Table of Contents
Scope and Contents of the Collection
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Marvin Worth Collection Related to Malcolm X Film
An inventory of his collection at Syracuse University
Overview of the Collection |
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| Creator: | Worth, Marvin. |
| Title: | Marvin Worth Collection Related to Malcolm X Film |
| Inclusive Dates: | 1967-1972 |
| Quantity: | 0.5 linear ft |
| Abstract: | Correspondence, contracts, memoranda, and photographs relating to Marvin Worth's efforts to produce the 1972 documentary Malcolm X. |
| 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
Marvin Worth (1925-1998) was an American film writer, producer, and actor. In 1967, Worth acquired the rights to Malcolm X and Alex Haley's The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Worth initially commissioned a dramatic screenplay from James Baldwin and Arnold Perl, but while the screenplay was being developed, the project transitioned into a documentary. Malcolm X (1972) was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Baldwin and Perl's original drama screenplay would later be adapted by Spike Lee into Malcolm X (1992), also produced by Worth.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The Marvin Worth Collection Related to Malcolm X Film consists of correspondence-subject files and photographs.
Correspondence-subject files contain communications with James Baldwin, Alex Haley, Arnold Perl, and Calder Willingham related to film rights and script writing. There are also general communications relating to casting and production. The casting correspondence includes a note from James Earl Jones, who narrated the 1972 documentary. The James Baldwin file also contains personal correspondence to Baldwin from various writers and artists, as well as typescripts of an interview.
Photographs includes contact sheets and negative transparencies of photographs of Malcolm X taken by Earl Grant and Matt Herron, as well as a small number of press photographs provided by the film studio.
Restrictions
Access Restrictions
The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advance 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.
Subject Headings
Persons
Associated Titles
Subjects
Genres and Forms
Occupations
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Marvin Worth Collection Related to Malcolm X Film,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries
Acquisition Information
Purchase, 2024.
Finding Aid Information
Created by: SAB
Date: 27 Mar 2024
Revision history:
Inventory
| Correspondence-subject files | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | Baldwin, James 1968, undated (2 folders) | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Casting 1967-1968, 1971 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Haley, Alex 1967-1968 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Perl, Arnold 1968-1971 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Production 1968-1971 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Willingham, Calder 1969-1970 (2 folders) | ||||||||||
| Photographs | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | Grant, Earl undated (2 folders) | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Herron, Matt undated | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Press photos undated | ||||||||||