The Arthur Freed papers, 1919-1975, consist of film files (produced and unproduced), considered projects, playscripts and screenplays, personal papers, correspondence and letters, awards, certificates and ephemera, books and scrapbooks, artwork and stills, and phonograph records created and collected by Arthur Freed during his life and career as a producer and lyricist.

The majority of the collection comprises film files featuring scripts, production information (Assistant Director's reports, daily progress reports, budgets and picture estimates, memos and correspondence regarding censorship, legal issues, talent, and contracts), press and publicity (ads, clippings, trailers, photograph stills and negatives, and first reports), and sheet music. Signature film files within the collection include "An American in Paris", "Annie Get Your Gun", "Brigadoon", "Gigi", "Meet Me in St. Louis", "On the Town", "Show Boat", "Singin' in the Rain", "The Wizard of Oz", and "Ziegfeld Follies". Also featured is information on unproduced projects, including "Green Mansions", "Huckleberry Finn", and "Say it With Music", as well as information on projects Freed considered producing, but ultimately never took off. There are also a few playscripts and screenplays from films Freed did not produce, including "The Merry Widow" and "The Unsinkable Molly Brown".

A large portion of the collection comprises phonograph records of Freed's productions, featuring the pre-recorded versions of the songs that were used within the films, as well as a few rehersal versions. They are, for the most part, stored in record collection albums. There is also oversized artwork and photographs in the form of framed costume design artwork and film stills.

The remainder of the collection consists of awards, certificates, and ephemera including a replica Showboat model, a framed telegram from William Randolph Hearst, numerous Exhibitor Laurel awards, two Golden Globe Awards ("An American in Paris", "Gigi"), books, and a scrapbook for "Strike Up the Band". Freed's personal papers within the collection comprise sheet music and lyrics, nominations and awards he received, publicity regarding his achievements and career, articles he wrote, lectures he gave, events he attended, a few 16mm and 35mm film reels, and a collection of magazines and film journals. Freed's correspondence and letters include items to and from such indviduals as Fred Astaire, Leslie Caron, Judy Garland, Jerome Kern, Ira Gershwin, and William Saroyan. The collection also contains material of Freed's that was in the possession of author Hugh Fordin while working on his book, "The World of Entertainment! Hollywood's Greatest Musicals". As a result, files containing Fordin's own research are found within the collection as well.