![The Orange; Fustration Irratation [sic]; Come and Get It](/uploads/r/oregon-historical-society-library/4/a/d/4ad1d5e18adcd5a381e17cf1a83e131f2782bbbb2ccd2807bc3366b9d9e29ad3/04aafafa-3457-49d1-b507-b05b864292c2-MI09646_142.jpg)
Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Tim Smith films
Date(s)
- 1962-1982 (Creation)
Extent
3 cubic feet; 16 film reels (16mm)
Name of creator
Biographical history
Tim Smith was one of five children born to Lendon Howard Smith (1921-2001), a nationally recognized pediatrician, author, and television personality known as "The Children's Doctor," and to Julie Starheim, who had worked as a nurse. Smith and his siblings grew up in Portland, Oregon.
Smith became interested in filmmaking in 1967 and began making films seriously in 1968. Most of Smith's short films were filmed using a hand spring wound Bolex H16 paired with an assortment of lenses. Smith's films typically satirize a type of film, commercial, or joke. The majority of his works were filmed in Portland, Oregon, and they frequently feature several of his family members, including his father. Matt Groening was an occasional collaborator with Smith and acted in one of the films.
In 1981, Smith's film "Infernal Voyage," which he considers to be his best film, placed sixth at the 1981 Ann Arbor Film Festival and in the top 10 at the Sinking Creek Independent Film Festival.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The collection contains satirical and comedic short films and early film experiments by Portland, Oregon, filmmaker Tim Smith. The collection includes 9 complete films (three on one reel) and one reel of assorted home movies, experiments and outtakes. The collection includes the following titles: "The Orange"; "Irritation and Frustration"; "Come and Get it"; "The Salmon Street Saga"; "This is Portland"; "Drugs: Killers or Dillers"; "The Case of the Kitchen Killer"; "Infernal Voyage"; "Hyperactivity: The Facts." All films are 16mm. The collection also includes various picture and audio production elements for some films, including A and B rolls, magnetic soundtracks, answer prints, negatives, and assorted lab and printing paperwork.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Copyright is held by Tim Smith. In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Physical access
Original films are not available for direct access due to preservation concerns. Contact staff for assistance.
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Gift of Tim Smith, April 2016 (Lib. Acc. 28828).
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
General note
The majority of the film material in the collection was wound onto cores and recanned during processing. Collection guide was revised in 2022-2023 to expand description and conform to current standard. Collection was designated Coll 803 prior to 2022. Title information comes from the original cans and, in some cases, the film credits.
Specialized notes
- Citation: Tim Smith films, MIC 9, Oregon Historical Society Research Library
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition.
Sources used
Archivist's note
Abigail Durkee; revised by Matthew Cowan, 2023