Their primary purpose is to serve the scholarly mission of the archive. But Michele Hilmes, director of the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research, allows that three new online exhibits may appeal to an audience far broader than academics and researchers â?? including star-struck movie fans.
The center, a partnership of the Wisconsin Historical Society and the UW-Madison’s Department of Communication Arts, collects materials related to Hollywood and the entertainment industry. Three of the center’s collections are featured in the new online exhibits “The Papers of Costume Designer Edith Head,” “Radio Pioneers in Madison” and “Photos and Flat Graphics.” The latter is a collection of nine slide shows focusing on Citizen Kane, Alfred Hitchcock’s Foreign Correspondent, The Ed Sullivan Show, Rita Hayworth, Gary Cooper and other files.