Talk about round-robins! Perhaps some film archivists can help.
Anyone teaching four courses while trying to finish a dissertation
deserves all the help possible.
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Cal Pryluck, Radio-Television-Film, Temple University, Philadelphia
<[log in to unmask]> <[log in to unmask]>
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
cal, might you be able to assist in this inquiry
from the museum list? --bayla
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Subject: Help Locate Racing Films
Lines: 60
I'm forwarding a message from a friend who is not on this
list. His name is Mark Howell and he is presently occupied
with teaching four courses and completing his dissertation. He
is also involved in the beginning of a new transportation
museum; you may be hearing more from him when his schedule
lightens and the dust settles. This message was originally
posted by Mark to the ARTIFACT list. You can respond directly
to him or to this list--I'll see that all replies are forwarded.
Thanks very much for your help,
Marty Perdue
[log in to unmask]
>Date: Fri, 18 Nov 1994 13:23:08 -0500
>From: mark howell <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: call for cinematic help!
>To: Multiple recipients of list ARTIFACT <[log in to unmask]>
Dear Material Culture Folks:
I'm in search of some silent feature-length films about automobile
racing. Those of you who are film historians and/or archivists may be
able to help me out....
One film is entitled _The Speed Demon_. It was released in 1925 and made
by Bud Barsky Productions. The film features Barney Oldfield, Kenneth
McDonald, and Peggy Montgomery. It runs 5 reels (5,500 feet).
Another film is called _The First Auto_. It was released in 1927 by
Warner Brothers Pictures, and the story for the film was written by Darryl
F. Zanuck. Barney Oldfield stars in this picture as "himself, The Master
Driver." It runs 7 reels (6,767 feet).
A third film is from Hallmark Pictures Corporation and entitled _High
Speed_. It was released in 1920, and it features Ralph DePalma and some
footage from the Sheepshead Bay Race Track in New York. This picture
runs 5 reels in length.
One last film is a collection of footage from the Panama Pacific
Exposition held in San Francisco, California. There is no specific
release date for this documentary, which runs 12 reels in length. The
title for this collection is _Official Motion Pictures of the Panama
Pacific Exposition Held At San Francisco, California._ This is about as
specific as I can get with this one.
Now...are these films archived anywhere? If they are, are they in good
enough condition to view? Have any of them been converted over to video
tape? Would it be possible to convert any of them onto video tape?
I am searching for these titles for two reasons. I'm in the process of
writing a biography of Barney Oldfield, and those film appearances would
be helpful to me. I'm also doing research for the Barney Oldfield
Transportation Museum in Wauseon, Ohio, and having copies of films about
Oldfield and auto racing would be valuable to our collections. Would such
an idea even be possible?
If anyone has any information regarding these films, please contact me.
Thanks for your time and your help. Have a nice holiday!
Mark Howell
Bowling Green State University
Barney Oldfield Transportation Museum
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