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Lewis J. Selznick was born around 1870 in the Russian Empire, most likely in Lithuania,
rather than in Kyiv, Ukraine, as he claimed in his own publicity materials. He immigrated
to the United States in 1888, first living in Pittsburgh, where he went into the jewelry
business, and later New York City. In New York, Selznick explored various business
opportunities to support his wife Florence and sons Howard, Myron, and David, before
entering the growing silent film production business headquartered across the Hudson
River in Fort Lee, New Jersey. In 1914, he became Vice President and General Manager
of World Film Corporation, a film production and distribution company with ties to
the Shubert Organization that specialized in film adaptations of stage plays. After
two years at World Film, Selznick was fired from the company by the board; he started
his own business, Selznick Pictures, poaching one of World Film’s biggest stars, actress
Clara Kimball Young. In 1920, Selznick moved his business and his family to Hollywood,
California, but was unable to sustain his company for long in the increasingly competitive
film business; by 1923 he was bankrupt. For the next ten years, he pursued many different
business ventures, including several unsuccessful attempts to capitalize on the increasing
popularity of radio. Following his death in 1933, his two younger sons carried on
his legacy in the motion picture business. Myron Selznick opened a pioneering talent
agency, and David O. Selznick became one of the most successful and acclaimed producers
of Hollywood’s Golden Age. |
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The Lewis J. Selznick Papers consist of business records from various production studios,
distribution companies, and theater chains owned by Selznick, as well as correspondence
and manuscripts that document Selznick’s other professional and personal activities.
The bulk of the papers date between the creation of Selznick’s World Film Corporation
in 1914 and his death in 1933. Materials include financial documents such as accounting
statements and tax forms; agreements, contracts, and other legal documents; meeting
minutes; notes; correspondence and memoranda; printed material; clippings; graphic
designs and posters; screenplays; photographs; and blueprints. The papers are organized
into four series: I. Studio Files, 1914-1932; II. Correspondence, 1913-1934; III.
Personal and Professional Material, 1896-1984; and IV. Ralph H. Blum Papers, 1930-1931. |
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Series I is subdivided into three subseries: A. Lewis J. Selznick Businesses, B. Other
Film Businesses, and C. Actors and Films. Subseries A contains records from film businesses
owned or managed by Lewis J. Selznick. In addition to correspondence, contracts, and
other materials from World Film Corporation, this subseries contains substantial documentation
of all the film businesses founded by Selznick, including Selznick Pictures, Selznick
Studios, Selznick Enterprises, and the Selznick Corporation. Also present are records
for Select Pictures Corporation, the production company that was formed after rival
producer Adolph Zukor acquired fifty percent of Selznick Pictures in 1917 and the
business was merged with Zukor’s Famous Players Pictures; and two film-related businesses
acquired by Selznick, National Picture Theatres and Republic Distributing Corporation.
Records such as accounting reports; tax returns; stockholders and Board of Directors
meeting minutes; contracts and trademark agreements; state operating licenses; incorporation
and dissolution papers; and correspondence and memoranda document the administrative,
financial, and legal activities of Selznick’s businesses between the years 1916 and
1923. A behind the scenes glimpse of the competitive corporate culture at Selznick-owned
businesses is contained in the employee publications Brain Exchange and Manpower.
The content of these newsletters also reflects American racial prejudices and cultural
biases of the early 1920s. |
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Subseries B contains a small number of records from film businesses that Lewis J.
Selznick did not own or manage. Most of these materials, from the Herbert Brenon Film
Corporation, Triangle Pictures, United Picture Theatres, and Universal Pictures Corporation,
pertain to actual or proposed business dealings with Selznick. In addition, there
are materials from Metropolitan Pictures Corporation present in the collection that
may be related to specific assets of Metro Pictures that were purchased by Selznick
after it was merged into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1924 or may be a completely different
business with a similar name. Files related to specific actors contracted to Selznick,
as well as contracts, screenplays, and correspondence related to specific films make
up Subseries C. Noteworthy in this subseries are materials related to the career of
actress Olive Thomas, who created a sensation as a rebellious teenage girl in Selznick
Pictures’ The Flapper (1920) and died tragically of an accidental poisoning only a few months after that
film’s release; and correspondence, contracts, and clippings related to the defrocked
Russian Orthodox priest Iliodor, who portrayed himself in the lost film The Fall of the Romanoffs (1917). |
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Correspondence in Series II, arranged alphabetically by correspondent, is comprised
of business and personal correspondence with individuals and organizations. Notable
correspondents include theatrical producer Hans Bartsch; Motion Picture Producers
and Distributors of America chairman Will H. Hays; film producers Sam Jaffe, Joseph
M. Schenck, and Adolph Zukor; and F. Scott Fitzgerald, who, in a letter filed with
correspondence about 'Old World Film Plays,' writes to Selznick about a recently completed screenplay, Transcontinental Kitty. Contracts and other legal documents are interspersed throughout the correspondence
files. Also in this series is a file titled 'Important Matters Pending,' which in addition to correspondence, contains a variety of other materials including
legal documents, clippings, printed materials, and blueprints, with most items dating
from 1932. This file likely contains material that was on Selznick’s desk or in his
office at the time of his death in January 1933. |
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Series III contains material related to personal matters, including biographical material,
files related to household and family, financial and legal documents, medical records,
and files on Selznick’s Brooklyn real estate holdings. The series also contains material
about Selznick’s professional activities outside of his studio work, including his
attempts to enter the radio business, his involvement with oil prospecting and other
investments, and several unrealized ideas for film businesses. A significant volume
of material documents Selznick’s mid-1920s involvement with the Picture City project,
a failed attempt to create a motion picture production center in Hobe Sound, Florida
that would rival Hollywood. A thesis about Selznick’s work at the World Film Corporation
is also filed in Series III. |
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Series IV is comprised of files documenting projects executed by entertainment lawyer
and talent agent Ralph H. Blum. Lewis J. Selznick’s name is not linked to these projects,
and it is unclear whether he had any personal involvement with them, although pieces
of correspondence elsewhere in the collection make it clear that he knew Blum and
transacted business with him. It is unknown how these materials became part of Lewis
J. Selznick’s papers. |
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Myron and David O. Selznick both worked for their father’s business—Myron was President
of Selznick Pictures from 1920 to 1923—and the collection contains a significant volume
of correspondence, notes, legal documents, and receipts created by or related to the
activities of the sons. The Lewis J. Selznick Papers overlap significantly with the
content of both the Myron Selznick Papers and David O. Selznick Papers, also at the
Ransom Center, and contain additional documentation of Myron and David O. Selznick
during the years prior to Lewis J. Selznick’s death in 1933. The Lewis J. Selznick
Papers were originally acquired with the Myron Selznick Papers and were transferred
out of that collection in 2023. |
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The original order of files has been maintained wherever possible. Many files were
assigned a title based on their content, but some files are described by the original
labels found on the folders. Text from original folder labels is enclosed in single
quotation marks. Many folders in the collection contain documents that are stained
with dirt and grime, and researchers may wish to wear gloves while they are handling
materials. |
