Treasures III

Who Pays?: Chapter 12, Toil and Tyranny, preserved by UCLA Film and Television Archive.
Who Pays?: Chapter 12, “Toil and Tyranny,” preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. This serial chapter dramatizing the plight of striking lumberyard workers is among the social-issue films presented in the NFPF's Treasures III anthology. (Courtesy of AMPAS)

Cecil B. De Mille's The Godless Girl (1928), preserved by George Eastman House.
Cecil B. De Mille’s The Godless Girl (1928), preserved by George Eastman House, is among the features showcased in Treasures III. An exposé of the brutal conditions in juvenile reformatories, the film shocked moviegoers and led to reforms. (Courtesy of AMPAS)
 


Treasures III: Social Issues
in American Film, 1900–1934

DVD Project Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Film Preservation Board

The movies began during a period of social reform and quickly emerged as a way to reach millions, regardless of their class, education, or language. During the "Progressive Era" before World War I, virtually no socially significant issue was too controversial to bring to the big screen—abortion, anarchism, prohibition, unions, the vote for women, TB, worker safety, organized crime, race relations, loan sharking, juvenile justice, homelessness, police corruption, job discrimination, immigration, and more. Controversy fueled public debate and stoked the box office. Here was entertainment with the power to persuade.

With the support of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress, the NFPF has produced a DVD set to reclaim this little-known history. The 12-1/4 hour set with book, released on October 16, 2007, presents four features and 44 documentaries, cartoons, newsreels, serial episodes, and public service announcements exploring social issues from the period 1900 to 1934. Showcased are Hollywood productions as well as works sponsored by businesses, charities, and advocacy groups. All 48 films are drawn from the preservation work of the nation's foremost early film archives—George Eastman House, the Library of Congress, the Museum of Modern Art, the National Archives, and the UCLA Film & Television Archive— and none has been available before in high-quality video. For an illustrated brochure (PDF file) listing the contents and contributors, click here.

Many contributed to make Treasures III possible. Leading the effort with the NFPF were curator Scott Simmon (University of California at Davis), music curator Martin Marks (MIT), and designer Jennifer Grey (GREYMatter Design). More than 65 musicians and composers created new music for the films without original sound track and 20 experts contributed audio commentary. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences provided technical support. Chace Productions generously donated sound services. The set was authored by Sony Pictures Entertainment and replicated by Sonopress.

Films from the set were showcased at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival (July 13-15, 2007), Le Giornate del Cinema Muto in Pordenone, Italy (October 6-13, 2007), and the Museum of Modern Art in New York (December 2-8, 2007).

Treasures III is distributed by Image Entertainment. As with previous NFPF publications, free copies of the box set will be given to all state libraries.