AHJ_ah07955 Inventory of the Fritz Lang papers, 1909-1973 Lang (Fritz) papers Processed by Loreley Moore The creation of the EAD-version of this finding aid was made possible through a grant from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission. University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
American Heritage Center Dept. 3924, 1000 E. University Avenue University of Wyoming Laramie, WY 82071 Phone: 307.766.2574 Fax:307.766.5511 Email:ahcref@uwyo.edu URL:https://ahc.uwyo.edu/
2000;2012

University of Wyoming

 Finding aid encoded by Ann Mulfort July 2006. Encoding was revised by D. Claudia Thompson March 2012 Finding aid is in English Collection Summary Lang, Fritz, 1890-1976 Fritz Lang papers 1909-1973 1931-1973 07955 5.00 cubic ft. (12 boxes) University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center. English Collection contains manuscript, galley proof, notes, awards, books, and films of this film director and screenwriter, born in Austria. Fritz Lang received worldwide recognition for his work. Biography of Fritz Lang

Fritz Lang (1890-1976) was an Austrian-American film director who began his film career as a scriptwriter. Many of the scripts he wrote in the 1920s were co-written by his wife, Theo Von Harbou. Lang fled Germany in 1933. By 1936 he was in Hollywood, where he directed films for twenty years, until his differences with producers led to his leaving Hollywood. He directed films in India until 1959 when he returned to Germany. In 1963 he portrayed himself in the French film “Mopris” which was directed by Jean-Luc Goddard.

His early films in America, as in “Fury” in 1936 and “You Only Live Once” in 1937, were about social injustice. He then directed westerns and psychological mysteries, including “The Woman at the Window” in 1944 and “Scarlet Street” in 1945. He later returned to the exposure of violence and corruption in “Big Heat” in 1953.

Although he was not honored by the American film establishment until a retrospective of his work at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1969, France, Germany, Austria, and Yugoslavia gave him many awards for his contribution to film from the 1950s through the 1970s. He also received an award for his film “M” from the German Motion Picture Arts Association in 1931.

 Scope and Content

The papers of Fritz Lang contain very little material about his personal or professional life. The general files, 1933-1973, are few, and other than the biographical information, reflect Lang’s interests.

There is a rare Navaho Male Shooting Chant translation from an audio tape made in the 1930s. He was fascinated by the American Indian Culture and often lived on Indian reservations for weeks at a time.

Most of the general files are research material for a film about the Taj Mahal. They contain pamphlets, photographs, and outlines. There is a slim file about San Quentin Prison containing a prison concert program and an issue of the prison newspaper. There is an almost inclusive run of the People’s Songs Bulletin, 1946-1949. This bulletin was founded and administered by Pete Seeger to create, promote, and distribute songs of labor and the American people. The bulletin was sold only to members of the People’s Songs Association and was not in wide distribution. There is one piece of sheet music, “No Surrender,” from the movie “Hangmen Also Die,” directed by Fritz Lang.

There are 16 mm motion-picture reels, 1938-1953, filmed by Fritz Lang as he toured the Southwest. They are films of New Mexico, Arizona, and Indians. There is one reel of Fritz Lang. There are a few incidental books which were inscribed to Fritz Lang, some books upon which he based films, and American Songbooks of special interest.

Awards in 1931 and 1957-1973 were presented to Fritz Lang for excellence in film and contribution to the motion picture art. He was given the Commander Cross, Order of Merit in 1957 and 1966, and the Golden Ribbon of Motion Picture Arts in 1963 by the Federal Republic of Germany. He was awarded the Order of Arts and Letters from France in 1965, made an Honorary Professor of Fine Arts by the University of Vienna, Austria, in 1973, awarded the Order of the Yugoslavia Flag with a Golden Wreath in 1971, and was given a plaque from El Festival Internacional del Cine de San Sebastian in 1970. The Silver Hand was awarded to Fritz Lang in 1931 for his film “M” by the German Motion Picture Arts Association.

 Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

 Copyright Information

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

 Related Materials

To see an additional archival collection created by Fritz Lang, see:

Reminiscences of Fritz Lang : oral history, 1971, Collection Number NXCP88-A1480, Columbia University Libraries, New York, NY 10027 USA Acquisition Information

The Fritz Lang papers, circa 1909-1973, were given to the American Heritage Center by the Fritz Lang Estate (administered by Lily Latte) in three shipments in 1976. The papers were received in good order.

 Processing Information

The collection was processed by Loreley Moore in June 2000. The motion picture film series was revised by John R. Waggener in February 2012.

 Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Fritz Lang papers, circa 1909-1973, Collection Number 07955, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

 Existence and Location of Copies

Digital reproductions of select material from this collection are available at https://digitalcollections.uwyo.edu/luna/servlet/uwydbuwy~98~98.

 Access Terms Navajo Indians--Rites and ceremonies. Hopi Indians. Taj Mahal (Agra, India). Folk music--Periodicals--United States. Mogul Empire. India--History--1500-1765. Chelly, Canyon de (Ariz.) Death Valley (Calif. and Nev.) Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah). Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (Ariz.) White Sands National Monument (N.M.) Tombstone (Ariz.) Motion pictures. Awards. Motion picture producers and directors. Bogdanovich, Peter, 1939- Fritz Lang in America. Blue Eyes. Male shooting chant. Haile, Berard, 1874-1961. Male shooting chant. Reichard, Gladys Amanda, 1893-1955. Male shooting chant. People’s Songs (Organization). People’s Song Bulletin. Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Performing Arts People, Ethnicity, and Culture Social Life and Customs Container List Series I. General Files 1933-1973 (1.5 document boxes)

Arranged alphabetically. Includes biographical information, research for films about the Taj Mahal and the American prison system, Navaho Male Shooting Chant, and People’s Songs bulletins.

 1 1 Biographical Information 1953-1973 1 2 Navaho Male Shooting Chant circa 1939 1 3 People’s Songs Bulletins 1946-1949 1 4-6 Research for a Film about the Taj Mahal 1952-1960 2 1 35 mm color slides taken as part of research for a Film about the Taj Mahal 1956 2 2 Photographic prints of Lang in India; part of research for a Film about the Taj Mahal 1956 2 3 Research on San Quentin Prison 1933-1936 2 4 Sheet Music “No Surrender,” 1943

From the movie “Hangmen Also Die” by Fritz Lang.

 Series II. Awards 1931, 1957-1973 (1.5 document boxes, 1 F22 Flat box, and 1 SHO box)

Arranged chronologically when possible, depending upon the kind of box needed to house the size of the award. Includes awards from Austria, France, Germany, Yugoslavia, and the Festival of San Sebastian.

 2 5 Commander Cross, Order of Merit from the Federal Republic of Germany 1957 2 6 Golden Ribbon of the Motion Picture Arts from the Federal Republic of Germany 1963 3 1 Order des Arts et Lettres from France 1965 3 2 Commander Cross, Order of Merit from the Federal Republic of Germany 1966 3 3 El Festival Internacional del Cine de San Sebastian 1970 3 4 Honorary Professor of Fine Arts from the University of Vienna, Austria 1973 4 1 Order of the Yugoslav Flag with a Golden Wreath 1971 5 1 Zur-Erinnerung-An-Unsere Erste Zu Samnenarbeit S Nebenzahl 1931

(Silver Hand for the film “M.”)

 Series III. Books 1909-1973 (3 document boxes, 1 slim document box)

Arranged by Category. Inscribed to Fritz Lang, books upon which he based his films, and American song books.

 Films by Fritz Lang based upon: 6 1 Grey, Zane, Western Union 1939 6 2 Greene, Graham, The Ministry of Fear 1943 6 3 Household, Geoffrey, Man Hunt 1939 6 4 Household, Geoffrey, Rogue 1939 6 5 Wolfert, Ira, American Guerilla in the Philippines 1945 Inscribed to Fritz Lang: 6 6 Bemelmans, Ludwig, Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep 1943 6 7 Booth, Ernest, With Sirens Screaming 1945 7 1 Caspury, Vera, The Husband 1957 7 2 Chatterton, Ruth, Homeward Borne 1950 7 3 Harvin, Emily, The Stubborn Wood 1948 7 4 Hollander, Frederick, Those Torn from the Earth 1941 7 5 Kakfa, John, The Apple Orchard 1947 7 6 Mooney, Martin, The Parole Scandal 1939 8 1 Popper, David, The Puzzle of Palestine 1938 8 2 Spies, Walter, and de Zoete, Beryl, Dance and Drama in Bali 1938 8 3 Twain, Mark, extract from Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven 1909 8 4 Velikovsky, Immanuel, Oedipus and Akhnaton: Myth and History 1960 8 5 Weinberg, Herman, Saint Cinema: Writings on the Film 1929-1970, preface by Fritz Lang 1973 9 1 Black, Eleanora, and Robertson, Sidney, “Gold Rush Songbook,” 1940 9 2 Davis, Joe, “Songs of the Roaming Ranger,” 1935 9 3 Gelhert, Lawrence, “Negro Songs of Protest,” 1936 Niles, John, “American Folksong Series”: 9 4-5 “Ballads, Carols, and Tragic Legends,” 1937, 1938 9 6 “More Songs of the Hill Folk,” 1936 9 7 “Songs of the Hill Folk,” 1935 9 8 “Ten Christmas Carols,” 1935 9 9 Palmer, Edgar A., “G.I. Songs Written, Composed and/or Collected by Men in the Service,” 1944 9 10 Spaeth, Sigmund, “Barbershop Ballads and How to Sing Them,” 1940 Series IV. Motion Picture Film 10 Canadian Rockies (train ride) 1938-1940s 10 Betatakin, Arizona (Navajo site) 1938-1940s 10 Bryce Canyon, Utah 1938-1940s 10 Cactus, Superstition Mountains, Arizona 1938-1940s 10 Canyon de Chelly, Arizona 1938-1940s 10 Death Valley, California 1938-1940s 11 Hopi Villages 1938-1940s 11 Arizona Location Shots 1938-1940s 11 New Orleans, Louisiana 1938-1940s 11 White Sands, New Mexico 1938-1940s 11 Rainbow Bridge, Utah 1938-1940s 11 Rodeo in Desert Southwest (possibly Navajo) 1938-1940s 11 Sand Painting, Weaving, Navajo Village Scenes 1938-1940s 11 Tombstone, Arizona (Boothill Cemetery) 1938-1940s 11 Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, Wyoming 1938-1940s 12 "Black Road to Fort Defiance" 1939 12 Desert Scenes, Arizona 1939 12 Woman driving automobile 1938 12 "Hubbel with Indian" 1938 12 Missions 1938 12 Puppies 1941 12 Mother and her puppies 1941 12 "On the Road" (Arizona Desert Highway) 1938 12 Painted Desert, Arizona 1938 12 Covered Wells, Arizona (Papago Indian gravesite) 1951 12 Blue Mesa, Petrified Forest, Arizona 1938 12 Petrified Forest and Colorado River Bridge, Arizona 1938 12 Home in the Desert Mountains 1939 12 Desert scenes, Arizona 1938 12 Southwest Mountains 1940 12 Backyard shots 1941 12 Desert scene with train tracks 1939 12 Desert Scenes, Arizona 1940 Additional Container Lists

The American Heritage Center is in the process of converting its older container lists to a more accessible format. This link is to an older version of a container list.

 Link to Accessioning Worksheet (PDF)