The Paul Ivano papers span the years 1915-1972 and encompass 0.4 linear foot. The collection consists primarily of correspondence and biographical material. Of interest are letters from Alla Nazimova written in 1939 and 1940 just prior to her return to Hollywood from theater work. The collection contains little production information from Ivano's film career, though there is some regarding his television work. A scrapbook contains clippings on films and television programs shot by Ivano, as well as clippings regarding aerial photography.

Paul Ivano (1900-1984) was born Paul Ivanichevitch in Nice, France, to Serbian parents. He served with the Franco-American Ambulance Corps and the American Red Cross Ambulance Corps from 1916 to 1918. Remaining with the Red Cross after World War I, he worked as a photographer and interpreter in the Balkans. In 1919 he came to the United States, moving to California the following year and finding work in the film industry as codirector, with Max Linder, of SEVEN YEARS BAD LUCK (1921) and as technical director of THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE (1921). Although he did not direct again, for the next five decades he worked variously as a director of photography and camera operator, collaborating with directors such as Fritz Lang, Jean Negulesco, Josef von Sternberg, and Erich von Stroheim. Ivano also became known as an expert on aerial photography, taking pioneering helicopter shots for THEY LIVE BY NIGHT (1948) and JOHNNY BELINDA (1948). Beginning in the late 1950s, he worked primarily in television on such series as TELEPHONE TIME and FAMILY AFFAIR until his retirement in 1972.