University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center
Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Union Pacific research notes
Calvin, Frank
2009ms132.0893
0.05 Cubic Feet
1 folder
1938
The Union
Pacific research notes (dated 1938; 0.05 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprises one
condensed and indexed version of the research notes compiled by Frank Calvin in 1938 for the
film Union Pacific, directed by Cecil B. DeMille.
English .
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open to researchers by appointment.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift, 2000.
Arrangement
Collection is arranged by format. The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters has been
processed into discrete collections based on provenance.
Biographical note
Union Pacific is a 1939 film directed by Cecil B. DeMille
based on the novel Trouble Shooter by Ernest Haycox. The film
focuses on the building of the Union Pacific railroad across the American West and stars
Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea. The research for the film was conducted by Frank Calvin
(1898-1972), son of retired Union Pacific Railroad president Edgar Eugene Calvin (1858-1938)
and husband of Cecil's daughter, Cecilia (1908-1984), since 1930. The research notes were
condensed and indexed by Waldo Twitchell (1887-1964), a technical advisor and researcher for
many films.
American Letters collector Wade Hall (1934-2015) was a native of Union Springs, Alabama.
Starting in 1962, he lived in Louisville, where he taught English and chaired the English
and Humanities/Arts programs at Kentucky Southern College and Bellarmine University. He also
taught at the University of Illinois and the University of Florida. He held degrees from
Troy State University (B.S.), the University of Alabama (M.A.), and the University of
Illinois (Ph.D.). He served for two years in the U.S. Army in the mid-fifties. Dr. Hall was
the author of books, monographs, articles, plays, and reviews relating to Kentucky, Alabama,
and Southern history and literature. His most recent books include
A
Visit with Harlan Hubbard; High Upon a Hill: A History of
Bellarmine College; A Song in Native Pastures: Randy
Atcher's Life in Country Music; and Waters of Life from
Conecuh Ridge.
Preferred Citation
2009ms132.0893: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Union
Pacific research notes, 1938, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research
Center.
Scope and Contents
The
Union Pacific research notes (dated 1938; 0.05 cubic
feet; 1 folder) comprises one condensed and indexed version of the research notes compiled
by Frank Calvin in 1938 for the film Union Pacific, directed
by Cecil B. DeMille. The research notes include information on the style of clothing and
uniforms worn by men and women during the 1860s, what foods were eaten, types of businesses
operating then, how different communities interacted with each other, what interactions with
Native Americans were had by Union Pacific employees, the different communities that worked
on the railroads, what forms of communication were utilized, and significant historical
details that would lend credibility to DeMille's efforts to make a movie based on historical
facts.
The
Union Pacific research notes collection is part of the
Wade Hall Collection of American Letters, which includes correspondence and diaries from all
over North America covering the time period of the Civil to Korean Wars. The materials were
collected by Wade Hall and document everyday men and women.
Conditions Governing Use
The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of
Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
Research.
Film-making (Motion pictures).
Motion pictures -- Production and direction.
Motion pictures.
Union Pacific (Motion picture : 1939).
Calvin, Frank
Twitchell, Waldo
Union Pacific Railroad Company
Union Pacific research notes
1938
WH-108
9