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Finding Aid for the Paul Rotha Papers, 1926-1979
2001
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Title: Paul Rotha Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1926-1979
Collection number: 2001
Creator:
Rotha, Paul, 1907-
Extent: 84 boxes (42 linear ft.)
7 oversize boxes
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Abstract: Paul Rotha (1907-1984) was a film critic, documentary filmmaker, and movie director. The collection consists of materials
related to Rotha's documentary and feature films and Rotha's books on the cinema.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Language:
English.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including
copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds
the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.
Additional Physical Form Available
A copy of the original version of this online finding aid is available at the UCLA Department of Special Collections for in-house
consultation and may be obtained for a fee. Please contact:
- Public Services Division
- UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
- Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
- Box 951575
- Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
- Telephone: 310/825-4988 (10:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Pacific Time)
- Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
- Motley Books, Limited, purchase, 1967.
- Paul Rotha, purchase, 1980.
[Identification of item], Paul Rotha Papers (Collection 2001). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Paul Rotha was born in London, England on June 3, 1907; a former painter and designer, he became a film critic and wrote a
seminal work on cinema history titled,
The film till now (1930); began making his own documentary films in association with John Grierson and was a leading figure in the British
documentary movement of the 1930s and 1940s; directed three feature films in the 1950-60s; writings include:
Documentary film (1935),
Rotha on the film (1958), and
The innocent eye: A biography of Robert Flaherty (1963); died on March 7, 1984.
Collection consists of projects, early treatments, narration scripts, technical plans and shooting scripts for Mr. Rotha's
documentary and feature films. Also includes manuscript, typescript, and proof copies of Rotha's books on the cinema along
with clippings of his periodical writings and review articles. Reviews and articles on Rotha are both loose and in scrapbooks.
Includes Rotha's personal diaries as well as correspondence from John Grierson, Eric Knight, and Richard Griffith, among others.
There are art works from the 1920s, photographs (mostly location stills), and recording tapes from Rotha's films.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Rotha, Paul, 1907- --Archives.
Motion picture producers and directors--Archival resources.
Film critics--Archival resources.
Screenwriters--Archival resources.