Contents and Arrangement Expanded View

Collection Overview

Creator:
Goldstein, Neil W., 1950-
Collector:
Princeton University. Library. Special Collections
Title:
Neil Goldstein Collection of Working Files on Moe Berg
Repository:
Manuscripts Division
Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/7w62f9519
Dates:
1921-1995
Size:
22 boxes, 2 items, and 15.2 linear feet
Storage Note:
ReCAP (rcpxm): Box 1-22

Abstract

Neil Goldstein (b. 1950) and Jerry Feldman (b. 1947) were filmmakers who made a documentary regarding Morris "Moe" Berg (1902-1972), a professional baseball player who also served in the Office of Strategic Service (OSS) during World War II. This collection, dating from 1921 to 1995, consists of Neil Goldstein's working files, including production files for the film and audio and video segments and masters of the documentary; and research on Moe Berg, including hours of oral histories and photocopies of Moe Berg's documents, particularly those created during World War II.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Description:

This collection, dating from 1921 to 1995, consists of Neil Goldstein's working files which contain information on the development and creation of the documentary film on Morris "Moe" Berg (1902-1972) The Best Gloveman in the League. Material includes production files for the film, such as applications for grants, budget documents, scripts and narrations, contact lists, correspondence with organizations and individuals associated with Berg, and releases for actors and others associated with the actual filming. Also included are audio and video segments and masters of the documentary.

The collection also includes research on Moe Berg, performed by Neil Goldstein and Jerry Feldman, the co-writers and producers of the film. Hours of oral histories were recorded and photocopies of Moe Berg's documents were sent from family members, archival institutions, and associates of Berg. There are no original documents dating from the 1920s to the 1970s.

Audiovisual materials mostly relating to the program "Moe Berg, Best Gloveman in the League," are present throughout the collection, as well as a small number of digital working files related to the film that were extracted from Goldstein's floppy disks. Titles for audiovisual and born-digital materials were transcribed directly from the labels written on the original media by the creator.

This collection will be of interest to researchers focusing on Moe Berg's relationships with his associates, and how he was remembered approximately twenty years after his death.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in four series, the original accession comprising the first two series, followed by additional series for each later accession.

Collection Creator Biography:

Neil Goldstein (b. 1950) was educated at Washington University, earning his master's degree in 1973. From that time, his career has centered on television, radio, and theatrical dramas, documentaries, and entertainment specials. Some of his productions include Amnesty: The Dream Fulfilled?, Breaking Ground, Homeward Bound, Lyme Disease: In our Own Backyards, Passengers, Soft Touch, and Superfest: A Celebration of Ability.

In 1984, Goldstein began working on a documentary regarding Morris "Moe" Berg with filmmaker Jerry Feldmen (b. 1947), after first considering the creation of an anti-nuclear dramatic screenplay. During their research, they discovered Moe Berg, a professional baseball player who also served in the Office of Strategic Service (OSS) during World War II. They began a project with the "intent to use an amalgamation of techniques to present the life and times of Moe Berg - intercutting historic news footage with footage shot by other personalities of the times; newspaper photographs with personal photos from friends and relatives; voice over narration with interviews; newspaper accounts with secret Freedom of Information Act files and Moe's own personal writings and cables sent during the war" (Application for Open Call, 1993, Box 1, Folder 5).

From 1986 to the completion of the film, Goldstein and Feldman received several grants enabling them to continue working on the project, and, in 1987, they began working with the New Jersey Network (NJN) in order to expand the scope of the project to provide for a longer and more in-depth documentary.

Collection History

Acquisition:

Gift of Neil Goldstein, 2012 (2013-46), 2014, and 2015 (2016-12).

Archival Appraisal Information:

Duplicate materials were removed during 2013 processing.

Processing Information:

This collection was processed by Holly Mengel in 2013. Finding aid written by Holly Mengel in 2013.

New accession added to the finding aid by Kelly Bolding in 2015.

Born-digital materials were processed by Sara Rogers in 2018. Finding aid description of audiovisual and born-digital materials was updated by Kelly Bolding in 2019.

A portion of the audiovisual materials in this collection were digitized in 2018.

Access & Use

Access Restrictions:

The majority of this collection is open for research, with the exception of audiovisual media that have not yet been digitized.

Conditions for Reproduction and Use:

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. No further photoduplication of copies of material in the collection can be made when Princeton University Library does not own the original. Inquiries regarding publishing material from the collection should be directed to RBSC Public Services staff through the Ask Us! form. The library has no information on the status of literary rights in the collection and researchers are responsible for determining any questions of copyright.

Credit this material:

Neil Goldstein Collection of Working Files on Moe Berg; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/7w62f9519
Location:
Firestone Library
One Washington Road
Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
(609) 258-3184
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