A division of
@uclalibrary
. Dedicated to preserving moving image history. FREE screenings at the Billy Wilder Theater at the
@hammer_museum
in Westwood.
Terrific news for silent film fans! A long lost Harold Lloyd short, “Luke’s Double” (1916), has been recovered by
@TheHaroldLloyd
Estate and deposited at the UCLA Film & Television Archive for eventual preservation.
We never know when and where films will turn up, like this 104-year-old nitrate print of “The Woman in White” a.k.a. “The Unfortunate Marriage” (1917), recently acquired via someone’s garage.
Sherlock Holmes fans rejoice! The Archive and the Baker Street Irregulars literary society are teaming up with
@RobertDowneyJr
to identify and preserve Holmes films from the silent era and beyond 🔍
We're saddened to learn that Kaycee Moore has passed away. Moore brought dignity and vulnerability to her powerful performances in “Killer of Sheep,” “Bless Their Little Hearts” and “Daughters of the Dust,” landmark works of Black cinema. Obituary:
One of the few women directors in 1950s-60s TV, Ida Lupino helmed over 50 episodes. Her artistic mark is perhaps best illustrated by her work on the macabre Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Thriller and Twilight Zone. Join us 6/24 for a screening + scholar Q&A:
It's Oscar day! Here's legendary costume designer Edith Head, whose work helped define the look of classic Hollywood. With 8 Oscar wins and 35 nominations, she has been honored by
@TheAcademy
more times than any other woman.
#Oscars
“Sometimes it’s not how much light you use to get an effect, it’s how little you use and still make it work. There are a lot of rules to be broken in photography, and you’ve got to have courage.”—the legendary and prolific master of light James Wong Howe
#bornonthisday
“Why preserve films...? The answer is very simple. The cinema gives us something precious: a record of ourselves in time, documented and interpreted… [it] gives us a way of dealing with the mystery of who and what we are.” HBD Martin Scorsese, a true champion of preservation! 🎞️
In October 1945, two months after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, J. Robert
#Oppenheimer
met with Pres. Truman to discuss how to achieve international control of the weapon. In this newsreel recorded after that White House visit, he addresses the American public:
Happy 50th anniversary to “Enter the Dragon,” which opened Aug. 17, 1973 in New York and Aug. 24 in Los Angeles 👊 One of the most popular martial arts films of all time, it was the first U.S. film that
@brucelee
headlined as star and fully captured his immense screen presence.
Remembering the great Ingrid Bergman (1915–1982) on her birthday, here gracing the billboards of New York’s Times Square for the premiere of “Spellbound” (1945).
.
@AnneSerling
, author of “As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling,” will join us on 12/16 for a book signing, screening & conversation! New 35mm preservation print of “Carol for Another Christmas” (ABC, 1964), Serling’s impassioned plea to prevent nuclear war:
Mexican film star Dolores del Río was born on this day in 1904. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Río rose to fame in the silent era, becoming the first major Latina crossover star in Hollywood, and in the 1940s contributed to the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema.
With great sadness we say farewell to Sidney Poitier (1927-2022), an extraordinary man and actor who paved a new way for African Americans on screen. Poitier in 1967: “I want people to feel when they leave the theatre that life and human beings are worthwhile.”
A women's college comedy full of pre-Code delights, THE WILD PARTY opened on this day 90 years ago. The film was restored by the Archive in cooperation with Universal and Paramount, with funding from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
#UCLArestorations
Starring Conrad Veidt, the 100-year-old German film DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHERS is considered the first feature to openly and sympathetically portray a gay protagonist. The landmark film is preserved as part of the
@Outfest
UCLA
#LegacyProject
.
#PrideMonth
Just added to our
#InTheLife
online collection: interview outtakes with Sir
@IanMcKellen
, filmmaker Bill Condon, and AIDS activists Ann Northrop and Mark Milano. Watch:
#LGBTQhistory
Born on this day: silent film icon Louise Brooks (1906-1985), “an actress who needed no directing, but could move across the screen causing the work of art to be born by her mere presence” (film critic and archivist Lotte Eisner).
“What Jim [Henson] wanted to do... was to get back to the darkness of the original Grimm’s fairy tales. He didn’t think it was healthy for children to always feel safe.”—THE DARK CRYSTAL co-director
@TheFrankOzJam
. Free
#FamilyFlicks
matinee on 6/23—70mm!
“I never wrote just straight women’s roles. I liked the strong characters… Playing a nice woman who just sits there, that’s my greatest limitation.”—Ida Lupino, BOTD. The actress-turned-filmmaker wrote, produced & directed features in the 1950s and successfully crossed into TV.
“I’m revolting against the conventions of movies. Who says a film has to cost a million dollars and be safe and innocuous enough to satisfy every 12-year-old in America?”—Shirley Clarke, 1962. The independent film/video pioneer, who taught at
@ucla
, was born on this day in 1919.
“I happen to think that the singular evil of our time is prejudice... In almost everything I've written, there is a thread of this.” Happy birthday to the visionary and prolific Rod Serling (1924-1975), here on the set of THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
We're not back in the vaults yet, but our holdings continue to be safe thanks to the temperature-controlled conditions and the careful preparation of the Collections team. Today we highlight one facet of their work: saving nitrate film, which was phased out in 1950. 1/4
Today we were delighted to be visited by Shannon Lee, the daughter of
@brucelee
, founder/chair of
@BruceLeeFDN
, and the author of “Be Water, My Friend: The Teachings of Bruce Lee”! Here holding an episode of “The Green Hornet” (ABC, 1966-67) in one of our safety film vaults. 🎞️
127 years ago today, the Lumière brothers held one of the world’s first public commercial film screenings in Paris. The 10 films that were presented on December 28, 1895 can be viewed online via the
@InstitutLumiere
:
Just announced: the new UCLA &
@Film_Foundation
restoration of MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (1933) will be released on Blu-ray/DVD by
@WarnerArchive
! Read our interview with Head of Preservation Scott MacQueen about this two-color Technicolor wonder:
Finding a nitrate film that is safe to project comes with extra challenges due to its dangerously unstable nature. The Archive's Rosa Gaiarsa describes the process on our blog:
Join us Feb. 25 for “Bruce Lee: The Way of the Intercepting Fist,” a salute to the screen icon with daughter Shannon Lee in person! Screening of ABC TV’s “Longstreet” (1971) + “Enter the Dragon” (1973, in 35mm 🎞️). Free!
Special thanks to
@BruceLeeFDN
.
“Any good movie is filled with secrets. If a director doesn’t leave anything unsaid, it’s a lousy movie.”—Ernst Lubitsch,
#bornthisday
in 1892, master of the sophisticated, suggestive romantic comedy.
A newly preserved piece of TV ephemera features
@brucelee
as a rising star on ABC’s “The Green Hornet” (1966-7), “perhaps the first time an Asian American starred solo in a network promo.” 📺 More on our blog by Television Curator Mark Quigley:
Born 100 years ago today: trailblazing actress and filmmaker Ida Lupino wrote, produced and directed under her own company, later crossing over into television, an uncommon feat for anyone of her generation.
#IdaLupino100
80 years ago today, director Jacques Tourneur’s horror classic “Cat People” (1942) opened in New York and became one of RKO’s most successful films of the decade. 📸: Movie theater display promoting its release, Wikimedia Commons ().
👊 This Saturday, Feb. 25 at 7:30! Shannon Lee, daughter of
@brucelee
, will join us in person for a special screening of ABC TV’s Longstreet: “The Way of the Intercepting Fist” (1972) with original commercials + “Enter the Dragon” (1973) in 35mm 🎞️ Free!
“The cinema, like any other art, is like a big tree with many, many branches. Some are bigger, some are smaller, but all of them are important.” We mourn the passing of Jonas Mekas (1922-2019), a vital voice in film criticism and filmmaking and champion of the avant-garde.
#Bornonthisday
: Alice Guy Blaché (1873-1968), the world's first female filmmaker, who wrote, produced or directed 1,000+ films for Gaumont and Solax, a company she founded in 1910, and pioneered the use of narrative in film.
The trailblazing Anna May Wong,
#bornonthisday
in 1905, was the first Asian-American leading lady of both film and television, sustaining a decades-long career despite Hollywood's discriminatory practices.
Katy Jurado,
#bornonthisday
, was one of the few prominent Latinas in Hollywood. The actress enjoyed a long, celebrated career in the U.S. and Mexico, earning a Golden Globe for HIGH NOON ('52), Ariel Award for EL BRUTO ('52), Oscar nom for BROKEN LANCE ('54) & other recognitions.
Pioneering Chinese American actor Anna May Wong (born on this day) became an international film star in the silent era and made her mark on TV as the first Asian American leading lady of a series. In this newsreel from our collection, Wong visits Shanghai:
PARIS IS BURNING is getting a
@Criterion
release in February! Restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive in conjunction with
@sundanceorg
and
@Outfest
UCLA Legacy Project.
Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? The landmark documentary PARIS IS BURNING (1990) provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City’s African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene.
“If you can’t do it without relying on the spoken word, you’re not doing it visually, and that’s what I intend to do.”—John Ford,
#bornonthisday
in 1894.
Neglected for decades, the Lizabeth Scott-Dan Duryea noir gem TOO LATE FOR TEARS (1949) was restored by the Archive from the best surviving 35mm and 16mm sources, made possible by the support of
@noirfoundation
. Watch online via
@Kanopy
+
@flickeralley
.
We're excited to announce that we will be returning to our theatrical home, the Billy Wilder Theater, this November! Join us in person for FREE screenings of new and classic titles, including recent restorations, rare TV treasures and filmmaker tributes:
Bette Davis: “I have been uncompromising, peppery, intractable, monomaniacal, tactless, volatile, and ofttimes disagreeable. I suppose I'm larger than life.” Join us this Friday for a
#35mm
double feature salute to the screen legend:
Screenwriter-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s brilliantly witty, record-setting (14 Oscar nominations) classic ALL ABOUT EVE premiered 70 years ago today. Bette Davis: “I can think of no project that from the outset was as rewarding from the first day to the last.”
TV icon Rod Serling won his sixth Emmy for “It's Mental Work” (1963), a hard-edged character drama featuring Lee J. Cobb, Gena Rowlands, Harry Guardino and boxing champion Archie Moore. Free virtual screening on June 3 with guest speaker
@AnneSerling
!
Warner Bros. Studios was founded on this day in 1923 by pioneering Polish-American brothers Albert, Harry, Jack and Sam, originally located at Sunset & Bronson in Hollywood.
Starting April 1, we highlight the decades-long career of Anita Loos (1888-1981), considered the first female screenwriter on staff in Hollywood, credited in over 150 films. All screenings in 35mm & 16mm with guest speaker
@caribeauchamp
! 🎞️ RSVP:
Making its debut during
#PrideMonth
in 1992,
#IntheLife
was the first and longest-running
#LGBTQ
series on national television. Its historic 20-year run is available for viewing online:
Happy birthday to Rosalind Russell! 🎂
Just added to our YouTube channel: Rosalind Russell and husband Frederick Brisson’s home movies from 1942-43, filmed in Laguna Beach, Lake Tahoe, Del Monte, Lake Arrowhead, at home in Beverly Hills and more
“I’ve been getting along with everybody just fine since I became a horror man. Everybody expects something so terrible they are surprised to find me a human.” Happy birthday to the master of the macabre, Bela Lugosi!
Happy birthday to actor-turned-independent filmmaker Barbara Loden (1932-1980), who was one of the few American women of her era to direct a feature film, “Wanda” (1970), which she also wrote, produced and starred in.
Directed by
@DrMayaAngelou
for the anthology series Visions, “The Tapestry” (1976) centers on a young woman who's teetering between a psychological breakdown and a personal breakthrough. Join us 3/4 for a free virtual screening of this preserved episode:
In 1946, a year after the first nuclear bomb test (named “Trinity” by its chief architect, J. Robert Oppenheimer), the US carried out a series of tests called “Operation Crossroads.” Artist & filmmaker Bruce Conner assembled gov’t footage in his magnum opus, “Crossroads” (1976).
📽🎞 We're gearing up for our opening weekend: the L.A. restoration premieres of “Mystery of the Wax Museum” (1933), “Doctor X” (1932) and “Chameleon Street” (1990,
@ArbelosFilms
) at the Billy Wilder Theater!
Former UCLA Preservation Officer Robert Gitt accessed over 200 film reels of THE RED SHOES (1948) to identify the best surviving materials and restore this cinematic marvel, erasing years of damage. Streaming on
@criterionchannl
, Amazon and iTunes:
Exciting news: May Hong HaDuong will join us as the new director of the UCLA Film & Television Archive! An alumna of
@UCLA
, she has served in the film archiving world for 15+ years and will now helm the largest university-held moving image collection.
#BornOnThisDay
: Dorothy Arzner was, until 1943, the only woman to sustain a feature film directing career in the Hollywood studio system, working in that capacity for nearly two decades. The Archive restored and preserved six Arzner films, while
@UCLALibrary
holds her papers.
We’re thrilled to unveil our free spring lineup, including our 21st Festival of Preservation! 10 restored features, 4 TV programs and numerous shorts. Plus: The Art of the Benshi and salutes to Robert Butler, Patricia Rozema, Jean-Pierre Bekolo, Esther Eng
Robert Simonton recently tracked down the film and Harold’s granddaughter, Suzanne Lloyd, pictured here, brought it to the Archive to join the rest of the Harold Lloyd Collection 🎞
A landmark work of New Queer Cinema,
@cdunye
's THE WATERMELON WOMAN (1996) centers on a video store clerk (Dunye) as she delves into the hidden history of a 1930s black actress and navigates a new romance. The UCLA remastered version is on Amazon and Kanopy.
#womenshistorymonth
On our blog, animation historian Jerry Beck highlights four films (including this 1928 silent, “KoKo’s Earth Control”) by legendary animators Max & Dave Fleischer, Ub Iwerks and George Pal. Preserved by UCLA with support from
@ASIFAHollywood
. Watch online:
On Sept. 18 we present “Daughter of Shanghai” (1937) on rare 35mm NITRATE from our vaults! 🎞 A starring vehicle for Anna May Wong opposite another Asian American trailblazer, Philip Ahn. Intro by her niece Anna Wong and Sean Metzger of
@UCLA_TFT
. RSVP:
Happy
#Noirvember
! 🖤 Four essential noirs that have been restored and preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive: DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944), GILDA (1946), THE BIG SLEEP (1946), GUN CRAZY (1950).
#UCLArestorations
🎂 Happy birthday to trailblazing director, screenwriter, actor and comedian Elaine May! Pictured here filming “A New Leaf” (1971).
Our collection includes rare 1950s-’60s TV appearances by May and comedy partner Mike Nichols, available for onsite viewing
After a 31-year career in film preservation, including almost 11 years
@UCLA
, Scott MacQueen has retired from his role as Head of Preservation at the UCLA Film & Television Archive. On our blog he shares career highlights and what preservation means to him
Rest in peace, Kenneth Anger (1927–2023), one of the giants of American underground and experimental filmmaking.
The Archive worked with Anger to preserve Fireworks (1947), Scorpio Rising (1963), Kustom Kar Kommandos (1965) and Rabbit’s Moon (1971), funded by
@Film_Foundation
.
Today we celebrate the trailblazing
#JackieRobinson
on what would have been his 100th birthday. Before he broke the color barrier in major league baseball, he was an accomplished athlete at
@UCLA
, winning letters in four sports. Here's 1939 footage of
#28
on the field:
“There is nothing connected with the staging of a motion picture that a woman cannot do as easily as a man, and there is no reason why she cannot completely master every technicality of the art.”—film pioneer Alice Guy Blaché (BOTD 1873) quoted in The Moving Picture World, 1914.
Happy first day of class, Bruins! 🐻
University U.S.A. (1950) follows a freshman as he navigates
@ucla
with glimpses of campus life 72 years ago. Student filmmaker Bruce Bilson went on to have a prolific TV career and won an Emmy for Get Smart. Watch more:
German animation pioneer Lotte Reiniger (
#bornonthisday
in 1899) created more than 60 films—including the oldest surviving animated feature, THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMED (1926)—using elaborate paper puppetry and stop-motion animation.
Katy Jurado was born on this day, 1924. One of the few prominent Latinas in Hollywood, working in both the US & her native Mexico, Jurado earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nom for Broken Lance (’54), a Golden Globe win for High Noon (’52) & an Ariel Award for El Bruto (’52).
Join us on Oct. 7 for two by Tod Browning: “The Unknown” (1927) with Lon Chaney and Joan Crawford, restored by
@EastmanMuseum
+ “Dollar Down” (1925), preserved by UCLA from a decomposing and incomplete nitrate print. Silent with live accompaniment 🎹 Free!
#Bornonthisday
in 1914: Esther Eng is considered the first woman to direct Chinese-language films in both the U.S. and Hong Kong. An openly lesbian woman, Eng brought female-centric storytelling to the screen. Sadly, little survives from her trailblazing, cross-cultural career.
Our 13-film tribute to Hollywood’s Swedish screen goddess, Greta Garbo, opens Jan. 19 with “Queen Christina” (1933) & “Mata Hari” (1931) in 35mm! Free:
📷 Times Square, New York City, 1933. Source:
“Not to have seen the cinema of Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon.”—Akira Kurosawa. Legendary Indian writer, director and composer Satyajit Ray was born on this day in 1921.