Apex Theater, Topeka, Kansas
Date: June 10, 1933
These African American adults and children are assembled outside of the Apex Theater at 122 E. 4th Street in Topeka, Kansas. Also visible are the brick street with trolley tracks, a Meadow Gold ice cream truck, and a street light.

Bill to Tax Moving Picture Shows Protested
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1915-1919: Capper)
Date: February 1915
H.P. Trothe is a movie theater owner. He is writing to Governor Capper to express his opposition to a tax that is being proposed in the legislature that would cost movie theaters $300.00 a year. This file is part of a bigger collection of Governor Arthur Capper correspondence.

Billy Olsen interview, Kinsley, Kansas
Creator: Olsen, Billy Jerome
Date: February 23, 2011
This transcript of an interview with Billy Olsen is part of an oral history project entitled "Patterns of Change, Edwards County, Kansas 1950-1970" conducted by the Kinsley Public Library. The project was supported by a Kansas Humanities Council Heritage Grant. Olsen talks of his family, education, military career, and his memories of the Edwards County community.

Claire Eva Paine diary
Creator: Paine, Claire Eva
Date: 1942
This is a diary written by Claire Eva Paine, who lived at 900 Mulvane in Topeka, Kansas. She lived with Annie Paine Atkinson, her sister. At the time the diary was written, Claire was employed as an assistant in Dr. Don R. Paine's office. According to census records, Dr. Paine was an optometrist and Claire Eva Paine's brother. The diary documents her activities in 1942. She writes about family members, World War II, social events, movies, and expresses her displeasure with President Roosevelt. She did not record information for each day so there are gaps.

Emily White interview, Kinsley, Kansas
Creator: White, Emily Kay (Lancaster)
Date: April 07, 2011
This transcript of an interview with Emily White is part of an oral history project entitled "Patterns of Change, Edwards County, Kansas 1950-1970" conducted by the Kinsley Public Library. The project was supported by a Kansas Humanities Council Heritage Grant. White talks of her family, education, and her memories of the Edwards County community. The interviewers were Joan Weaver and Rosetta Graff of the Kinsley Public Library.

Governor Clyde M. Reed correspondence, Board of Review applications
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1929-1931 : Reed)
Date: 1929-1931
This file includes subject correspondence relating to applications of employment with the Board of Review. Originally known under the name Moving Picture Censorship Committee, the Board took it's current name in 1913. The mission of the Board is to review films to decide if they are appropriate to show in movie theaters in Kansas as was similar practice in other states. This file is part of a bigger collection of Governor Clyde M. Reed correspondence.

Governor Clyde M. Reed correspondence, Board of Review applications
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1929-1931 : Reed)
Date: 1929-1931
This file includes subject correspondence relating to applications of employment with the Board of Review. Originally known under the name Moving Picture Censorship Committee, the Board took it's current name in 1913. The mission of the Board is to review films to decide if they are appropriate to show in movie theaters in Kansas as was similar practice in other states. This file is part of a bigger collection of Governor Clyde M. Reed correspondence.

Governor Clyde M. Reed correspondence, Sunday movies
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1929-1931 : Reed)
Date: 1929-1930
This file includes subject correspondence relating to Sunday movies which is part of a bigger collection of the Governor's correspondence.

Jayhawk Theater, Topeka, Kansas
Date: Between 1938 and 1939
This photograph of the Jayhawk Theater in Topeka, Kansas shows the marquee advertising the movie "Thanks for the Memory" staring Bob Hope.

Jayhawk Theater auditorium photograph
Creator: Harrison, Paul
Date: Between 1926 and 1936
This photograph shows the auditorium of the Jayhawk Theater in Topeka, Kansas. The 1,500 seat theater located at 720 SW Jackson Street opened to the public on August 16, 1926. For a number of years the facility hosted movies, live performances, concerts and pageants. In 1974 the theater was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. However, due to changing times in the entertainment industry the Jayhawk Theater closed its doors in May of 1976. In 1993 the Kansas Legislature recognized the Jayhawk Theater as the state theater of Kansas.

Margaret Hamilton at Oz II in Topeka, Kansas
Date: April 1980
This is a photograph of Margaret Hamilton, Wizard of Oz star, taken at Oz II during the International Year of the Child in Topeka, Kansas. She is known for her portrayal of Kansas curmudgeon Miss Almira Gulch and the Wicked Witch of the West in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. The photograph appears in Kansas First Families at Home, edited by Nel Lindner Richmond.

Movie poster
Creator: Warner Brothers Pictures
Date: 1951
Narrow, rectangular-shaped poster promoting the re-release of the movie "Dodge City." The poster is printed in sepia tones. The film starred Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, and Ann Sheridan. Flynn plays a settler and sheriff who tries to clean up Dodge City with the help of the townspeople. The movie premier was held in Dodge City in April 1939. Warner Brothers chartered a Santa Fe train to carry two dozen celebrities from Hollywood to Kansas. Though the population of Dodge City was only 10,000, around 60,000 people attended the festivities. This poster is part of a large collection of Western film posters donated to the Kansas Museum of History in 2007. All of the posters represent films with a Kansas connection.

Movie poster
Creator: Universal International
Date: between 1966 and 1967
One-sheet poster advertising the movie "Gunfight in Abilene." The poster is printed on heavy white paper and has a horizontal orientation. The film starred Bobby Darin as a sheriff who refused to carry a gun, until a townsperson is killed in a skirmish between local farmers and ranchers. It premiered in 1967. This poster is part of a large collection of Western film posters donated to the Kansas Museum of History in 2007. All of the posters represent films with a Kansas connection.

Movie poster
Creator: Allied Artists
Date: 1953
One-sheet poster for the film "Topeka." Printed on lightweight white paper. The film starred Bill Elliott as a bank robber who changes his ways and decides to protect his town from a rival gang. It premiered in 1953. This poster is part of a large collection of Western film posters donated to the Kansas Museum of History in 2007. All of the posters represent films with a Kansas connection.

Olivia de Havilland Goodrich correspondence with William Menninger
Creator: Menninger, William Claire, 1899-1966
Date: March 05, 1949-March 10, 1949
This handwritten letter from actor Olivia de Havilland Goodrich to psychiatrist William Menninger and his typed reply discuss The Snake Pit, a 1948 film starring Olivia de Havilland. Olivia de Havilland was famous for playing Maid Marian alongside Errol Flynn in Robin Hood (1938) and Melanie Hamilton in Gone with the Wind (1939). She was nominated for an Academy award for The Snake Pit, which is credited for instigating mental healthcare reform in the United States. Dr. William Menninger, a psychiatrist and co-founder of the Menninger Clinic, was a leader in the reform of state mental healthcare. In his letter, he invites de Havilland to attend the opening meeting of the American Psychiatric Association conference on April 11, 1949.

Quantrell's Raiders comic book
Creator: Avon Periodicals, Inc.
Date: 1952
This comic book features "Quantrell's Raiders" from the movie "Red Mountain." It has a glossy yellow cover and twenty-five newsprint pages with color illustrations. The comic book is a fictional interpretation of the notorious Confederate guerrilla, William Clarke Quantrill and his men. Quantrill led over 300 men in a raid against the city of Lawrence, Kansas on August 21, 1863. Quantrill's Raiders killed over 150 men and destroyed some 200 homes and businesses. Only the cover has been scanned due to copyright restrictions.

Reb Russell's jacket
Date: between 1932 and 1940
Man's double-breasted jacket produced by Hispanic weavers in Chimayo, a New Mexican village north of Santa Fe. Wool jacket with six silver-plated disk buttons down the front. It was a gift to Reb Russell from silent film star Tom Mix. The two appeared together in the film "The All American" in 1932. Russell was a native of Coffeyville, Kansas. He was a football player and, after his gridiron career, a star of Hollywood "B" Westerns.

Reb Russell photo collection
Date: 1930-1940
Lafayette H. Russell was born May 31, 1905, in Osawatomie and died March 16, 1978, in Coffeyville. He later changed his name to Reb Russell. Russell was an All American football player for Northwestern and was one of the original Philadelphia Eagles in the team's first year of existence. In 1932, Russell went to Hollywood to appear in "The All-American" where he met Tom Mix. In 1933, Reb Russell made a string of movies. After his short film career he joined the Russell Brothers Circus and later (1937) he performed with the Downie Brothers Circus. He later purchased a ranch which extended from southeast Kansas into northeast Oklahoma. Russell is remembered for his innovative Hi-Goal Agriculture, a plan to help small farmers increase productivity and profits without government aid. Russell also ran against Joe Skubitz for the Fifth Congressional District.

Spanish American musical, Oakley, Kansas
Date: Between 1913 and 1914
These two black-and-white photographs show a movie theater in Oakley, Kansas. In the first image, a man in military uniform sits atop a horse to promote "Sixty scenes of the Spanish American War," a military musical. In the second image, the same man points to a signboard advertising the musical while a second gentleman looks on. The promotional window display for the 1913 movie "In a Serpent's Coils" is visible in both photographs.

Splendor in the Grass lobby card
Creator: Warner Brothers Pictures
Date: 1961
This polychrome-lithographed lobby card advertises the film "Splendor in the Grass." The screenplay for the 1961 film was written by William Inge and based on his personal experience growing up in Independence, Kansas. Inge won an Academy Award for this film.

Standee
Date: 2016
Standee advertising the 2016 movie "Nuts!", a documentary feature film by Penny Lane that uses a combination of historical footage, interviews, and hand-drawn animated re-enactments to tell the story of the rise and fall of Dr. James R. Brinkley. The standee features a cartoon illustration of Dr. Brinkley standing outside the Milford city limits holding a goat in his arms. There is an oval cutout at the goat's face, allowing people to stand behind the standee and pose for pictures. This standee was on display in the lobby of Tivoli Cinemas in Kansas City, Missouri for the film's run that began on July 1, 2016.

The Snake Pit film production correspondence
Creator: Menninger, William Claire, 1899-1966
Date: November 22, 1948-February 15, 1949
Correspondence between Mr. Spyros P. Skouras, President of 20th Century Fox; Charles Schlaifer, Director of Advertising, Publicity, Exploitation, and Radio; and William C. Menninger, M.D. regarding the film "The Snake Pit." They discuss the possibility of securing actor Olivia de Havilland's attendance at the American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting. Skouras suggests it is unlikely since she is pregnant. Film openings and profits for The Snake Pit are also listed. The movie grossed $13,276 in the first three days after it opened in three Kansas City theaters, which made it more popular than "Gentleman's Agreement" and "Razor's Edge."

The devil's cook kitchen
Date: October 05, 1906
This newspaper advertisement from the Topeka Plaindealer, is promoting Reverend H. Charles Pope's moving and stereopticon pictures titled "The Devil's Cook Kitchen or Death in the Pot." The exhibition also goes on to show the twenty-six different ways dancing is harmful.

Wesley and Elsie Hasenbank Tally collection
Creator: Tally, Wesley, 1909-1977
Date: July 13, 1933 - October 8, 1936
This is a collection of letters written by Wesley Tally and Elsie Hasenbank in the mid-1930s. During this time, Wesley and Elsie were dating and the letters tell about their developing relationship. In 1933 and 1934, Wesley was a teacher in Council Grove, Kansas, and worked part time for the telephone company. Elsie worked as a housekeeper and au pair for several families in Emporia, Kansas. Elsie also spent some time in Fort Riley and Alma. In March 1935, they wrote about the dust storms and how they impacted their lives. That same year Wesley had difficulties finding a job and he joined the Civilian Conservation Corp. He was sent to Camp Burns Lake at Cass Lake, Minnesota, where he served in the 1765 Company working in the forests of northern Minnesota. Wesley describes the work he performed in the camp and his leisure activities. Elsie wrote about her work, the weather, her family and friends, and her leisure activities. After leaving the Civilian Conservation Corps in April 1936, Wesley enrolled in the Davey Tree Expert Co. He left the tree service training before finishing the course and returned to Kansas. The last few letters are about their impending marriage and moving to Kansas City, Kansas, to live. A searchable transcription is available by clicking 'Text Version' below.

Wichita
Creator: Allied Artists
Date: 1955
Lobby card for the 1955 movie, Wichita. The image on the card depicts a crowd scene. Joel McCrea stars as Wyatt Earp, who becomes a marshal and cleans up the lawless cowtown. Vera Miles, who grew up in Pratt and Wichita and was "Miss Kansas" of 1948, appears as Earp's love interest. Lloyd Bridges and Edgar Buchanan also star, and the film includes the music of Tex Ritter.