Distributor Catalogs

Film catalogs were major undertakings for distributors, often complete with images and other graphics.

Catalogs were critical for nontheatrical film distribution in the United States. Created by individual film distributors, catalogs listed the films available for viewing and were widely disseminated to clients and potential customers. In contrast to theatrical film, which had release contracts, trade journals, and traveling sales associates to promote films, the nontheaterical industry relied on catalogs for advertising and awareness. Catalogs were major undertakings for distributors, with illustrations on the front cover and throughout the often hundreds of paper booklet pages.³⁶ All sorts of distribution entities made catalogs, from ones specializing in niche fields to larger distributors with a range of nontheatrical film subjects. For distributors with diverse holdings, categories were implemented within catalogs to assist readers in finding a specific release. Finished catalogs were ephemeral objects, mostly discarded by readers with the release of the newest version; so finding good condition copies, especially from minor distributors, can be rare.³⁷ 

Film categories reflected the society that made them. Before the end of segregation catalogs, like this one, would often segregate films starring or including African Americans.

Catalogs are a vital primary source for nontheatrical film research. They serve as important research objects in tracking the distribution scale, release information, and potential re-releases of nontheaterical films. Since many nontheaterical films lacked credits or other identifying information, catalogs may provide hints to researchers on vital metadata.³⁸ This is especially notable for nontheaterical films that would release with various edits under the same name. Due to the lack of preservation for many nontheaterical films, catalogs may be the only record of the existence of films. Moreover, through a collection of catalogs spanning the nontheaterical film era, the technological transitions the industry underwent are well  documented; from 35mm black and white to 16mm, color film, and more.³⁹ Descriptions of films and the placement of films into categories in catalogs can show the distributor’s marketing campaign and implied use cases and screening locations for a nontheaterical film.⁴⁰ An advertising booklet on first inspection, nontheaterical film catalogs are some of the most vital sources for nontheaterical film researchers.

Film categories reflect the society which created the groupings. Perhaps the clearest evidence is the reflection of racial segregation in catalogs. For much of the nontheaterical film era, formal and informal segregation was the reality for America and the medium reflected this racial division. Categorization within catalogs often separated films ment for African American and non-white audiences under labels such as “‘of general interest in the south.’”⁴¹ When films did document or display the lives of African Americans, it was often in reinforcement of preconceived notions of race. In these films white supervisors or leaders would be seen instructing African Americans on the correct or superior way of achieving an objective.⁴² Jim Crow standards also often extended to the events and screenings of nontheatrical films.⁴³ While seen as a source for the highly specialized film scholar, catalogs are important to broader research into society and race inequality. 

An example of a catalog creating categories. While useful for navigating a catalog, often these categories place confining limits on a film which can influence the audience and understanding of a film.

Catalogs continued to made into the 1990s, like this Film Incorporated one showing listings for Die Hard 2 and Dick Tracy. Catalogs were not just a reminant of the long past!

The placement of films into categories can also fundamentally limit the interpretation and reach of nontheaterical films. The most common way of grouping nontheatrical films within catalogs was by purpose or function; common groupings include education, instruction, scientific, and travel.⁴⁴ While placing films into categories can be useful to customers trying to find a particular entry and to researchers organizing films for scholarship, in reality nontheaterical films can belong to multiple categories and even change categories depending on the audience, projection environment, and many other factors.⁴⁵ The film Felicia for example was a nontheatrical film about a teenage girl and her life in the impoverished and majority African American neighborhood of Watts, California in 1965 shortly before the Watts Rebellion sparked by racist policing practices by the Los Angeles Police Department. The short film documents the living conditions of Watts as the teenager walks home from school with an audio interview by the girl playing alongside the stark images of the walk home.⁴⁶ The film does not specifically address racial unrest due to unjust policing practices, but the timing of the film releasing just before the Watts Rebellion and the focus on the daily living conditions within the Watts neighborhood made many consider Felicia as a work on race and racial unrest.⁴⁷ While Felicia could be considered within several film categories, like educational, documentary, and race and community, limiting Felicia to just one or a few categories could influence whether to view and what to expect when watching the film.⁴⁸ Scholars disagree on defining categories, the placement of individual films into categories, and even the use of the term and broad category of “nontheaterical.”⁴⁹ Film scholar Greg Waller reminds us that nontheaterical film categories downplay the uniqueness and interpretations of a film as an individual entity.⁵⁰ Although scholarly debate is a sign of health in the field, for this exhibit the term nontheaterical will be used along with several of the most common category designations for ease of introduction for viewers and to reflect film placements by the catalogs under examination. The reader is encouraged to seek out individual nontheaterical films and critically examine the moving image on a singular entity. 

Recognizing the importance of nontheaterical film catalogs, Dr. Gregory Waller has amassed a significant collection. Provost Professor in Cinema and Media Studies at Indiana University Bloomington, Dr. Waller personally accumulated hundreds of nontheaterical film catalogs, several even through purchases on the reselling website Ebay.⁵¹ Many of the catalogs have been featured in Dr. Waller’s extensive scholarship on nontheaterical film. In 2023, Dr. Waller transferred the collection to the Indiana University Moving Image Archive in conjunction with the university’s “Century of 16mm” year-long celebration. After the donation, Jaycee Chapman and Maddye Webb-Mitchell of Indiana University’s Moving Image Archive diligently processed the collection to make accessible to the public via finding aid. Afterwards, digitization efforts were undertaken to make the entire collection viewable without coming to Bloomington. With this significant donation, Dr. Waller’s extensive collection, consisting of more than 450 catalogs, advertisements, programs, and trade papers, are publicly available for researchers!