It is a sad thing to report that Charles P. ("Charlie") Mitchell of Medway, Maine, 

passed away suddenly on Jan. 25, 2005. 



Mr Mitchell and his wife Roberta had devoted much of their energy to 

collecting rare old films on various formats, beginning shortly after they 

married in 1977.   Their collection grew to such dimensions that after Charles 

retired from his library job in the 1990s,  the Mitchells decided to turn their 

hobby into a small business, selling video copies of their (public domain) 

rarities to collectors by mail.    



Having happened upon their little classified ad (probably in "Classic Images"), 

I myself made the acquaintance of the Mitchells via E-Mail.  From them 

in recent years I acquired several real celluloid rarities (which I'd been unable 

to find  elsewhere).  Even though my dealings with them were solely by E-Mail,   

I was always struck by the loving care with which  the Michells filled orders, and 

the very reasonable prices they charged.  It was obvious the Mitchells collected 

old films and shared them with other collectors (like yours truly) not for  any 

mercenary reasons! 



Roberta Mitchell, who had worked alongside her husband and played the role of an equal 

partner in their hobby-business, assures me that their enterprise  will continue  as before, 

unchanged, and that she will continue to give the same service that the  Mitchells had given 

previously, at the same location: "[log in to unmask]" [not ".COM"] 



Charles Mitchell published 8 books, rich in the detail which was characteristic of his love 

for celluloid oldies and his background in library science.  Most recent among those books 

were "Guide to Charlie Chan Films " (Greenwood, 1999); "Hitler Filmography" (McFarland '02); 

"Great Composers Portrayed on  Film" (McFarland '04); and "Filmography of Social   

Issues" (Greenwood '04). 



Charles P Mitchell was born on May 3, 1949.  He received a BA in History from  Pace 

University and an MLS (Library Science) from the Pratt Institute. He is survived by his   

widow, Roberta Mitchell,  by an aunt, and by some cousins in Texas.  Along with his love 

for films (especially "film noir," British cinema,  Charlie Chan, and films about music & 

composers), he had a great love for dogs, and the  Mitchells had 3 pet canines at the time 

of Charles's passing. 



I like to think of Charles Mitchell as modern-day successor to  Theodore Huff and 

William K Everson.   He will be painfully missed by all who knew him. 



Steven P Hill, 

Cinema Studies, 

University of Illinois. 

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