The Morris and Dorothy Margolin Film Collection includes 32 home movies that capture the Margolins' travels between 1947 and 1976. Destinations represented in the collection include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, England, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Greece, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jamaica, Kenya, Majorca, Monaco, Morocco, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Scotland, South Africa, the Soviet Union, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. All of the films are in color, and a few include sound.
Also included is a handful of home movies that document family trips and events such as graduations and birthdays, and one film that appears to be a professionally produced documentary about the Soviet Union acquired by the Margolins during their travels.
Particularly notable is the adventurous nature of many of the countries visited, such as the Soviet Union, Pakistan, Bulgaria, Ethiopia, and Kenya -- rare destinations for Western travelers in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. The films are also noteworthy because Morris often trained his camera on his surroundings, recording everyday life as well as architectural and geographical features of the countries he visited. His wife Dorothy also makes frequent appearances in the films.
The films are complemented by over 4,000 color slides taken in most of these same countries from 1959 to 1982. Of particular interest are images from the former Soviet Union and Israel, both from the mid-1960s, images of South Africa during apartheid, as well as early images of France, Italy, and Thailand.
Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.
Born on July 28, 1908 in Brooklyn, New York, Morris Margolin spent most of his life in the New York metropolitan area. He graduated from New York University (NYU) in 1926 and taught accounting at Far Rockaway High School in Queens, New York from 1933 to 1940. Morris was the founding partner of Margolin, Winer & Evans, an accounting firm established in Jamaica, New York, in 1946 that later moved to Garden City, Long Island. He was also a charter member and former president of the Jamaica, Queens, chapter of B'nai B'rith, a global Jewish community service organization.
In 1936, Morris married Dorothy Safran. Dorothy was born to Polish parents in Budapest, Hungary, on July 28, 1911. Her family emmigrated to the United States in 1913 and settled in New York City. Dorothy graduated from NYU, where she studied Spanish language and culture, and also did graduate work. Dorothy was a lover of the arts and an active member of Women Strike for Peace. The couple had two daughters: Elaine, born in 1940, and Linda, born in 1944.
Morris was an amateur filmmaker, photography enthusiast, and classical music aficionado. The Margolins were avid travelers, taking an extensive series of international trips. Morris documented their travels through his photography and filmmaking and then shared his films with fellow members of the Metropolitan Film Club in Manhattan and at B'nai B'rith functions. The couple also hosted screenings in their home for friends and family.
Morris retired in 1970, and the Margolins soon moved to Palm Beach, Florida, where Morris continued to share his films and photos with new friends. Morris passed away in 1990, Dorothy in 2007.
