G. William Jones Film and Video Collection

Mission
The G. William Jones Film and Video Collection is a research archive with a mission to contribute to the academic and artistic goals of the Meadows School of the Arts and the university community as a whole.  Its primary purpose is to support education through the study, preservation, and sharing of moving images.  Many of the films and videos are used in courses taught in the Meadows School of the Arts, Division of Cinema and Television.  For more than 30 years, this internationally known collection has also served the research needs of other colleges and universities, television companies, and innumerable film producers, as well as providing research materials for books on such famous directors as Ingmar Bergman and Federico Fellini. 

History
The Collection was established in 1970 by Dr. G. William Jones, an SMU Professor of Cinema and Video, with a gift of twenty-one 35mm feature films acquired from actress Ginger Rogers.  Originally known as the Southwest Film/Video Archives, the Collection was renamed in 1995 in memory of Dr. Jones. 

Collection
The Jones Collection contains more than 9,000 film prints and negatives in all formats, and more than 3,000 videotapes.  Other holdings include an extensive collection of antique projectors (some dating to 1905), cameras, and hundreds of film scripts, press kits, and production stills.  Among the films that have been acquired and preserved are: The Pleasure Garden (1926), Alfred Hitchcock's first film as director; The Runaway (1926), starring Koko the Clown in the Fleischer Bros.' first real mixing of live action with animation; President John F. Kennedy (1963) delivering his last speech on the morning of his assassination; and Blood of Jesus (1941), which was selected for the National Film Registry  and was the first film directed by Spencer Williams.  We continue to seek additional resources to ensure the preservation of these important materials. 

Principal Holdings
The Tyler, Texas, Black Film Collection
The Benchmarks of Animation Film Collection
The Gene Autry Film Collection
The Belo Newsfilm Collection
The Canadian Film Collection
The Documentary Classics Film Collection*
The Pre-Nickelodeon Short Films
The Dallas Theater Center Videotape Collection
The NorthPark Theatrical Trailer Collection

Use of Collection Materials
The G. William Jones Film and Video Collection does not supply stock footage for researchers, business organizations, or film companies.  Reference queries and requests are by telephone only.  Researchers wishing to visit the Collection must schedule an appointment with the archivist. 

Contact Information