Category Archives: Film History

From Talking Movies to Looney Tunes – Celebrating 100 Years of Warner Brothers

April 4, 2023, marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of Warner Brothers Pictures. Here at the American Heritage Center, we have the papers of some of the creative personalities behind the films for which Warner Brothers is revered. The … Continue reading

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Meet Grande Dame Guignol at the American Heritage Center

This Halloween, we consider the sub-genre of horror films referred to as “Grande Dame Guignol,” also known as “Hagsploitation,” “Psycho-biddy,” or “Hag Horror,” and three films in that sub-genre that are represented in three of our collections. Films of this … Continue reading

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Happy Birthday Hoppy!

William Lawrence Boyd, known throughout the world as “Hopalong Cassidy,” was born June 5, 1895 in Hendrysburg, Ohio, to Charles William Boyd, and his wife, the former Lida Wilkens (aka Lyda). Following his father’s death, Boyd moved to California to … Continue reading

Posted in Animal actors, Biography and profiles, Film History, Hollywood history, Motion picture actors and actresses, Pop Culture, popular culture, television history, Uncategorized, Western Films, Western history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

William Beaudine, Bela Lugosi, and Horror Films Out West

For Halloween 2018 and 2019, we brought you blog posts on The Killer Shrews and The Giant Gila Monster, two low-budget horror movies financed by Texas radio pioneer Gordon McLendon. This year, we shine a spotlight on the career of … Continue reading

Posted in Film History, Holidays, Hollywood history, Horror, Motion picture actors and actresses, motion picture history, Pop Culture, popular culture, Uncategorized, Western Films | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

From Orphan to Icon: The Remarkable Journey of Barbara Stanwyck

The astounding and legendary life and career of Barbara Stanwyck began in Brooklyn, New York. The youngest of 5 children born to common laborers, Stanwyck was originally known as ‘Ruby Stevens.’ She became orphaned by the age of 4. After … Continue reading

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David Brown and Steven Spielberg: Through Thick and Thin

Film producer David Brown (1916-2010) began his career in 1951 heading the story department at Twentieth Century Fox. His success began early through his involvement with The Robe, an American Biblical epic film that received an Oscar nomination for Best … Continue reading

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Documenting Women’s Roles in Hollywood

Film and television entertains us all and are significant to American culture.  Whether through comedy, drama, or music, perspectives of our culture can be studied by observing what entertained us in the past.  The American Heritage Center’s vast entertainment collections … Continue reading

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Saddle Up with Shane: Exploring Jack Schaefer’s Western Legacy

The film Shane is critically thought to be one of the best westerns ever made. It starred Alan Ladd as the title character, as well as Van Heflin and Jean Arthur. In fact, the film (released in 1953) was based … Continue reading

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King Kong’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’

In the Forrest J. Ackerman collection, one can find a variety of well-known artifacts of the film era, including work from before World War II (the oldest artifact in the collection is from 1890, a literary review that has an … Continue reading

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A Red Carpet Collection

Those of you who watch the Oscars  might have found yourselves wondering what it is like to hold the most coveted award in Hollywood. Well readers, question no longer! The AHC is pleased to count, among the many informative and … Continue reading

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