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Judith Crist Papers

An inventory of her papers at Syracuse University

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Crist, Judith.
Title: Judith Crist Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1963-1987
Quantity: 10 linear ft.
Abstract: Papers of the American journalist; film, drama, and television critic; and author. Collection includes correspondence (1950-1970); manuscript and published articles; and book, film, television, and theatre reviews.
Language: English
Repository: Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries
222 Waverly Avenue
Syracuse, NY 13244-2010
https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center

Biographical History

Judith (Klein) Crist (1922- ) is an American film and drama critic. Born on 22 May 1922 in New York, she attended high school in New York City and graduated at the age of fifteen and received a B.A. from Hunter College in 1941. After teaching briefly at Washington State College, she completed work on an M.S. at the Columbia University School of Journalism in 1945. In the same year, she was hired by the New York Herald-Tribune as a general assignment reporter. Judith Klein married William B. Crist, a New York public relations executive, in 1947.

In 1958 Ms. Crist became associate drama critic under Walter Kerr, and in 1960 she was named editor for the arts for the Herald-Tribune. After the newspaper strike of 1962-1963, Judith Crist emerged as film critic and associate drama critic of the short lived New York World Journal Tribune. Beginning in 1965 she delivered short television film reviews on the NBC Today Show, as well as serving as a critic-at-large for the Ladies Home Journal from 1966 to 1967.

Ms. Crist conducted the Judith Crist Film Weekends at Tarrytown House, New York, from 1971 to 2006, and she has been an adjunct professor at Columbia's School of Journalism since 1958. She is a regular contributor of articles to various other national magazines and reviews network movies for TV Guide magazine and first-run films for New York magazine.

Judith Crist has received numerous awards, including the Page One Award of the New York Newspaper Guild (1955), the George Polk Award (1951), five N.Y. Newspaper Woman's Club awards (1955, 1959, 1963, 1965, 1967); Edn. Writers Association award (1952); and the Columbia Graduate School Journalism Alumni Award (1961). She is a member of the New York Film Critics and National Society of Film Critics associations and Sigma Tau Delta. A collection of her best pieces was published in an anthology entitled The Private Eye, The Cowboy and the Very Naked Girl (1968).

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Judith Crist Papers contain correspondence and writings, with a few items of memorabilia.

Correspondence consists of incoming letters and carbon copies of outgoing letters. There are numerous letters from readers of her reviews, as well as letters from actors, directors, and other persons notable in the performing arts. Notable correspondents include Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Alfred Hitchcock, and Walt Disney.

Memorabilia contains newspaper clippings and a few miscellaneous items.

Writings in manuscript and printed form include articles, book reviews, interviews, and movie reviews. Titles of the first-run films reviewed in New York are given in the following inventory in the order they are treated in the review. Titles of the network movies reviewed in TV Guide are not listed.

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Arrangement of the Collection

Correspondence is arranged chronologically. Writings are subdivided by type. Movie reviews for New York and TV Guide -- mostly revised typescripts and typescript carbons -- are arranged chronologically.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

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Related Material

Special Collections Research Center has numerous collections relating to movies, television, and radio. Please refer to the SCRC Subject Index for a complete listing.

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Subject Headings

Persons

Crist, Judith -- Archives.

Subjects

Criticism.
Critics -- United States.
Dramatic criticism.
Film criticism.
Film critics -- United States.
Journalism.
Newspapers -- Sections, columns, etc. -- Reviews.
Television criticism.
Theater critics -- United States.
Women authors, American.
Women film critics -- United States.
Women journalists -- United States.

Genres and Forms

Articles.
Correspondence.
Film reviews.
Manuscripts for publication.
Reviews (documents)

Occupations

Authors.
Critics.
Film critics.
Journalists.
Theater critics.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Judith Crist Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Judith K. Crist, 1969-1991.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: FED
Date: Apr 1972
Revision history: Aug 1978 - updated (EL); 23 Oct 2008 - converted to EAD (MRC); 23 Jun 2022 - additions processed, collection rehoused (MS/MRC)

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Inventory

Correspondence
Box 1 American Association of University Women 1963-1966
Box 1 American Broadcasting Company (ABC) 1963, 1965, 1968
Box 1 American Federation of Arts 1966
Box 1 Anna M. Rosenberg Associates
Box 1 A, misc
Box 1 Beadle, Larry D. 1964-1968
Box 1 Bellows, Jim 1963, 1965 - journalist; Judith's boss at NY Herald Tribune
Box 1 Berman, Shelley 1964
Box 1 Blair, Robert Dike 1965-1966
Box 1 Brandeis University 1966
Box 1 Brandon, Thomas 1964, 1966, undated
Box 1 Brennan, Dermot R. (Father, later Monsignor) 1964-1966
Box 1 Bronx High School of Science 1965-1966
Box 1 Butterfield, Walton 1960, 1963, 1966
Box 1 B, misc
Box 1 Carl Byoir & Associates 1964, 1966
Box 1 College of New Rochelle 1965-1966
Box 1 Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) 1965-1968 - includes correspondence from CBS Films, CBS News, CBS Radio
Box 1 Columbia University 1964-1967 - includes letters from The Columbia Scholastic Press Association
Box 1 Corinthian Broadcasting Corporation 1964-1966
Box 1 Crawford, Joan 1965
Box 1 Cronyn, Hume 1965
Box 1 C, misc
Box 1 D/A/B Productions 1965 - correspondence regarding her appearance on "The Young Set" tv show
Box 1 Dalrymple, Jean 1965, undated
Box 1 Daniels, Joe 1963-1964
Box 1 Darin, Bobby 1964
Box 1 D'Avino, Carmen 1963
Box 1 Davidson, Sara 1965-1965
Box 1 Davis, Bette undated
Box 1 Davis, Desmond 1965-1966
Box 1 Delehanty, Thorton 1965
Box 1 Disney, Walt 1965
Box 1 Dolan, Robert Emmett 1964-1965
Box 1 D, misc
Box 2 Ellin, Stanley 1968
Box 2 Ernst, Morris [L.] 1964-1966, undated
Box 2 E, misc
Box 2 Farrington, Will 1963-1964
Box 2 Film Facts 1966-1968 - yearly compendium started by Ernest Parmentier
Box 2 Film Quarterly 1966-1968
Box 2 Forbes, Bryan 1965
Box 2 Ford, Glenn 1965
Box 2 Forma, Warren 1964
Box 2 Frankenheimer, John 1964
Box 2 F, misc
Box 2 Gary, Harold 1965-1966
Box 2 Gerdeau, Richard 1966
Box 2 G, misc
Box 2 Haddad [Ryan], Barbara 1964-1965
Box 2 Henry Ford Community College 1966
Box 2 Herman, Gerry 1965-1966
Box 2 Hitchcock, Alfred 1965-1966
Box 2 Hollywood Reporter [THR] 1965
Box 2 Hoving, John [H. F.] 1965
Box 2 H, misc
Box 2 Independent Film Importers & Distributors of America 1965-1968
Box 2 I, misc
Box 2 J. Walter Thompson Co. 1964-1966
Box 2 John Springer Associates 1966
Box 2 Johnson, Malcolm M. 1963-1966
Box 2 Jones, Welton 1964-1966
Box 2 J, misc
Box 2 Kabatchnik, Amnon 1963-1965
Box 2 Karam, Elena 1964
Box 2 Keating, Kenneth 1964
Box 2 Kershner, Irvin [mispelled as "Irving"] 1965
Box 2 King, Loretta 1963, 1967
Box 2 Kirkwood, James Jr. 1966
Box 2 Kirtz, William 1964-1965
Box 2 Kisselgoff, Anna 1967-1968
Box 2 Knight, Arthur 1965
Box 2 Kuperferman, Meyer 1964
Box 2 K, misc
Box 3 Laden, Robert 1965
Box 3 Lake Erie College 1965-1966
Box 3 Lancaster, Dorothy 1965-1966
Box 3 Le Moyne College 1965
Box 3 Lehnert, Eloise R. 1963-1965
Box 3 Lemay, Harding 1965-1966
Box 3 Lewis, Windsor 1964
Box 3 Lincoln, Abbey 1965
Box 3 Lindflors, Viveca 1966
Box 3 L, misc
Box 3 MacRae, Sheila undated
Box 3 Malle, Louis 1966
Box 3 Manoogian, Haig P. 1966
Box 3 Maravel, Harry 1964-1966
Box 3 Margulies, Stan 1965
Box 3 Masterson, Peter undated
Box 3 Meade, Marion 1968
Box 3 Meglin, Nick 1964-1966, undated
Box 3 Metcalfe, Felicia 1964-1966
Box 3 Morehouse, Ward 1963
Box 3 Morris, Chester 1965
Box 3 Morrison, Hobe 1964, undated
Box 3 Murray, Kathryn 1966
Box 3 M, misc (3)
Box 3 National Broadcasting Company (NBC) 1963-1965
Box 3 National Council of Jewish Women 1963, 1966 - includes correspondence from the Passaic and Syracuse branches
Box 3 New School for Social Research 1965-1966
Box 3 New York Film Festival 1963
Box 3 New York Herald Tribune 1962-1963, 1966
Box 3 New York University 1964-1968
Box 3 N, misc
Box 3 O, misc
Box 3 Pack, Frank 1965-1966
Box 3 Panuch, J. Anthony 1963-1964
Box 4 Philbrick, Herbert Arthur 1966
Box 4 Picker, David undated
Box 4 Pintoff, Ernest 1963, 1966
Box 4 Poetry Center, The 1965
Box 4 Prentice, Paula [1964]
Box 4 Publicists Association, The 1965
Box 4 P, misc
Box 4 Q, misc
Box 4 Randall, Robert Shelby Jr. 1965-1966
Box 4 Robertson, Cliff 1963-1965
Box 4 Rosary Hill College 1965, undated
Box 4 Russell, Anna 1963-1966
Box 4 R, misc (2)
Box 4 Saint Joseph's College for Women 1966
Box 4 Sarant, Vasiliki 1964-1966
Box 4 Schaffner, Franklin [James] undated
Box 4 Seton Hall University 1965
Box 4 Sienna College 1965-1966
Box 4 Smith, Liz [Mary Elizabeth] 1965
Box 4 Smith, Sheila 1964
Box 4 Spewack, Bella 1964-1965
Box 4 Stabler, Mae [Wolff] 1963-1965 - mostly memos
Box 4 Stamp, Terrence 1965
Box 4 Stanley, Edmund A. Jr. 1966
Box 4 Stern, Mark 1964-1965
Box 4 Stone, Peter 1965
Box 4 Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee 1965
Box 4 S, misc (3)
Box 5 Taradash, Daniel 1965
Box 5 Television [magazine] 1967
Box 5 Thornton, Nathaniel 1965-1967
Box 5 Today Show 1964
Box 5 "TV Guide (Canada)" 1977-1984, undated - Crist's folder title
Box 5 T, misc
Box 5 Universal Pictures Company 1965
Box 5 University of Pennsylvania 1966-1967
Box 5 University of Texas 1965-1966
Box 5 Village Woman's Club [Bloomfield Hills, Michigan] 1965-1966
Box 5 U-V
Box 5 WABC 1963
Box 5 Wanger, Walter 1963-1964
Box 5 Wark, Dahr 1965-1967
Box 5 Whitcomb, Dennis 1965-1966
Box 5 WNDT 1965
Box 5 Wolfson, Martin 1963-1967
Box 5 Writers Guild of America 1965-1967
Box 5 W, misc (2)
Box 5 X-Y
Box 5 First name or initial only
Box 5 Unidentified
Memorabilia
Box 6 Awards
Box 6 Newspaper clippings and magazine separates 1947, 1952, 1960-1967, 1973, undated (4 folders)
Box 6 Photograph
Miscellaneous undated
Writings
Album liners
Box 6 Sound of Music, RCA undated - typescript copy
Box 6 "Upstairs at the Downstairs" 1965 - typescript copy
Articles
Box 6 Entertainment in New York 1965 - typescript copy
Box 6 Films of the thirties 1965 - typescript copy, galley proof
Box 6 "Have We Gone Too Far With TV and Movies?" undated - typescript copy
Box 6 "High School Movie Critic" undated - typescript copy
Box 6 "The Love Goddess" undated - typescript revised; typescript copy
Box 6 "On Motion Pictures" Sep 1964 - Aug 1965 - typescript copy
Box 6 Peter Sellers circa 1965 - typescript copy
Box 6 "Quickies" and Mini-Movies undated - typescript copy
Box 6 Untitled undated
Books
Box 6 Take 22 - revised typescript draft, with corrections, pp. 1-410 (5 folders)
Box 7 Take 22 - revised typescript draft, with corrections, pp. 411-892 (5 folders)
Box 7 Take 22 - "Author's set" proof, with corrections, pp. 1-406 (5 folders)
Box 8 Take 22 - "Author's set" proof, with corrections, pp. 407-487
Book reviews
Box 8 The Child Stars by Norman J. Zierold 1965 1965 - typescript copy; published material
Box 8 Harlow: An Intimate Biography by Irving Shulman; All My Sins Remembered by Elaine Barrymore; Elizabeth Taylor: Her Life, Her Loves, Her Future by Ruth Waterbury; The Rest of the Story by Sheilah Graham and All Told by Frederic O'Brady undated - typescript copy (revised)
Box 8 The Lonely Life: An Autobiography by Bette Davis undated - published material
Box 8 The Right Time by Harry Golden undated - typescript copy
Box 8 W.C. Fields: His Follies and Fortunes by Robert Lewis Taylor 1967 - published material
Fashion commentary
Box 8 "Prominent Designers '66" 1966 - typescript revised
Interviews
Box 8 Catholic Home Messenger 1966 - published material
Box 8 The Dartmouth 1966 - published material
Box 8 The Promethean 1966 - published material
Box 8 X-Press 1966 - published material
Movie reviews
Box 8 Beverly Hills (213) 1983 Oct - 1985 Mar - typescript carbons, showing corrections (5 folders)
Box 8 Coming Attractions 1985 Dec - 1989 Dec - typescript carbons, showing corrections (4 folders)
Box 8 50 plus 1978 Oct - 1983 Apr - typescript carbons, showing corrections; includes photocopies of clippings, correspondence (6 folders)
New York Herald-Tribune
Box 9 A Body in Every Bathtub 1965 - published material
Box 9 Cleopatra 1963 - published material
Box 9 The Taming of the Shrew undated - published material
Box 9 Ulysses undated - published material
New York Magazine - typescript/carbons with handwritten corrections, several publishing production pages; some duplicates and some gaps
Box 9 Reviews 1969 Feb 24 - Sep 29
Box 10 Reviews 1969 Oct 6-1970 Dec 21 (12 folders)
Box 11 Reviews 1971 Feb 1-1972 Dec 16 (15 folders)
Box 12 Reviews 1973 Jan 1 - 1975 Jan 27 (11 folders)
New York World Journal Tribune - published material
Box 12 Almost on Our Way to Maturity 1967
Box 12 Balthazar undated
Box 12 The Bible 1966 (2 folders)
Box 12 The Box-Office Numbers Game 1967
Box 12 Crazy Quilt 1966
Box 12 Cul-de-Sac; Fahrenheit 451 1966
Box 12 Falstaff 1967
Box 12 La Guerre Est Fini undated
Box 12 The House of Mirth that Jerry Built 1966
Box 12 In Like Flint; Hombre; Thoroughly Modern Millie undated
Box 12 Is Paris Burning? 1966 (2 folders)
Box 12 Kaleidoscope undated
Box 12 The Quiller Memorandum; The Night of the Generals 1967
Box 12 Return of the Pre-Bond Man 1966
Box 12 The Shameless Old Lady 1966
Box 12 The Shameless Old Lady; Do You Keep a Lion at Home?; The Scene; Masculine Feminine 1966
Box 13 Saturday Review 1980 Aug - 1982 Aug - typescript carbons with handwritten corrections, proof pages, some publisher correspondence
Box 13 Television scripts 1965 May 3-Nov 5 - typescript scripts used for segments on Corinthian Television
TV Guide Magazine - annotated typescript drafts, including proof copies
Box 13 "Fall Movie Preview" [1970], 1978, 1981-1985
Box 13 "Network Movies" 1969 Feb 8 - 1970 Feb 28 (7 folders)
Box 14 "Network Movies" / "This Week's Movies" [title changed June 10, 1972] 1970 Mar 7 - 1972 Dec 30 (17 folders)
Box 15 "This Week's Movies" 1973 Jan 6 - 1975 Apr 26 (14 folders)
Box 16 "This Week's Movies" 1975 May 3 - 1977 Jun 25 (13 folders)
Box 17 "This Week's Movies" 1977 Jul 2 - 1979 Jun 30 (12 folders)
Box 18 "This Week's Movies" 1979 Jul 7 - 1981 Jan 31 (13 folders)
Box 19 "This Week's Movies" 1981 Feb 7 - 1982 Jan 30 (12 folders)
Box 20 "This Week's Movies" 1982 Feb 6 - 1983 Oct 29 (some gaps) (14 folders)
Box 21 "This Week's Movies" 1983 Nov 5 - 1985 Oct 26 (Mar 30, 1985 mismarked as Apr 6) (13 folders)
Box 22 "This Week's Movies" 1985 Nov 2 - 1987 Apr 25 (9 folders)
Box 23 "This Week's Movies" 1987 May 2 - 1987 Dec 12 (4 folders)
Box 23 "Ten Best TV Movies" 1979, 1983-1986
Box 23 TV Guide Canada 1980 Jul 5 - 1980 Sep 27 - annotated typescript drafts
TV Guide Canada - clippings from magazine
Box 23 Crist's reviews 1977 Mar-Dec
Box 23 Crist's reviews 1978 Jan-Oct
Box 23 Crist's reviews 1979 Jan-Dec
Box 23 Crist's reviews 1980 Jan-Oct
Box 23 Crist's reviews 1981 Sep
Box 23 Crist's reviews 1982 Mar, Jul, Oct, Dec
Box 23 Crist's reviews 1983 Jan-May, Jul-Sep
Box 24 "TV Guide - Fall preview back file" circa 1977-1980 - miscellaneous folder of typescript revised reviews, published reviews, correspondence, and notes
Box 24 WNET reviews 1978-1980 - Crist's reviews for the New York City television station; typescript carbons with corrections, includes correspondence (2 folders)
Miscellaneous movie reviews
Box 24 The Birthday Party undated - typescript copy, typescript copy revised
Box 24 Far From the Madding Crowd undated - typescript copy
Box 24 "Journal" [unidentified] 1982 - undetermined title, typescript copy
Box 24 Jules [Jules and Jim] - typescript copy, revised
Box 24 Love Affair and Father 1967 - typescript copy, typescript copy revised
Box 24 Smashing Time undated - typescript copy
Box 24 Windy Day undated - handwritten
Box 24 Notes, lists and fragments 1969, undated - handwritten, typescript
Theatre reviews
Box 24 The Apple Tree undated - published material
Box 24 Mrs. Daily 1965 - typescript copy
Box 24 A Rainless Sky undated - typescript reproduction

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