Hi all-
Got my copy of it yesterday and wanted to share it with you. The book was reviewed by Ron Standerfer for Reader Views. Here it is....
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Whatever happened to all those news reels we used to watch in the movie theaters when we were kids? Or those training films they made us watch when we were drafted or enlisted in the military? How about those carefully crafted films depicting life in America during the Twentieth Century; some dating back to early 1900s? I’m sure many of us would like to see them again just to see what life was like in those days. The good news is that many of those films are alive and well, tucked safely away in the care of the federal government. The bad news is that finding a specific film can be a difficult and frustrating task. Until now.
In one fell swoop, “America’s Film Vault: A Reference Guide to the Motion Pictures Held by the U.S. National Archives,” by award-winning author and film-sleuth Phillip W. Stewart has leveled the playing field for historians, film buffs, and curiosity seekers. How significant is his new book? Consider this: for the first time ever, the whereabouts of over 360,000 film reels that document a century of American and world history have been assembled in book form. As a matter of fact, it is safe to say that some of the best kept history secrets are buried deep within Stewart’s book.
Considering the scope of “America’s Film Vault” I expected the review copy to arrive on a hand truck bearing a book somewhere in size between the Manhattan telephone directory and the oldfashion dictionaries that sit perched on large walnut stands in the libraries. To my surprise, it was quite modest in size; about 280 pages. But what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for it in sheer volume of information it contains between the covers.
Finding a specific title amongst the 360,000 or so films listed is relatively simple. For ease of search, the book is divided into five sections: Civilian Films; Military Films, Donated Films, Title Index, and Subject Index. Each film section begins with an overview which provides general information concerning what type of films the searcher can expect to find there. Of the three film sections I found the Donated Film section to be the most fascinating, mainly because it contains a treasure trove of newsreels. The subjects of these newsreels vary from the mundane to stories of epic proportions. Here’s an example of the former that was filmed by Universal Newspaper Newsreel: “Runaway Train Plunges Down Mountain: New Castle, PA - 210,000 tons of coal spilled, 32 cars wrecked, but nobody is hurt. Some of the derailed cars hung on the edge of a steep embankment.”
Can’t you just picture this?
So far “American Film Vault” has been warmly received by those in the know. For example, according to William T. Murphy, former Chief of the Motion Picture, Sound, and Video Branch of the National Archives, “America’s Film Vault” is, “...a convenient overview of National Archives and Records Administration's motion picture holdings, one difficult to obtain from any other source.”
“American Film Vault” is the third book Phillip Stewart has written as part of The Historic Footage Project. You can learn more about this project by visiting his website. Meanwhile, I am prepared to accept the challenge he laid down on the cover of his book; namely, “If you’re ready to play detective, take a crack at the combination, and investigate the bowels of the vault, you need a guide map...and this is it! Discover “reel” treasures with “America’s Film Vault.” I can’t wait to get started.
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If your interested, “America’s Film Vault” is available at Amazon.com.
More soon
Phil
Aerofilm Archives
Aerofilm Archives
FILM VAULT WINS!
AMERICA'S FILM VAULT WINS SILVER MEDAL FOR REFERENCE WORK FROM THE MILITARY WRITERS SOCIETY OF AMERICA!
New Article!
Check out my article: Taking Stock of the National Archives: Finding Footage in America's Film Vault! Click on the image above to read the entire article.
Military Writers Society of America Reviews Film Vault
An indispensible reference tool for the serious film researcher!
Try doing a search for a specific film housed in the US National Archives using the Archive’s online database: the ARC – Archival Research Catalog (found on archives.gov). You might find what you’re looking for; but you won’t find things so thoughtfully organized and cross-referenced as you will in Philip Stewart’s new book, America’s Film Vault.
In the book’s introduction, the novice film researcher, producer, or student will benefit from Stewart's overview of the Archives’ holdings, the different sources of those holdings, how they’re organized, and a short-but-fascinating look into the history of each basic category of film: civilian, military, and donated.
However, this book is not just for the beginner. Expanding on the 1972 reference work of two Archives employees (which has not been updated since that time), America’s Film Vault also belongs on the bookshelf of the seasoned veteran. The book’s handy and useful layout, which includes a thorough subject and title index, will facilitate the search/research/exploration of the experienced Archive sleuth as well.
Perhaps best of all, Stewart’s organization by resource group (RG) holdings, might just facilitate that unexpected discovery that takes one in a whole new direction!
Thumb through this book or spend a few minutes on Phil Stewart's website. The reader can't help but notice that this third installment in his "Historic Footage Project" is--as the author admits--a labor of love. It's also a tremendously helpful and easy-to-use guide map to the film treasures waiting to be found and enjoyed in our nation's National Archives.
Review by John Cathcart, MWSA Reviewer (June 2009)
War Wings Review
NEW REVIEW FOR WAR WINGS!
Air Power History Reviews War Wings
I wasn't sure quite what to expect when I volunteered to do a review of this book. Actually, I was harking back to boyhood memories of Dawn Patrol with Errol Flynn and David Niven. However, this book is a marvelous piece of work about a very different version of World War I in the air. The Films are not Hollywood writers' imaginings of air combat and dashing aviators' adventures in French bars and bistros when not on duty. All the films listed are black and white documentary films made during or just after World War I. Many were produced by the Army Signal Corps which was tasked to record the American war effort. Some were produced by the French or German military services during the same time period. The films referenced are located in the National Archives and Records Administration facility in College Park, Maryland.
The author breaks down the films by category. First are the "A" list films--those that are primarily aviation oriented. Second is the "B" list--those films that deal primarily with other aspects of the military effort but contain some aviation material. within the "A" list, Stewart further breaks down the films by major categories: Training, Construction of Aircraft, Overseas Movement, the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in France, Other Combatants, and Post Armistice activities. Within these groupings he lists each film and provides the researcher with the film's name, which organization produced it, the number of reels and overall length in minutes, and catalog numbers. He then proceeds to break each reel down in sequence subsequently listing the activity displayed and providing the researcher a clue as to whether the shots are long or medium range shots or close ups.
I emphasize the word "researcher" because this book is not one for the ordinary Air Power History reader interested in aviation activities. Rather, the book provides specific pointers to serious researchers to help them locate relevant motion picture material about U.S. military and naval aviation activities during the First World War. It reminds us that we fought that war in the air with French, British, and Italian aircraft. Only American-built DH-4s saw combat and they were license-produced to the original British de Havilland design and specifications. They were powered by American designed and built "Liberty" engines.
The appendices are quite good. Appendix No. 2 is a useful chronology of U.S. military aviation during the war. Appendix No. 3 is a reproduction of Brig. Gen. William Mitchell's article "The American Air Service in the World war," originally published in August, 1919.
Review written by: Capt. John F. O'Connell, USN (Ret.) for Air Power History/Summer 2009
The author breaks down the films by category. First are the "A" list films--those that are primarily aviation oriented. Second is the "B" list--those films that deal primarily with other aspects of the military effort but contain some aviation material. within the "A" list, Stewart further breaks down the films by major categories: Training, Construction of Aircraft, Overseas Movement, the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in France, Other Combatants, and Post Armistice activities. Within these groupings he lists each film and provides the researcher with the film's name, which organization produced it, the number of reels and overall length in minutes, and catalog numbers. He then proceeds to break each reel down in sequence subsequently listing the activity displayed and providing the researcher a clue as to whether the shots are long or medium range shots or close ups.
I emphasize the word "researcher" because this book is not one for the ordinary Air Power History reader interested in aviation activities. Rather, the book provides specific pointers to serious researchers to help them locate relevant motion picture material about U.S. military and naval aviation activities during the First World War. It reminds us that we fought that war in the air with French, British, and Italian aircraft. Only American-built DH-4s saw combat and they were license-produced to the original British de Havilland design and specifications. They were powered by American designed and built "Liberty" engines.
The appendices are quite good. Appendix No. 2 is a useful chronology of U.S. military aviation during the war. Appendix No. 3 is a reproduction of Brig. Gen. William Mitchell's article "The American Air Service in the World war," originally published in August, 1919.
Review written by: Capt. John F. O'Connell, USN (Ret.) for Air Power History/Summer 2009
Press Release
Some of History's Best Kept Secrets are Buried Deep Within America's Film Vault
Film-sleuth Phillip W. Stewart is at it again! This unassuming investigator of the befuddled and bewildered has penetrated the mystery surrounding the scope and location of thousands of historic documentary motion pictures preserved in the National Archives. After years of digging, probing, and analyzing the evidence, he has produced a 300-page report, AMERICA'S FILM VAULT: A Reference Guide to the Motion Pictures Held by the U.S. National Archives.
Crestview, FL (PRWEB) May 27, 2009 -- With the publication of this valuable information, Mr. Stewart, a detective of sprocket-holed celluloid, reveals a treasure trove of over 360,000 film reels documenting the 20th Century of American history. AMERICA'S FILM VAULT exposes 349 Government and Donated records that have motion pictures buried within them, discloses how these vintage films are organized and where to find them, uncovers and specifically identifies more than 1,460 film titles and provides topical references to thousands more, and sums it up with a comprehensive 2,130 item subject index that sheds light on the vast variety of subjects and titles of these extraordinary films.
Since relatively few Americans know that these historically significant films exist and even fewer know how to find them, the goal of Mr. Stewart's investigative work was to uncover and highlight this National treasure. It is also his goal to provide educators, historians, genealogists, and students of film a guide to find them.
"…a convenient overview of National Archives and Records Administration's motion picture holdings, one difficult to obtain from any other source," says William T. Murphy, former Chief of the Motion Picture, Sound, and Video Branch of the National Archives.
So, if you're ready to play detective, to take a crack at the combination, to investigate the catacombs of the National Archives, you'll need a guide…and this is it! You'll find this book an indispensable reference to the thousands of motion picture titles in AMERICA'S FILM VAULT.
AMERICA'S FILM VAULT: A Reference Guide to the Motion Pictures Held by the U.S. National Archives (ISBN 978-0-9793243-0-7, $39.95, trade paper, pms press, 2009) is the third book in The Historic Footage Project. More information is available at the author's website at http://www.pwstewart.com/. All of Mr. Stewart's books are available from Amazon.com.
