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. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ------- start of forwarded message ------- 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 ------- end of forwarded message -------