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The Fox Film Corporation, founded by William Fox, was one of the first movie companies to experiment with sound. Using sound-on-film technology developed by engineer Theodore Case, Fox Movietone News brought financial success for the studio. Directors such as John Ford, Lewis Seiler and Frank Borzage honed their skills at Fox, and stars such as Spencer Tracy and Jean Harlow began their feature careers at the studio. Will Rogers' folksy humor in films such as The Connecticut Yankee (1931) proved remarkably popular with audiences in the early 1930s.
Plagued by financial problems, the Fox Film Corporation merged with Twentieth Century Pictures to form Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation. Twentieth Century-Fox produced a string of hits including The Grapes of Wrath and Tobacco Road. Among the studio's most popular features were The Littlest Rebel and Wee Willie Winkie with child star Shirley Temple; One in a Million, ice-skating champion Sonja Henie's first film; and musicals such as King of Burlesque (1936) starring singer Alice Faye and The Dolly Sisters (1945) starring Betty Grable. Tyrone Power joined Faye in In Old Chicago and became a top grossing star for the studio.
Under Darryl F. Zanuck, the studio produced over 75 Technicolor films, more than any other studio at the time. The studio's B unit churned out the popular Charlie Chan, Ritz Brothers and Mr. Moto series. After World War II, Zanuck produced a number of films with social themes such as Gentleman's Agreement (1947) and Pinky (1949).
The UCLA Film & Television Archive has preserved a number of Fox titles including I Believed in You (1934), Movietone Follies of 1930 and After Tomorrow, thought at one time to be a lost film.
To arrange onsite research viewing access, please contact the Archive Research and Study Center (ARSC).
