Kline, Herbert

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Herbert Kline was a pioneer in documentary filmmaking and received a Golden Globe nomination and award, as well as two Academy Award nominations for his achievements. Kline also contributed to or wrote scripts for some of his documentary films. Kline's important early work included The Heart of Spain (1937), Lights Out in Europe (1938), Crisis (1939), and My Father's House (1947).

During his career, Kline had attempted to break away from making documentaries to become a Hollywood director and writer, but he did not have much success. Toward the end of Kline's life, his health declined and he battled a long illness before his death on February 5, 1999, in Los Angeles.

Contemporary Authors Online. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC (accessed May 2009)

From the guide to the Herbert Kline collection related to the film Barabbas (The Thief and the Cross), 1954–1960, 1957–1959, (University of Delaware Library - Special Collections)

Herbert Kline (1910-1999) was an American documentary film maker who chronicled political crises in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s.

Herbert Kline was born in Davenport, Iowa. As a young man he edited Chicago's liberal New Theater magazine and joined the Photo League, a group of politically progressive photojournalists and documentarists. His work documented a wide range of issues in Europe and Central America, including the Spanish Civil War ( Heart of Spain, 1937; Return to Life, 1938), the rise of Hitler and fascism ( Crisis, 1938; Lights Out in Europe, 1939; My Father's House, 1941), and peasant life in Mexico ( The Forgotten Village, 1941). His sentiments earned him a place on the House Un-American Affairs Committee blacklist and between 1949 and 1970 he produced only one film, an adaptation of Jack London's short story "The Mexican" entitled The Fighter . His Walls of Fire (1971), about Mexican artists Diego Rivera and David Alfaro, was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe for best documentary film.

From the guide to the Herbert Kline Papers, 1919-1971, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)

The Spanish Civil War (1936 – 1939) was a conflict between the newly-elected left-leaning government of the Spanish Republic and its supporters and the (ultimately successful) rebellion against the Republic led by General Francisco Franco and supported by Hitler and Mussolini. Thousands of men and women from around the world volunteered to serve as soldiers and medical and support personnel for the Republic, which organized them into International Brigades (including the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, made up of North Americans). Film was one of the weapons used by international organizations supporting the Republic and the Brigades to document the war and to generate support and raise money; after the war they used moving images to aid the Republic’s refugees.

“With the Lincoln Brigade In Spain,” is a short documentary film produced by Herbert Kline, directed by still photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, and shot in 35mm (although distributed in 16 mm) by Cartier-Bresson and movie camera operator Jaques Lemare. It was filmed in 1937 and released in 1938. Shown in union halls, clubs, and other small venues throughout the United States, “With the Lincoln Brigade in Spain” was used to raise funds to bring the Brigaders home.

• Salas, Juan. “Henri Cartier-Bresson Film Found in ALBA Archive.” The Volunteer 17 (2010): 8-9,11. Accessed July 3, 2012. http://www.albavolunteer.org/2010/03/henri-cartier-bresson-footage-%E2%80%A8found-in-alba-archive/

From the guide to the "With the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in Spain" Film., undated, (Tamiment Library / Wagner Archives)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Gore Vidal papers, 1850-2020 (inclusive), 1936-2008 (bulk) Houghton Library
referencedIn Rose Harvan Papers, undated Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
creatorOf "With the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in Spain" Film., undated Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
creatorOf Herbert Kline collection related to the film Barabbas (The Thief and the Cross), 1954–1960, 1957–1959 University of Delaware Library - Special Collections
referencedIn Edward Flanders Ricketts Papers, 1936-1979 (inclusive), 1936-1947 (bulk) Stanford University. Department of Special Collections and University Archives
referencedIn Robert Steck Papers, Bulk, 1936-1993, 1917-1998 Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
creatorOf Herbert Kline Papers, 1919-1971 Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Abraham Lincoln Brigade. corporateBody
associatedWith Cartier-Bresson, Henri, 1908-2004 person
associatedWith Harvan, Rose Margaret. person
associatedWith Lagerkvist, Pär, 1891-1974 person
associatedWith Lemare, Jaques person
associatedWith Ricketts, Edward Flanders, 1896-1948 person
associatedWith Spain. Ejercito Popular de la Republica. Abraham Lincoln Battalion. corporateBody
associatedWith Spain. Ejercito Popular de la Republica. Brigada Internacional, XV. corporateBody
associatedWith Steck, Robert. person
associatedWith Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. corporateBody
associatedWith Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Archives. corporateBody
associatedWith Vidal, Gore, 1925- person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Czechoslovakia
Spain |x History |y Civil War, 1936-1939.
Spain |x History |y Civil War, 1936-1939 |v Sources.
Spain
Europe, Eastern
Madrid (Spain)
Spain |x History |y Civil War, 1936-1939 |x Campaigns.
Spain |x History |y Civil War, 1936-1939 |x International brigades.
Subject
Documentary films
Motion picture industry
Motion pictures
War films
World War II
Occupation
Directors (performing arts)
Motion picture producers and directors
Screenwriters
Activity

Person

Information

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