Pare Lorentz papers, 1914-1994, bulk 1932-1960

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Series II: The Fight For Life, 1921-1942, undated

Lorentz's last major completed film, The Fight For Life is the story of the Chicago Maternity Clinic, a progressive but under-funded healthcare facility that achieved heroic results for Chicago's working-class families. The movie features three professional actors, but the rest of the people who appear are patients and nurses of the center.


Subseries 1. Distribution, Publicity, Research, 1921-1942, undated

This subseries contains notes and records related to the film's screenings in various cities. There are many press clippings, mainly movie reviews.



Box 18 Folder 1 Correspondence--Actors, 1939


Box 18 Folder 2 Advertising, 1940


Box 18 Folder 3 to 4 Columbia Pictures, 1940


Box 18 Folder 5 Contract and Copyright, 1939-1940


Box 18 Folder 6 Camera Report, 1939


Box 18 Folder 7 Continuity, 1940


Box 18 Folder 8 Distribution, 1940


Box 18 Folder 9 Research, 1940


Box 18 Folder 10 Distribution Returns, 1940



Box 19 Folder 1 Distribution--Noncommercial Requests, 1940-1941


Box 19 Folder 2 Fan Letters, 1940


Box 19 Folder 3 Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1938-1940


Box 19 Folder 4 Medical Controversy, 1938-1940


Box 19 Folder 5 Interoffice Memos, 1940


Box 19 Folder 6 Music and Musicians, 1939-1941


Box 19 Folder 7 Publicity, 1938-1940


Box 19 Folder 8 Radio, 1940



Box 20 Folder 1 Previews, 1940


Box 20 Folder 2 Pass List, 1940


Box 20 Folder 3 to 4 New York Premiere, 1940


Box 20 Folder 5 Prints and Production, 1939-1940


Box 20 Folder 6 Special Exploitation, 1940


Box 20 Folder 7 Publicity, 1940



Box 21 Folder 1 to 2 Publicity, 1939-1942, (2 Folders)


Box 21 Folder 3 Stills, 1940


Box 21 Folder 4 Sound Record, 1940


Box 21 Folder 5 Research--Birth Control, 1939-1940


Box 21 Folder 6 Correspondence--A-D, 1939-1940


Box 21 Folder 7 Correspondence--G-L, 1939-1940



Box 22 Folder 1 Correspondence--M-R,1939-1941


Box 22 Folder 2 Correspondence--S-W, 1939-1941


Box 22 Folder 3 Research Materials, 1938-1939


Box 22 Folder 4 to 5 Interdepartmental Committee, 1938


Box 22 Folder 6 Birth Reports, undated


Box 22 Folder 7 Research Materials, 1938-1939



Box 23 Folder 1 Research Materials, 1938-1939


Box 23 Folder 2 Gruenberg Compositions, 1921-1923


Box 23 Folder 3 Research Materials, 1938-1939


Box 23 Folder 4 to 5 Maternity Publications, 1933-1939, (2 Folders)



Box 24 Folder 1 Doctor's Organizations Contact Information, undated



Box 25 Folder 1 Background Notes, 1939


Box 25 Folder 2 Research Materials, undated


Box 25 Folder 3 Chicago Maternity Center, 1939


Box 25 Folder 4 Maternity Center Bulletin Board Records, 1936-1939


Box 25 Folder 5 Statistics, 1939-1940


Box 25 Folder 6 Research Publications, 1936-1940



Box 26 Folder 1 Research Publications, 1936-1940


Box 26 Folder 2 Research Materials, 1935-1938


Box 26 Folder 3 Screenplay, 1939


Box 26 Folder 4 Shooting Scripts, undated



Box 27 Folder 1 Reviews, 1940


Box 27 Folder 2 Publicity, 1940


Box 27 Folder 3 Reviews, 1940


Box 27 Folder 4 Script and Research, 1939


Box 27 Folder 5 Research, 1938



Box 28 Folder 1 to 2 Publicity, 1939-1940, (2 Folders)


Box 28 Folder 3 Publicity, 1936-1940


Subseries 2. Production, 1939-1940

These files contain extensive documentation of the production process. The production script notes were removed from their original binders.


Script Notes



Box 186 Folder 4 to 5 Production 4--Volume 1, 1939, (2 Folders)



Box 29 Folder 1 to 2 Production 4--Volume 2, 1939, (2 Folders)


Box 29 Folder 3 Production 4--Volume 3, 1939


Box 29 Folder 4 1939-1940


Box 29 Folder 5 Complete Scripts, undated


Box 29 Folder 6 Scene Notes, 1939


Box 29 Folder 7 Script Notes, undated



Box 30 Folder 1 Publicity, 1940


Box 30 Folder 2 Shooting Script, undated


Box 30 Folder 3 Screenplay, undated


Box 30 Folder 4 to 5 Script Sheet--Chicago Notes, 1939



Box 31 Folder 1 to 2 Script Sheet--Hollywood Notes, 1939


Box 31 Folder 3 to 6 Hollywood and Chicago, 1939



Box 32 Folder 1 Scene Notes, 1939


Box 32 Folder 2 Exploitation, 1940


Box 32 Folder 3 to 5 Script Notes Production 4--Chicago, 1939, (3 Folders)


Box 32 Folder 6 Shooting Sequences, undated


Box 32 Folder 7 Shooting Script Report, 1939



Box 33 Folder 1 Shooting Script Report, 1939


Box 33 Folder 2 Code Book, undated


Box 33 Folder 3 Negative Camera Reports, 1939


Box 33 Folder 4 to 5 Lloyd Nosler, 1939-1940, (2 Folders)


Box 33 Folder 6 Financial Record, undated


Box 33 Folder 7 Public Health Service, 1939



Box 34 Folder 1 to 2 Daily Journal, 1937-1938, (2 Folders)


Box 34 Folder 3 to 5 Daily Journal, 1939, (3 Folders)


Subseries 3. Stills, undated

Some of the still photographs filed here were taken on set, others come from the film itself, and a third group was used by Lorentz for research while he was writing the screenplay.



Box 35 Mounted Stills, undated



Box 36 Mounted Stills, undated



Box 37 Folder 1 Mounted Stills, undated


Box 37 Folder 2 to 5 Stills, undated, (4 Folders)