Title: Gradwell Sears Files: United Artists Corporation Records, Series 8B
Inclusive Dates: 1941-1951

Creators:

• Sears, Gradwell, 1896 or 1897-1956
• United Artists Corporation

Call Number: U.S. Mss 99AN/8B

Quantity: 4.6 cubic feet (12 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 Gradwell Sears' roles as vice president for domestic sales, for foreign distribution, and as president of United Artists. The file consists of Sears' incoming and outgoing correspondence, and of the various reports and summaries received by his office. Included is correspondence with producers dealing with both routine matters and disputes involving production, distribution, and sales; correspondence with foreign and domestic executives of United Artists; and correspondence with other corporate bodies such as producers' associations (e.g., the J. Arthur Rank companies) and distributors' associations (e.g., the Motion Picture Export Association). Particularly interesting are folders dealing with corporate ownership and control and the related and complex problems of distribution in Great Britain (including negotiations with the Rank and Odeon Cinema interests).

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-99an008b

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Alphabetical by correspondent or subject.

Gradwell L. Sears (1897-1956) joined United Artists in November 1941 as part of a new management team which was formed when David O. Selznick became a partner in the corporation. Sears, formerly General Sales Manager for Warner Brothers, became Vice President in charge of Domestic Sales for United Artists. Foreign distribution was added to his responsibilities in 1944 and, in 1946, the Board elected Sears President of the corporation, a position which he held until July of 1950.

The file consists of Sears' incoming and outgoing correspondence, and of the various reports and summaries received by his office. Since Sears retained his sales responsibilities even after his elevation to the presidency, the contents of the file are essentially uniform: materials from the term of Sears' presidency are distinguishable only by the nature of the policy matters involved and by the increased incidence of financial and other summary reports.

Included is correspondence with producers and producers' representatives dealing with both routine matters and disputes involving production, distribution and sales; correspondence with foreign and domestic executives of United Artists; and correspondence with other corporate bodies such as producers associations (e.g., the J. Arthur Rank companies), distributors' associations (e.g., the Motion Picture Export Association).

Particularly interesting are folders dealing with corporate ownership and control, the corporation's stockholders and the related and complex problems of distribution in Great Britain (including negotiations with the Rank and Odeon Cinema interests.) Of special note are folders titled: “Selmer Chalif,” “David Coplan,” “English Trip,” “Foreign Department,” “Arthur Kelly,” “Alexander Korda,” “Edward Raftery,” “Sears' London Trip,” “David O. Selznick,” and “Stockholder Correspondence.”

U.S. Mss 99AN/8B Box   1 Folder   1	A, 1942 January-1951 February
Box   1 Folder   2	Advertising Department, 1950 September-1951 February
Box   1 Folder   3	Applications for employment, 1941 November-1951 January
Box   1 Folder   4	Auten, Harold, 1945 July-1946 July Note: Executive Vice-president of Eagle-Lion Films Inc. (later of J. Arthur Rank Organization Inc.)
Box   1 Folder   5	B, 1941 December-1950 November
Box   1 Folder   6	Bank balances, Home Office, 1948 June-1950 July Scope and Content Note: Weekly reports of deposits, withdrawals and balances.
Box   1 Folder   7	Bank proposals for production financing and for the reorganization of the corporation, 1947 November-1949 October
Box   1 Folder   8	Buckley, Harry D., 1941 December-1950 May Scope and Content Note: Includes: Analyses of Home Office operating expense; title registration.
Box   1 Folder   9	Bennett, Constance, 1944 June-1946 February
Box   1 Folder   10	Bronston, Samuel, 1943 March-1945 November
Box   1 Folder   11	C, 1942 January-1950 November
Box   2 Folder   1	Cagney Productions Inc., 1942 February-1949 October
Box   2 Folder   2	Chalif, Selmer L., 1948 December-1950 June Scope and Content Note: Includes information on Pickford negotiations for the sale of the corporation and on negotiations with producers in California.
Box   2 Folder   3	Comparative grosses on a film-by-film, theater-by-theater basis, 1942-1946
Box   2 Folder   4	Coplan, David, 1944 February-1947 September Scope and Content Note: In charge of United Kingdom distribution. Includes material relating to J. Arthur Rank and clippings on the negative English reception of Objective Burma.
Box   2 Folder   5	Coslow, Sam, 1946 February-1948 March
Box   2 Folder   6	Cowan, Lester, 1944 January-1948 November
Box   2 Folder   7	Crosby (Bing) Productions Inc., 1942 September-1947 October
Box   2 Folder   8	D, 1942 February-1950 May
	Director's meetings
Box   2 Folder   9	Agendas, 1947 November-1950 June
Box   2 Folder   10	Notices, 1947 August-1950 April
Box   2 Folder   11	E, 1942 March-1950 September
Box   3 Folder   1-2	English trip, 1944 February-1945 November
Box   3 Folder   3	Exchange correspondence, 1941 November-1950 November
Box   3 Folder   4	F, 1942 February-1950 November
	Foreign contracts taken and played, 1945 February-1950 March
Box   3 Folder   5	Incomplete series of weekly reports (mostly for England) Scope and Content Note: On (1) Contracts taken and played--by picture; (2) Contracts taken and played--by branch; (3) World in Action series; (4) Billings and collections; (5) Maturities
Box   3 Folder   6	Foreign Department, 1942 September-1949 November Scope and Content Note: Includes exchanges of cables on Korda, Rank negotiations.
Box   3 Folder   7	Frenke, Eugene, 1944 May-1950 October
Box   4 Folder   1	G, 1941 November-1950 November Scope and Content Note: Includes correspondence with John Grierson of the National Film Board of Canada; publicity notes for Victory Through Air Power (under date 1942 November 24).
Box   4 Folder   2	General letters to branches, producers, and/or exhibitors, 1941 December-1951 March
Box   4 Folder   3	General telegrams to branches, producers, and/or exhibitors, 1941 November-1951 February
Box   4 Folder   4	Goldwyn, Samuel, 1942 May-1948 November
Box   4 Folder   5-7	Gould, Walter, 1943 July-1948 May Scope and Content Note: Includes extensive reports on post-war European situations.
Box   4 Folder   8	H, 1941 November-1951 March
	Henry V revenues, 1948 July-1949 May
Box   4 Folder   9	Weekly gross expenditures and accumulative profit by town and theater
	Hughes, Howard
Box   4 Folder   10	1944 February-1948 June Scope and Content Note: Regarding The Outlaw.
Box   5 Folder   1	1948 April-1949 December Scope and Content Note: Includes information on unplayed contracts for The Outlaw.
Box   5 Folder   2	I, 1942 June-1948 July
Box   5 Folder   3	In Which We Serve, 1942 October-1943 December
Box   5 Folder   4	J, 1942 October-1950 February
Box   5 Folder   5	Jack, Fred M., 1950 October-1950 November
Box   5 Folder   6	K, 1941 November-1950 December
	Kelly, Arthur W.
Box   5 Folder   7	1941 November-1945 January
Box   5 Folder   8	1946 October-1948 January Scope and Content Note: Includes extensive correspondence on Odeon Theatres and J. Arthur Rank negotiations.
Box   5 Folder   9	Korda, Alexander, 1941 November-1946 December
Box   5 Folder   10	Krim, Arthur B., 1951 February
Box   5 Folder   11	L, 1941 November-1950 February
Box   5 Folder   12	Lazarus, Paul N., Jr., 1945 November-1949 December
Box   5 Folder   13	Lesser, Sol, 1943 February-1948 March
Box   6 Folder   1	Leserman, Carl, 1941 November-1950 October
Box   6 Folder   2	Levey, Jules, 1942 July-1949 April
Box   6 Folder   3	Lists of personnel, producers, exhibitors, releases, etc., undated
Box   6 Folder   4	Loew, David L., 1941 December-1948 April Scope and Content Note: Includes photostat of letter from W. Somerset Maughm regarding the script of Moon and Sixpence.
Box   6 Folder   5	“M,” 1941 November-1950 November
Box   6 Folder   6	McNamee, Frank L., 1950 September-1951 February Note: President of United Artists: 1950 July-1951 February.
Box   6 Folder   7	Memos: home office, 1941 November-1951 February Scope and Content Note: Internal memoranda on a variety of subjects.
Box   6 Folder   8	Miscellaneous, 1943 September-1949 April Scope and Content Note: Largely concerned with documents on domestic distribution activities and statistics.
Box   6 Folder   9	Morros, Boris, 1946 December-1948 April
Box   6 Folder   10-11	Motion Picture Export Association, 1947 June-1950 June Scope and Content Note: Minutes, circular letters, and correspondence.
Box   7 Folder   1-7	Motion Picture Export Association (continued)
Box   7 Folder   8	Motion Picture Theatre Owners of America, 1941 November-1948 May Scope and Content Note: Bulletins and correspondence of this and other exhibitors' associations.
Box   7 Folder   9	N, 1943 May-1950 November
Box   7 Folder   10	Nebanzal, Seymour, 1944 February-1950 July
Box   8 Folder   1	New York City miscellaneous, 1941 December-1942 November
Box   8 Folder   2	O, 1942 January-1949 December Scope and Content Note: Includes extensive correspondence with R.J. O'Donnell of Texas Interstate Theatre Circuit.
Box   8 Folder   3-4	O'Brien Driscoll Raftery & Lawler (UA General Counsel), 1944 January-1951 January Scope and Content Note: Correspondence on pending legal matters, policies, contract forms, etc.
Box   8 Folder   5	P, 1942 January-1951 February
Box   8 Folder   6	Personnel, 1941 November-1951 February
Box   8 Folder   7	Pressburger, Arnold, 1941 November-1947 October
Box   8 Folder   8	Production, 1942-1947 Scope and Content Note: Includes revised treatment for Gibralter by Gregor Rabinovitch.
Box   8 Folder   9	Profit and loss, worldwide, 1943 October-1950 April Scope and Content Note: Scattered monthly reports by country and category.
Box   8 Folder   10	Q, 1942 February-1951 February
Box   8 Folder   11	R, 1942 January-1950 October Scope and Content Note: Includes correspondence with Eddie Rickenbacker on residual sale possibilities of Captain Eddie (under date 1949 March).
Box   9 Folder   1	Rabinovitch, Gregor, 1942 April-1944 November
Box   9 Folder   2-3	Raftery, Edward C. (as President of United Artists Corporation), 1941 December-1947 August
Box   9 Folder   4	Red River, 1948 April-1949 March
Box   9 Folder   5	Releases, 1944-1948
Box   9 Folder   6	RKO deal, 1942-1947 Scope and Content Note: Proposed distribution by United Artists of RKO films. Contains extensive financial and corporate information for both companies.
Box   9 Folder   7	Roach, Hal E., 1941 December-1948 August
Box   9 Folder   8	Rogers, Charles R. (Charles R. Rogers Productions), 1941 December-1949 March
Box   9 Folder   9	Rogers, Charles (Buddy) (Comet Productions), 1946 February-1948 May
Box   9 Folder   10-11	S, 1941 November-1951 January
Box   10 Folder   1	S (continued)
Box   10 Folder   2	Sales managers, 1942 February-1951 February
Box   10 Folder   3	Schaefer, George J., 1949 July-1950 November Scope and Content Note: Includes exhibition audit report for The Men.
Box   10 Folder   4	Schlager, Sid, 1944 January-1950 April
Box   10 Folder   5	Sears' London trip, 1947 June-1947 July Scope and Content Note: Concerning Odeon Cinema negotiations.
Box   10 Folder   6	Sears sales drive, 1951 March-1951 April
Box   10 Folder   7	The Second Woman, 1951 January-1951 February
Box   10 Folder   8-10	Selznick, David O., 1941 October-1948 April Scope and Content Note: Correspondence and memos of this stockholder-producer.
Box   11 Folder   1	Selznick (continued)
Box   11 Folder   2	Shanghai Gesture, 1942 January-1942 August
Box   11 Folder   3	Sherman, Harry, 1942 August-1946 September
Box   11 Folder   4-5	Since You Went Away (David O. Selznick), 1943 December-1945 November
Box   11 Folder   6	Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers (SIMPP), 1947 August-1949 April
Box   11 Folder   7	Sixteen-millimeter prints, 1946 October-1947 August
Box   11 Folder   8	Skirball, Jack H., 1942 October-1948 August
Box   11 Folder   9	Small, Edward, 1941 December-1949 August
Box   11 Folder   10	Stockholders' correspondence, 1949 January-1951 February Scope and Content Note: Reports and correspondence with stockholders on the condition of the corporation.
Box   11 Folder   11	Stone, Andrew L., 1944 August-1946 May
Box   11 Folder   12-13	Stromberg, Hunt, 1942 June-1949 September
Box   11 Folder   14	Sutherland, John, 1944 June-1946 May
Box   12 Folder   1	T, 1942 February-1950 April
Box   12 Folder   2	To Be or Not To Be, 1942 January-March
Box   12 Folder   3	U, 1942 July-1949 June
Box   12 Folder   4	Unger, J.J., 1946 May-1950 November
Box   12 Folder   5	V, 1947 October-1948 September
Box   12 Folder   6	W, 1941 December-1951 February
Box   12 Folder   7	World in Action series, 1942 January-1943 January
Box   12 Folder   8	Y, 1942 January-1948 February Scope and Content Note: Includes correspondence with George E. Yousling of Security First National Bank.
Box   12 Folder   9	Z, 1946 June-1950 May