Research Papers and Publications
This is an evolving collection of publications on various aspects of the people, films and history of the American Film Company.
Margarita Fischer, First Lady of the Flying A
Publication:
Noticias, Journal of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum Volume: XXXII, No: 1, March 2009
Issue:
Margarita Fischer, First Lady of the Flying A
Abstract:
Margarita Fischer’s experiences with the early moving picture business provide an extensive survey of how the new technology evolved into an industry. Margarita participated in the Flying A during three distinct periods and her story illustrates the working world of a moving picture star.
The American Film Company: 1910-1923
Publication:
The Flying A – Silent Film in Santa Barbara [Exhibition Catalog]
Santa Barbara Historical Museum (2012)
Abstract:
The decade that began in 1910 was a profound one, as the telephone, the automobile, and the airplane all transitioned from curiosity to accepted facts of modern 20th-century life. Home entertainment products like the phonograph became commonplace in parlors across the country, while an avalanche of published sheet music provided an interactive entertainment experience for anyone with access to a piano. It was a technology-mad era and the pace of modern living was unlike anything that had come before. Nothing summed up these changes better than the moving picture. Merely fifteen years old, this newest member of the arts had entered its adolescence— awkward, enthusiastic, and changing dynamically with each coming year. The scientific minds that had given birth to the movies were being replaced by those with a more commercial, mass-production way of thinking. The film “industry” had begun, and Santa Barbara would play her part.
Reclaiming “Lost Films”
Publication:
The Moving Image, University of Minnesota Press
Volume 16, Number 1, Spring 2016
Article:
Reclaiming “Lost” Films: The Paper Print Fragment Collection and the American Film Company
Abstract:
This essay offers a close analysis of an innovative and ongoing project aimed at archiving materials related to the American Film Company (AFC), an important silent-era studio that until recently has largely been obscured in the historical record. Our focus is on the studio’s holdings in the Paper Print Fragment collection at the Library of Congress. Unlike the complete paper print records, the lesser-known fragment collection consists of paper rolls on which at least one frame from every scene of a given film was contact printed to register that film for copyright. The Library of Congress holds approximately four hundred AFC paper print fragments. By analyzing several of the AFC’s fragments, we demonstrate the value of the collection to mapping part of early film history. We also place the studio’s fragments in the context of a larger effort to digitize the collection and to build a website that provides researchers, students, and the public with access to a wide range of archival materials related to the AFC and the early cinema culture of which it was a part.
Silent-Era Filmmaking in Santa Barbara
Publication:
Silent-Era Filmmaking in Santa Barbara (2007), Arcadia Publishing
Abstract:
Robert Birchard’s illuminating book, Silent-Era Filmmaking in Santa Barbara has assembled many wonderful photographs from studio life at the Flying A.
Santa Barbara’s Flying A Studio
Publication:
Santa Barbara’s Flying A Studio (1997), Fithian Press
Abstract:
Stephen Lawton’s 1997 book, Santa Barbara’s Flying A Studio is the history of The American Film Manufacturing Company called by Santa Barbara locals, “Flying A Studio”; specializing in Westerns for the motion picture industry.
Behind the Scenes at the ‘Flying A’
Publication:
Behind the Scenes at the ‘Flying A’ (2023), Independently published
Abstract:
Betsy J. Green’s 2023 book, Behind the Scenes at the ‘Flying A’ — A century ago, silent movie actors and film crews appeared on the streets and countryside of Santa Barbara – often without warning. Local papers and national movie magazines published stories of their adventures – and misadventures – gathered in this publication for the first time.
Silents on the Island
Publication:
Silents on the Islands (2024), Independently published
Abstract:
Hundreds of silent movies were filmed on the idyllic islands of California starring luminaries such as Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks, Buster Keaton, Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel, and many more. Daring actors and actresses jumped off cliffs, battled pirates, swam with sharks, thwarted evildoers, and resucued mermaids. The earliest films were five- or ten-minutes long and filmed on the beaches. Island movies later grew into million-dollar features with casts of thousands. Betsy J. Green’s book contains photos and behind-the-scenes info for 200+ films.
Movies & Million-Dollar Mansions
Publication:
Movies & Million-Dollar Mansions (2022), Independently published
Abstract:
Betsy J. Green’s ground-breaking book about silent movies filmed on the fabled estates of Montecito, California. Nineteen movie studios traveled from the Hollywood area (plus two from Santa Barbara) to film more than 60 movies here. The movies began with a religious theme in 1911, then moved on to melodramas and suspense, and ended in 1928 with a jazz-age movie based on a Broadway musical. The chapter for each movie contains a lively synopsis, behind-the-scenes info, and photos from the movie and the million-dollar mansions.
In the Days of the Flying “A”
Publication:
Noticias, Journal of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum Volume: XXII, No: 3, Fall 1976
Issue:
In the Days of the Flying “A”
Abstract:
In March 1954, W. Edwin Gledhill conducted an oral history with Roy and Marjorie Overbaugh. Overbaugh was an outstanding cameraman filming most of the American Film Company’s productions between 1910 and 1913. Marjorie Greenwell Overbaugh, a Santa Barbara native, was frequently called upon as a double when swimming scenes came up and the star could not swim. The Overbaughs’ memories of these days from forty years earlier are presented here.
Gunning For The American Film Company: Wid Gunning and Wid’s Film and Film Folk, on Productions from the “Flying A”
Publication:
UCSB Film and Media Studies Student Paper
Abstract:
The “Age of the Silver Screen,” was in full stride in 1915 when then twenty nine year old, Wid Gunning, began circulating Wid’s Films and Film Folk, a weekly newspaper periodical dedicated to all things motion picture. Throughout its press life from September 9, 1915 through April 30, 1919, Wid’s Film and Film Folk reviewed over fifty American Film Company pictures, helping to throw a much deserved spotlight on one of the most succesful and influential film companys of the silent film era.
Additional Archival Resources
There are a number of archives that house manuscripts, photographs and various forms of American Film Company films.
Click these links for information on how to contact these organizations.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy’s Margaret Herrick Library holds both manuscript and photographic records related to the American Film Company and various people who worked there. It has yet to be determined if the film archives hold any prints.
8949 Wilshire Blvd.
Beverly Hills,CA 90211
310-247-3000
www.oscars.org/mhl
British Film Institute
It may surprise some to find that the BFI would hold the second largest collection of Flying A films. Not so surprising when one realizes that the London office handled most all distribution outside of North America. 35mm viewing copies are available for a fee. Be sure to arrange ahead of the time of your visit since the films must come in from offsite and also be prepared for flatbed viewings.
21 Stephen Street
London W1T 1LN England
www.bfi.org.uk/bfi-national-archive
Chicago Historical Museum
The CHM has two collections related to the Flying A, manuscripts and photos. They actually come from the same original files which have been broken up to conform to the library’s system of inventory. The most significant portion of the collection is a film by film set of files representing roughly 25% of American’s titles, both shorts and features. Photos, contracts, scenarios and other materials are included. These records were saved by John Freuler’s daughter when the entire company records were being dumped, bless her. Unfortunately, we assume, the rest of the files were burned.
Clark Street at North Avenue
Chicago,IL 60614-6071
312-642-4600
www.chicagohs.org
George Eastman House
The GEH provides screening access to their limited collection of Flying A prints. A fee is charged and it is important to arrange far ahead of any planned visit. Not all of the collection has viewing copies.
900 East Avenue Rochester, NY 14607 900 East Avenue
Rochester,NY 14607
585-271-3361
www.eastman.org/
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress holds a significant amount of American Film Company material including paper “fragments” (selected 35mm frames sent for copyright protection) and a limited number of 35mm film prints available for viewing by appointment.
101 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington,DC 20540
202-707-5000
www.loc.gov/rr/mopic
Santa Barbara Historical Museum
The Santa Barbara Historical Museum’s Gledhill Library holds a wealth of original photographic prints related to the American Film Company. The museum also contains one of the cameras used to produce Flying A films.
136 East De La Guerra St.
Santa Barbara,CA 93101
805-966-1601
bit.ly/gledhill_library
UCSB Special Research Collections
The UC Santa Barbara Library’s Special Research Collections holds the Joel Conway / Flying A Studio photograph collection containing 700 online studio images.
Department of Special Collections
UC Santa Barbara Library
3rd Floor, Mountain Side
(805) 893-3062
special@library.ucsb.edu
www.library.ucsb.edu/special-collections
UCLA Film and Television Archive
The archives hold a limited number of American Film Company prints. Perhaps the most significant is the recently restored Mary Miles Minter production “Peggy Leads the Way.”
www.cinema.ucla.edu/about/aboutus.html
Wichita State University Libraries
Department of Special Collections
Wichita,KS 67260-0068
316-978-3481
specialcollections.wichita.edu/
L.A. County Museum of Natural History
The NHMLAC’s Seaver Library is a very useful research library for topics of related to Southern California and the West. Materials directly related to the American Film Company have yet to be discovered but many items are yet to be cataloged and there’s always hope!
Exposition Park
Los Angeles, CA
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History
1300 Constitution Ave NW,
Washington, DC 20560
Email Contact Form: https://americanhistory.si.edu/about/contact/form