Numerous documents in Linwood Dunn's paper collection refer to effects reels that he compiled later in his career for educational purposes.  In the 1960s, Dunn took inventory of his film holdings and organized them into a private archive that he could draw upon for his Special Effects Cinematography lecture, a two-and-a-half hour presentation that Dunn delivered hundreds of times to industry organizations, universities, and the public.  The presentation entailed Dunn lecturing while a series of effects reels from different stages in his career were projected before the audience.

Existing breakdowns of the myriad variations of this program show that Dunn typically began with 1 or 2 reels (10 or 20 minutes) of effects clips cobbled together from dozens of RKO productions.  The documents collected here cataloged various groupings of these effects, typically under a heading such as "Old Effects."  Determining the provenance of these items has been a daunting and ongoing archaeological challenge, as the descriptions of each clip are incredibly erratic, ranging from an exact film title to a general description of the action.

I was extremely fortunate to unearth a single surviving 16mm reel featuring many of these optical effects (probably made for one of Dunn's lecture presentations) at the Academy Film Archive.  Rick Jewell provided his invaluable assistance in identifying numerous of the films from which these clips were excerpted, and I have deduced a handful more based on the sporadic evidence available.  Some items remain stubbornly unknown, and assigning a definite identity may prove impossible in some cases.  Nevertheless, as I work my way through the films on which the RKO Camera Effects Department is known to have worked, I continue to gradually identify the stragglers.

1. "Miscellaneous Old Effects" Inventories

2. "Nitrate Prints" Breakdowns

Begin this path

1. Miscellaneous Old Effects
2. Nitrate Print List

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