Mack Sennett papers

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The photograph series of the Mack Sennett papers spans the years 1912-1933 and encompasses 84 linear feet. The series consists of over 50,000 photographs and negatives. Sennett’s initial donation to the Academy in May 1951 included the bulk of photographs and negatives contained in the collection, but material prior to 1915 was sparse. In 1992 the Margaret Herrick Library acquired a group of Keystone Film Company photograph albums from 1912, 1913 and early 1914, all of which were added to the collection. In addition, several Triangle Keystone publicity photograph albums from 1915 and 1916 were dismantled and integrated into the collection as loose prints. The photographs are grouped into motion picture production photographs, biography photographs, and subject photographs.The motion picture production photographs span the years 1912-1933 and consist of scene stills and publicity portraits. The material is arranged alphabetically by film title, and more than 800 films are represented. There are also many off-camera, set reference and location reference photographs. Titles range from "The Beating He Needed" (1912), the earliest title in the collection, to "The Barber Shop" (1933), one of the last films Sennett produced. There is virtually no photographic material for films featuring Charles Chaplin.The biography photographs are arranged alphabetically by name and contain files on nearly 300 actors, directors, writers, and other studio personnel who worked for Sennett, including the Mack Sennett Bathing Beauties. The files are rich in material depicting Sennett stars such as Mabel Normand and Ben Turpin, as well as those who worked briefly with Sennett early in their careers, such as Gloria Swanson and Carole Lombard.The subject photographs consist mostly of casting and reference photographs. The casting photographs consist of hundreds of portraits submitted to the Sennett studio, primarily during the 1920s, by men and women hoping to break into motion pictures. Most carefully noted their names, addresses, phone numbers, and special talents on the reverse. The reference photographs include images of automobiles, trucks, airplanes, animals, and theaters. There is also a group of photographs depicting exterior views of the Sennett studio over the years.

Manuscripts

The Mack Sennett papers span the years 1914-1933 and encompass 41 linear feet. The collection consists of production files, story files, biography files, subject files, financial files, contract files, and scrapbooks. The production files contain script material, company forecast sheets, daily report sheets, suggested subtitles, inserts, cutting room sheets, preview notes, telegrams regarding title clearance, main title and subtitle sheets, complete production reports, dialogue sheets, final synopses, press and publicity material, and press clippings. A synopsis from "Mabel's Strange Predicament" (1914), dated January 10, 1914, is the earliest identified production record. There is no material from Sennett's Biograph period and little early Keystone material. There is a useful nine-page list of Keystone releases (the dates on the list are "finished" or "shipped" dates, not theatrical release dates) from March 1913 to February 1917. From mid-1915 to 1933 the collection contains material on nearly all of the films that Sennett produced, with the major exceptions being "Tillie's Punctured Romance" (1914), "Mickey" (1918), and "Married Life" (1920). Items of particular interest include complete production reports dating from September 29, 1916, to August 7, 1918; assistant director's daily report sheets and company forecast sheets from February 1926 to December 1927; a script clerk's notebook for "The Extra Girl" (1923); and a complete set of parts for the orchestral score for "Suzanna" (1923).

The story files contain story material for films that were photographed but not released, films that were not produced, or films that cannot be identified as produced films. In addition, there are synopses of popular books and plays from the turn of the century, many of which were used as the basis for films developed at other studios.

The biography files consist of biography cards, studio bios, press releases, and clippings. The biography cards list professional name, real name, address, height and weight, birthplace and date, schools attended, nontheatrical occupations, married/children, stage experience, and "date first came to Sennett studios."

Within the subject files, a correspondence file (1915-1919) contains a six-page letter from Charles O. Bauman to Sennett regarding the formation of Triangle and the need to get Charlie Chaplin back under contract "regardless of cost." The same file contains telegrams to and from John A. Waldron and Mack Sennett during the tumultuous transition from Triangle to Paramount in June and July of 1917. Several in-house publications are represented, including the "Mack Sennett Weekly," the "Mack Sennett News Bulletin," "News from the Mack Sennett Studios," and the "Mack Sennett-Pathé Studio Revue." Publicity Department records, including advertising, correspondence, and publicity releases, document that department's activities during the Pathé releasing years.

The financial files contain account ledgers (payroll and general, covering 1917-1933), balance sheets (1917-1919), and audit reports (1920-1928). The audit reports contain a list of completed photoplays and often include the cost of producing the film. The employment-idle time file (1917) contains weekly reports of when stock-and-guarantee people did not work and offers a fascinating glimpse into who was working at the studio, when they were working, and how often they were working. Other files include rental billings for Paramount-Sennett pictures in 1933, income tax returns (all are corporate, except one personal return for Sennett circa 1915), and real estate contracts and leasing agreements (both corporate and personal, 1914-1932).

The contract files are an excellent source of information for pay scales. They also help document who was working for Sennett and when. For example, William Beaudine's contract, dated February 1, 1933, provides irrefutable evidence that Beaudine directed for Sennett in 1933 under the assumed name of William Crowley. Chester Cooper Conklin's one-page Keystone contract, dated April 29, 1915, is one of the earliest. There are distribution contracts with Allied Producers and Distributors, Associated Exhibitors, Associated First National Pictures, Associated Producers, Famous Players-Lasky, First National Pictures, Keystone Film Company, Sol Lesser, Paramount Pictures, Paramount Publix, Triangle Film Corporation, and United Artists. The contracts cover both domestic and foreign distribution. There are no contracts dealing with either Educational or Pathé; however, in the Mack Sennett, Inc.-Audit Reports file is a summary of Pathé contracts in the report dated December 31, 1928. There are various other contractual obligations with banks, theaters in the Los Angeles area (in which Sennett had a financial stake), and in areas ranging from processing to publicity.

Four oversize scrapbooks contain clippings for "The Crossroads of New York," "Molly O'," "The Good-Bye Kiss," and "Hypnotized."

Gift of Mack Sennett, 1951.

Mack Sennett