Gifts, 2011-2012 (10-12-012-G, 11-03-008G)
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Michael Rodney and Amy Armstrong, 2012
Born digital materials processed, arranged, and described by Chance Adams and Brenna Edwards, 2015-2022.
John McCarty was born in Albany, New York, in 1944. He graduated with a communications degree in broadcasting and film from Boston University in 1966. After serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bogotá, Columbia, McCarty lived in Hollywood from 1968 to 1970, and wrote several unproduced scripts for the television series
His 2004 book,
McCarty has also taught courses about cinema in the Department of Theatre at the University of Albany.
In addition to material found within the McCarty Papers, the following source was used:
McCarty, John.
The John McCarty Papers consist primarily of materials collected and used by McCarty in the writing of his books and articles about film, particularly the suspense and horror film genres. Included are film publications, film stills, clippings, pressbooks, publicity materials, and a small amount of material associated with McCarty's writing and film projects including drafts, dust jacket designs, reviews of McCarty's books, and books written by McCarty. The collection is organized into three series: I. Reference Materials, 1920-2010; II. Memorabilia, 1912-1995; and III. Writings and Film Projects, 1966-circa 2008.
Series I. Reference materials make up the bulk of the material and is organized into four subseries: A. Publications, 1970-2010; B. Publicity Materials, 1972-1989; C. Film Stills, 1920-1993, undated; and D. Articles and Research, 1982-1985, undated. Subseries A. Publications is arranged alphabetically according to magazine title and is a mixture of horror and science fiction genre newsletters and magazines. Publications include
Subseries B. Publicity Materials includes pressbooks, press releases, and press kits collected by McCarty. The material is arranged in alphabetical order by film title and the films represented date between 1972 and 1989. Among the films included are
Subseries C. Film Stills contains numerous production and publicity photographs collected by McCarty. The film stills represent movies from a variety of film genres, but the majority of photographs are of action, suspense, science fiction, and horror films. McCarty used many of these film stills to illustrate his books. Most of the photos are organized alphabetically by film title, but several folders of stills from unlabeled notebooks are filed at the end of the subseries. An index at the end of the finding aid lists film stills found in this series.
Subseries D. Articles and Research contains clippings, articles, and film reference material collected by McCarty, presumably used in his writings.
Series II. Memorabilia includes film stills, articles, publicity kits, and other material about directors and film genres. This material was organized by McCarty into numbered binders focused on a particular subject. Subjects include directors Roman Polanski, Alfred Hitchcock, Sam Peckinpah, and John Huston; American and British Cinema and Television and American Cinema (major and Indie studios) from the 1970s to the 1990s; the American gangster film; and the British horror production company, Hammer Films Ltd. McCarty's original binder titles appear in single quotes in the container list. In addition to the collected material, McCarty also inserted material related to his books on the subject. For example, the Alfred Hitchcock binders contain an assortment of Spanish serialized excerpts from his book,
Series III. Writings and Film Projects is the smallest series by volume and contains documents that relate to McCarty's published works and film projects. It is arranged alphabetically by book or project title. Material includes research, interview notes, reviews, dust jackets and cover art, correspondence, publisher's catalogs, and film still order forms. Of particular interest are a draft of
A collection of books, including eighteen volumes--many signed--of McCarty's published books, a special edition documentary about Sam Peckinpah, and the