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.”
