Records of a privately-owned corporation formed in 1919 by Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Charles Chaplin, and D.W. Griffith to distribute motion pictures made by them and other independent producers. Corporate records (1115 boxes), which include correspondence, reports, financial and legal records, and advertising materials, relate almost entirely to the first ownership and more particularly to operations during the 1930's and 1940's. Although few documents directly relate to the original partners, the collection offers excellent files on the legal, financial, sales, and advertising aspects of distribution. There are production files and scripts for only a few UA releases and no UA films in the collection, as these records belonged to their producers. Films, scripts, and related papers are present, however, in the extensive purchased film library (1004 boxes and 5090 films) which comprises the remainder of the collection. Legal records, 1919-1951, constitute both the largest and most important part of the collection for study of corporate policies, activities, and structure. These include extensive files maintained by O'Brien, Driscoll, and Raftery, the firm which represented UA during the entire tenure of the original ownership, and several internal files relating to ownership of films and allocation of payments. Included are correspondence, minutes, contracts, briefs, and other legal documents. While these records provide access to the full range of corporate activity, they are especially useful for stockholders suits, court cases concerning plagiarism and censorship, anti-trust actions, and contracts and negotiations with producers. Also present are papers about UA's legal relationship with other corporations, studios, and organizations such as the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America. Names prominently noted in the files include Benedict Bogeaus, James Cagney, Walt Disney, Harry Goetz, Samuel Goldwyn, Howard Hughes, and Darryl F. Zanuck. Further references to individuals as well as to corporations and film titles are indexed in the unpublished register. Available as one reel of microfilm are minutes of meetings of stockholders, the board of directors, and various executive committees; incorporation papers; and reports. Executive records, 1921-1951, range from routine to policy-level matters. Included are papers generated in the offices of president A.H. Giannini, vice-presidents George L. Bagnall, Arthur W. Kelley, and Gradwell Sears; and treasurer William P. Philips. Unprocessed files relate to Harry Buckley, Edward C. Raftery, George J. Schaeffer, Loyd Wright, and several financial officers. Financial records, 1919-1959, include foreign and domestic ledgers, journals, and other financial documents for the parent corporation and for major subsidiaries and related corporations such as Hal Roach Studios, Selznick International Pictures, and Samuel Goldwyn, Inc. Portions of this series are unprocessed.
