Quigley Archives

In 1973 the library acquired the famous photo "morgue" of Quigley Publications, the publishers of such trade journals as Fame and Motion Picture Daily. This collection, consisting of some 55,000 black and white photographs, was a gift from Library Associates Trustee Martin S. Quigley (C'39) of Larchmont, New York. Mr. Quigley and his sisters, Mrs. Edouard Eller and Mrs. John J. Burlinson, have now presented the library with an equally remarkable collection: the archives of their father, Martin J. Quigley (1890-1964), founder of Quigley Publications and one of the most influential men in the early days of film.

Quigley entered the motion picture industry in 1915 with the publication of Exhibitors Herald. He was especially concerned with the moral and social responsibilities of the industry, and by 1930 had pushed the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors into adopting a Production Code which he had authored. During the same period Mr. Quigley helped to organize the Catholic Church's Legion of Decency, which through reviews and classifications singled out morally objectionable movies. Quigley fought hard, often behind the scenes, to forge an understanding between Catholic opinion and industry views. This collection details the dynamics that shaped the relationship of a young motion picture industry with American society, especially with the Catholic communities across the country.

The papers are rich in correspondence by some of the most distinguished movie industry personalities between the 1930s and 1950s. There are letters from Howard Hughes, Cecil B. DeMille, Stanley Kubrick, Louis B. Mayer, Eric Johnston, Barney Balaban, Will Hays, Adolph Zukor, and Darryl Zanuck, among others. There is also much correspondence from such notable figures in the Catholic hierarchy as Francis Cardinal Spellman and Archbishop John T. McNicholas.