg, 1947-1949
Box   61   Folder 7-8	Vancouver, 1937-1949
	All exchanges
Box   61   Folder 9	Backroom, 1941-1942
Box   62   Folder 1	Backroom, 1945-1946
Box   62   Folder 2-3	Front office, 1942-1944