DeWitt Beall Collection
- LORD THING (DeWitt Beall, 1970)
Inclusive Dates
circa 1965 – 1977
Preservation Sponsor
Abstract
This collection of films was made by filmmaker DeWitt Beall in Chicago during the 1960s. A large portion of the collection consists of elements and prints related to LORD THING, a film about a Chicago-based gang named the Conservative Vice Lords. The film was never released, but won an award at the Venice Film Festival in 1971. Various other educational films, documentaries and PSAs are in this collection, including the EARTHKEEPING series which aired on PBS in the early 1970s.
Collection Items
![Lord Thing [2014 Restoration]](https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/media/cfa/images/1/8/51835_ca_object_representations_media_1884_large.jpg)
To request more information about the items in this collection, please contact the archive at
info@chicagofilmarchives.org.
Items with Viewable Media
- Aid Association for Lutherans "Spirit of Fraternal Life"
- Baxter Travenol Laboratories “All of Us”
- DB At Beach
- Dewitt Beall Personal Reel
- Earthkeeping “City Life”
- Earthkeeping “Garbage”
- Earthkeeping “Greenbacks”
- Earthkeeping “Help Yourself”
- Earthkeeping “Little Big Land”
- Earthkeeping “Megapolis”
- Earthkeeping “Sodbusters”
- Earthkeeping “Sodbusters”
- Kelvinator “Measure of Quality”
- Lord Thing [2014 Restoration]
- Lord Thing (Version 1 Part 1)
- Lord Thing (Version 1 Part 2)
- Lord Thing (Version 2 Part 1)
- Lord Thing (Version 2 Part 2)
- Lord Thing (Version 2 With Subtitles)
- Making It
- Moratorium March on Washington 1969
- National Dairy Council “Food Your Choice”
- National Safety Council "A Question of Attitudes"
- National Safety Council “The Car Ahead”
- National Safety Council “The Crossroads Crash”
- National Safety Council “The Driving Edge”
- National Safety Council “The Extra Step”
- Place to Live, A
- Racquet Ball
- Sears, Roebuck and Company “Diamonds”
- Sears, Roebuck and Company "Diamonds" [Outs]
- Tru Test Truckload
- Western Electric “The Computer’s Telephone”
- Worthington "Stripples - Untitled Sears ad
Collection Identifier
C.2012-01
Extent of Collection
27 prints and elements associated with LORD THING. 28 Additional 16mm prints and elements make up films in a never released series called the EARTH KEEPING SERIES as well as other educational and industrial films.
Language Of Materials
English
Custodial History
These films were owned by DeWitt Beall who shot most of them while he lived in Chicago. He moved to Los Angeles where he thought he would continue in the film business. Instead he went into the kitchen design business, but kept these film materials with him. When he passed, his wife Elina Katsioula-Beall kept them at their home in California. She donated the film materials to CFA in 2012.
Related Materials
THE CORNER by Robert Ford in CFA's Robert Ford Collection also documents the Conservative Vice Lords. CFA's Mort & Millie Goldsholl Collection also contains ad work affiliated with DeWitt Beall, including "National Safety Council 'The Extra Step'".
Related Collections
Access Restrictions
This collection is open to on-site access. Appointments must be made with Chicago Film Archives. Due to the fragile nature of the films, only video copies will be provided for on-site viewing.
Use Restrictions
CFA has the rights to license film materials.