Northwest Film Forum Collection
Northwest Film Forum Collection
These 163 films were produced for educational, instructional, and entertainment purposes. Their focus is health, broadly defined, inclduding environmental, workplace, community, family, and individual health. Notable are several films that examine the work of B.F. Skinner, the Ascent of Man series about evolution, and many titles that address child development and the unique stressors children may face.
- Access Restrictions
-
Unprocessed collection. Access requires production of viewing copies; 30 days prior notice required. Contact the Historical Audiovisuals Program for more information.
- Dates
- Creation: 1930-2000 (bulk 1960-1980)
- Extent
- 19 Linear Feet (163 films, 19 boxes)
- Related Names
- Northwest Film Forum
- Language of Materials
- English
- Script
- Latn
A Conversation with BF Skinner, 1970
Produced by CRM Films. Written by Peter Jordan, B.F. Skinner, Elizabeth Hall, CRM Productions, and CRM Films.
B.F.Skinner talks with Elizabeth Hall about his principles of operant conditioning in regards to the science of behaviorism as well as his book Beyond Freedom and Dignity.
- Dates
- Creation: 1970
A More Abundant Life, 1973
Produced by Time-Life Films, Inc.
Part of the series "America."
- Dates
- Creation: 1973
A Stream Environment, 1972
Produced by Barr Films.
Targeted to children in elementary school, this film explores the ecosystem of a stream environment including the ways streams affect organisms along their banks, and the interrelated forms of life that live in the stream itself.
- Dates
- Creation: 1972
A Whole New World, 1972
Produced by Fels Research Institute. Written by Andy Burico, Rachel Dewey, Wilma Hotaling, and the United States Office of Child Development.
This film is about three four-year old children and how they interact in group situations with peers. It reveals ways for adults to understand them and promote positive social development.
- Dates
- Creation: 1972
Adapting to Parenthood, 1975
Produced by Polymorph Films, Inc.
New parents discusses their initial challenges in caring for their babies. The film especially focuses on one couple during the first ten weeks of parenthood, to show how they adjusted to changes in their life.
- Dates
- Creation: 1975
Afghanistan: Threads of Life, 1981
Produced by Encyclopedia Britannica Education Corporation.
The film explores the culture, lifestyles, and physical features of Afghanistan
- Dates
- Creation: 1981
Aggression: Explosive Emotion Part 1, 1980
Produced by Bristol-Myers Company.
The film discusses the positive and negative aspects of aggression as well as its different stages.
- Dates
- Creation: 1980
All in the Game, 1971
Produced by Time-Life Multimedia and written by the British Broadcasting Corporation. As part of the series "Children Growing Up," the film explores the way children's individual and group play develops. It also describes the various forms such play may take.
- Dates
- Creation: 1971
Animal War, Animal Peace, 1974
Produced by Time-Life Broadcast, Inc.
The film shows how humans may find out the sources of their aggressions by studying the behavior of animals.
- Dates
- Creation: 1974
Animals and How They Communicate, 1966
Produced by Coronet Instructional films.
The film shows how animals communicate fear, presence, interest, and alarm, discusses aspects of behavior that are communicated between sound and movement, and illustrates the role communication plays in survival. Examples of animal communication in the film range from courtship displays among birds, to the social life of prairie dogs, to the intricate actions of bees and ants.
- Dates
- Creation: 1966
Ascent of Man 1: Lower than the Angels Part 1, 1974
Produced by Adrian Malone. Written and narrated by Jacob Bronowski.
This clip discusses how man used his imagination and emotions to alter his environment.
- Dates
- Creation: 1974
Ascent of Man1: Lower than the Angels Part 2, 1974
Produced by Adrian Malone. Written and narrated by Jacob Bronowski.
This segment talks about the evolution of humans, the importance of language in the development of mankind, and the making of tools for survival.
- Dates
- Creation: 1974
Ascent of Man 2: Harvest of the Seasons Part 1, 1974
Produced by Adrian Malone. Written and narrated by Jacob Bronowski.
This part shows the transformation of man from a nomadic being to settling in communities and establishing agriculture.
- Dates
- Creation: 1974
Ascent of Man 2: Harvest of the Seasons Part 2, 1974
Produced by Adrian Malone. Written and narrated by Jacob Bronowski.
This program discusses the impact on human civilization of the plow, the domestication of draft animals, the cultivation of wheat, and the creation of irrigation systems.
- Dates
- Creation: 1974
Ascent of Man 4: Hidden Structure Part 1, 1973
Produced by Adrian Malone. Written and narrated by Jacob Bronowski.
This segment looks at the transformation of elements and in particular the use of copper and mercury for practical and ceremonial objects.
- Dates
- Creation: 1973
Ascent of Man 4: Hidden Structure Part 2, 1973
Produced by Adrian Malone. Written and narrated by Jacob Bronowski.
This part of the series discusses gold and oxygen and about how to measure and characterize elements.
- Dates
- Creation: 1973
Ascent of Man 5: Music of Spheres Part 2, 1974
Produced by Adrian Malone. Written and narrated by Jacob Bronowski.
This episode discusses the evolution of mathematics and its relationship to musical harmony, early astronomy, and perspective in painting.
- Dates
- Creation: 1974
Ascent of Man 6: Starry Messenger Part 1, 1973
Produced by Adrian Malone. Written and narrated by Jacob Bronowski.
This segment presents the history of man's early study of astronomy.
- Dates
- Creation: 1973
Ascent of Man 6: Starry Messenger Part 2, 1973
Produced by Adrian Malone. Written and narrated by Jacob Bronowski.
This segment focuses on Galileo's contributions to astronomy, as well as his trial.
- Dates
- Creation: 1973
Ascent of Man 7: Majestic Clockwork Part 1, 1974
Produced by Adrian Malone. Written and narrated by Jacob Bronowski.
This segment discusses the formulation of Isaac Newton's scientific laws and their impact on society.
- Dates
- Creation: 1974
Ascent of Man 7: Majestic Clockwork Part 2, 1974
Produced by Adrian Malone. Written and narrated by Jacob Bronowski.
This segment shows how Albert Einstein's theory of relativity dismantled Newton's description of the universe.
- Dates
- Creation: 1974
Ascent of Man 8: Drive for Power Part 1, 1974
Produced by Adrian Malone. Written and narrated by Jacob Bronowski.
This episode looks at the industrial and political revolutions of the 18th century as agents of social change. Bronowski focuses on how the steam engine led to the development of the railway and helped make England the mercantile capital of the world during the 19th century.
- Dates
- Creation: 1974
Ascent of Man 8: Drive for Power Part 2, 1974
Produced by Adrian Malone. Written and narrated by Jacob Bronowski.
This segment examines the effect inventors in the United States and Britain had on the Industrial Revolution, how the scale of power changed, and how ideas about energy were manifested in Romantic art and poetry. It also notes common misconceptions about industrialization.
- Dates
- Creation: 1974
Ascent of Man 9: Ladder of Creation Part 1, 1974
Produced by Adrian Malone. Written and narrated by Jacob Bronowski.
This segment discusses how Charles Darwin and Russel Wallace conceived their theories of evolution and natural selection.
- Dates
- Creation: 1974
Ascent of Man 9: Ladder of Creation Part 2, 1974
Produced by Adrian Malone. Written and narrated by Jacob Bronowski.
This segment further explores heredity, Pasteur's theory of spontaneous generation, and the chemical structure of the atmosphere on Earth before oxygen.
- Dates
- Creation: 1974
Ascent of Man 10: World Within World Part 1, 1974
Produced by Adrian Malone. Written and narrated by Jacob Bronowski.
This segment looks at the work of Paracelsus, Dimitri Mendeleev, John Dalton, Niels Bohr, Max Planck, and Ernest Rutherford. It also illustrates how the understanding of atomic structure influenced Cubism.
- Dates
- Creation: 1974
Ascent of Man 10: World Within World Part 2, 1974
Produced by Adrian Malone. Written and narrated by Jacob Bronowski.
This film discusses atomic structure and nuclear power.
- Dates
- Creation: 1974
Ascent of Man 11: Knowledge or Certainty Part 1, 1974
Produced by Adrian Malone. Written and narrated by Jacob Bronowski.
This segment talks about the advancement of physics during the 20th century and illustrates how university culture played a role.
- Dates
- Creation: 1974
Ascent of Man 11: Knowledge or Certainty Part 2, 1974
Produced by Adrian Malone. Written and narrated by Jacob Bronowski.
This film considers the moral dilemma of scientists by contrasting humanist traditions with Nazi atrocities and the development of the atomic bomb.
- Dates
- Creation: 1974
Produced by Adrian Malone. Written and narrated by Jacob Bronowski.
This segment emphasizes the impact of Gregor Mendel's experiments on genetics.
- Dates
- Creation: 1974
Produced by Adrian Malone. Written and narrated by Jacob Bronowski.
This part talks about the discovery of DNA.
- Dates
- Creation: 1974
Ascent of Man 13: Long Childhood Part 1, 1974
Produced by Adrian Malone. Written and narrated by Jacob Bronowski.
This segment talks about the process of learning and the development of imagination.
- Dates
- Creation: 1974
Ascent of Man 13: Long Childhood Part 2, 1974
Produced by Adrian Malone. Written and narrated by Jacob Bronowski.
This segment looks at the role of 20th century science and technology in shaping human culture and focuses on the need for a democracy of intellect.
- Dates
- Creation: 1974
Autistic Child: Behavioral Approach, 1982
Produced by Efficacy Research Institutes.
The film illustrates use of behavior techniques based on positive reinforcement to teach language and appropriate behavior to autistic children.
- Dates
- Creation: 1982
Avoiding Communication Breakdown, 1965
Produced by the Bureau of National Affairs.
The film dramatizes a communications breakdown about a merchandise shipment in a sales company to reveal warning signs of defective communication. David K. Berlo shows how these signals could have been used by communication-conscious supervisors to prevent breakdown.
- Dates
- Creation: 1965
Basic Movement Skills, 1969
Produced by FilmFair Communications.
The film, targeted for children in primary grades, depicts the development of motor skills in simple playground activity and also identifies parts of the body.
- Dates
- Creation: 1969
Produced by Appleton Century Crofts. Written by O. Ivar Lovaas.
This film focuses on teaching psychotic children the functional use of speech and discusses the need for correction of self-stimulation and destructive behavior before language-learning can commence. It describes how instruction can be conducted through reward and punishment techniques.
- Dates
- Creation: 1969
Behavior Theory in Practice Part 1, 1966
Produced by Appleton-Century Crofts. Written by Ellen Reese.
This segment, based on the research of B.F. Skinner, talks about the laws of behavioral theory in both laboratory and natural environments. These laws include: respondent vs. operant behavior, cumulative record, operant conditioning, shaping, and reinforcing the stimulus.
- Dates
- Creation: 1966
Behavior Theory in Practice Part 2, 1966
Produced by Appleton-Century Crofts.
This segment demonstrates the application of behavioral techniques in various settings as well as practical uses of behavior modification.
- Dates
- Creation: 1966
Citation
Cite Item
Northwest Film Forum. Northwest Film Forum Collection. 1930-2000 (bulk 1960-1980). Located in: Historical Audiovisuals Collection, History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD; ACC 2017-08.
Cite Item Description
Northwest Film Forum. Northwest Film Forum Collection. 1930-2000 (bulk 1960-1980). Located in: Historical Audiovisuals Collection, History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD; ACC 2017-08. https://findingaids.nlm.nih.gov/repositories/5/resources/892 Accessed July 27, 2025.