The Princeton Film Center was a movie studio specializing in non-fiction shorts and features. Founded by the Texas-born filmmaker Gordon Knox and located in Princeton, NJ, the center produced hundreds of films for the United States Armed Forces, state and federal government agencies, non-profit organizations and private sector clients.

When Knox opened the Film Center in 1941, his office was the sunroof of his Princeton home. Two years later operations were moved to a large townhouse (a shot of this building is included in the group). By 1948, the company had expanded so much and become so successful they moved again, five miles from town, to a state-of-the-art facility with its own theater, a five thousand square foot soundstage, an employees’ commissary and a wing dedicated to its film library and distribution department, all of which are shown in the present collection.

One notable aspect of the Film Center’s operations was its custom-built flexible bus, used for on-location shooting. The vehicle was fitted with accommodations for nine, including a galley, shower, two lavatories, refrigerator, air-conditioning and its own power plant and water purifier. Present in the collection are photographs of these traveling digs, with shots of unidentified filmmakers lying in bed, playing at the dining table, and other amusing views. There are also exterior views of the bus, and photos of other vehicles in the crew’s caravan, including the “Location Dormitory” and “Mobile Sound Department.”