Pare Lorentz papers, 1914-1994, bulk 1932-1960

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Series I: Ecce Homo, 1938-1942, undated

Ecce Homo was Lorentz's first attempt at a feature-length fiction film. It began as a radio play, first broadcast on the CBS channel in 1938. The narrative centers around four unemployed workers from the four corners of the United States who met at a filling station in Kansas. One by one, each of the men delivers a monologue about conditions in his home state, while regional music plays in the background. The radio play was supposed to be the forerunner of a feature-length film. Lorentz and his staff conducted extensive research for the production. They studied production practices at Ford's River Rouge factory, gathered information on jobless Americans and relief organizations. Filming began in 1939, but was hampered by a lack of funds. By 1941, with much of the industrial images captured, and the name changed to Name, Age and Occupation, production began again. The picture was never completed, but much of the footage proved useful to government propaganda efforts during World War II.


Subseries 1. Correspondence, Scripts, and Research, 1938-1942, undated

The correspondence concerns the process of fundraising and shooting, as well as the details of Lorentz's long struggle to complete the film. The scripts include both drafts for the original radio play, as well as the full-length treatment for the feature film.



Box 1 Folder 1 "History of a Motion Picture,", 1942


Box 1 Folder 2 Activities Reports, 1938-1942


Box 1 Folder 3 Origin of Contract, 1941


Box 1 Folder 4 Correspondence, 1938-1940


Box 1 Folder 5 Correspondence--Floyd Crosby, 1937-1938


Box 1 Folder 6 Correspondence--Re: Film Footage, 1938-1942


Box 1 Folder 7 Costumes--1939-1942


Box 1 Folder 8 Name, Age and Occupation--Budget, 1942


Box 1 Folder 9 Budget Detail, 1941


Name, Age and Occupation


Box 1 Folder 10 Casting, 1942


Box 1 Folder 11 to 12 Correspondence, 1941-1942, (2 Folders)


Box 1 Folder 13 Film Delivery, 1948


Box 1 Folder 14 to 16 Film Controversy, 1938-1942, (3 Folders)



Box 2 Folder 1 Music Research, 1941-1942


Box 2 Folder 2 to 3 Screenplay Drafts, 1942, (2 Folders)


Box 2 Folder 4 Newspaper Clippings, 1942


Box 2 Folder 5 Ecce Homo Outline, 1938


Box 2 Folder 6 Name, Age and Occupation--Press Releases, 1942


Box 2 Folder 7 Name, Age and Occupation--Production Reports,, 1942


Box 2 Folder 8 Publicity--RKO Press Releases, 1942


Ecce Homo


Box 2 Folder 9 Radio Broadcast--Transcripts, 1939


Box 2 Folder 10 Radio Broadcast--Correspondence, 1938-1941


Box 2 Folder 11 Scripts, 1938



Box 3 Folder 1 Seattle, 1938-1939


Box 3 Folder 2 Seattle Notes, undated


Box 3 Folder 3 Ecce Homo--Scripts and Scenario, 1938


Box 3 Folder 4 Kalemis Script, undated


Box 3 Folder 5 Ecce Homo--Shooting Notes, 1938


Box 3 Folder 6 Ecce Homo--Script Reports, 1938-1939


Box 3 Folder 7 Stackpole Sons, 1939


Research


Box 3 Folder 8 to 9 1938-1940, (2 Folders)


Box 3 Folder 10 Government Machinery, 1938 (Includes Photos), 1938


Box 3 Folder 11 Hold The Man, 1938



Box 4 Folder 1 "Men, Methods and Machines,", 1939


Box 4 Folder 2 Relief Material, 1938


Box 4 Folder 3 Unemployed Compensation Form, 1939


Box 4 Folder 4 Unemployment, 1939


Name, Age and Occupation


Box 4 Folder 5 Script, 1942


Box 4 Folder 6 Early Treatment, 1941


Box 4 Folder 7 to 8 Notes, 1942, (2 Folders)


Box 4 Folder 9 Press Clippings, 1941-1942


Subseries 2. Shooting Notes and Selected Takes, 1939-1942, undated

The shooting notes in this subseries document the shot-by-shot progress of production.


Name, Age and Occupation,


Box 4 Folder 10 to 11 Shooting Notes, 1942 (2 of 3 Folders), 1942



Box 5 Folder 1 Shooting Notes, 1942 (1 of 3 Folders), 1942


Box 5 Folder 2 Record of Negative and Positive, 1948


Box 5 Folder 3 to 4 Estimating Script, 1942, (2 Folders)


Ecce Homo


Box 5 Folder 5 to 6 Selected Takes, undated, (2 Folders)


Box 5 Folder 7 Shooting Notes, 1939



Box 6 Folder 1 to 3 Shooting Notes--Prod 3, 1938-1939, (3 Folders)


Subseries 3. Still Photographs, circa 1938-1942, undated

Some of the still photographs depict the actors and filmmakers at work. But the majority consists of 8x10-inch shots, mounted on cardboard, depicting scenes from across the Midwest during the Great Depression. The images, most of which were taken by Edwin Locke, focus on industrial production, cityscapes, streetscapes, and landscapes. They were used as research for the film.


Box 6 Folder 4 Name, Age and Occupation--Photos of Leads, undated


Box 6 Folder 5 Decatur, Indiana, undated


Ecce Homo


Box 6 Folder 6 to 10 Ed Locke Photos, undated, (5 Folders)


Box 6 Folder 1 to 12 Location Shots, undated, (2 Folders)


Box 6 Folder 13 Stills, undated (1 of 5 Folders), undated



Box 7 Folder 1 to 4 Stills, undated (4 of 5 Folders), undated


Box 7 Folder 5 Still Pictures--Cast, undated


Box 7 Folder 6 Carded Stills--North, undated


Box 7 Folder 7 Carded Stills--IV, undated


Box 7 Folder 8 to 9 Carded Stills, undated, (2 Folders)



Box 8 Folder 1 to 2, 4, 6 Carded Stills, undated, (4 Folders)


Box 8 Folder 3 Carded Stills--Alternates, undated


Box 8 Folder 5 Carded Stills--Alternates V, undated



Box 9 Folder 1 Carded Stills--P. 84, undated


Box 9 Folder 2 Carded Stills--P. 85-86, undated


Box 9 Folder 3 Carded Stills--P. 86, undated


Box 9 Folder 4 Carded Stills, undated



Box 10 Folder 1 to 6 Carded Stills, undated, (6 Folders)



Box 11 Folder 1 to 5 Carded Stills, undated, (5 Folders)



Box 12 Folder 1 Carded Stills--Industrial America, undated


Box 12 Folder 2 to 4 Carded Stills, undated, (3 Folders)


Box 12 Folder 5 Carded Stills, undated (includes Pare on location), undated



Box 13 Folder 1 to 5 Carded Stills, undated, (5 Folders)



Box 14 Folder 1 to 2, 4 to 6 Carded Stills, undated, (5 Folders)


Box 14 Folder 3 Carded Stills--The Proffet and the Picket, undated



Box 15 Folder 1 to 4 Carded Stills--Selected by Robert L. Snyder, undated (4 of 6 Folders), undated



Box 16 Folder 1 to 2 Carded Stills--Selected by Robert L. Snyder, undated (2 of 6 Folders), undated


Box 16 Folder 3 Name, Age and Occupation--Negatives, undated



Box 17 Folder 3 Ecce Homo--Oversize Album, undated