4,914 results
1925ref. 3105California: Universal Pictures 1925. First edition. original wrappers. Good. AN EARLY WORKING DRAFT OF THE 1925 PHANTOM OF THE OPERA PRESERVING THE DARKER SCENARIO UNIVERSAL WROTE BEFORE ITS FRONT OFFICE ORDERED THE TERROR TONED DOWN AND INCLUDING AN ORIGIN STORY FOR THE PHANTOM THAT NEVER REACHED THE SCREEN. Lon Chaney's unmasking in The Phantom of the Opera remains one of the most famous moments in film history. The picture that audiences finally saw in 1925 though came out of a long and difficult production shaped by poorly received previews reshoots and repeated re-editing. Its story begins with Universal staff writer Elliott J. Clawson's adaptation of Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel. The present typescript records his scenario at an early stage before the studio's successive revisions reshaped it. THE PHANTOM'S LOST ORIGIN STORY: The most striking feature of the draft is a lengthy origin episode absent from every filmed version of the story. In it a Sultan condemns the Phantom to die on an anthill and the Persian who becomes his lifelong associate rescues him. Leroux's novel only alludes to its Phantom's past in Persia where a police official spared him from the Shah's death sentence. Clawson turned that background into a full dramatic sequence. The episode though was abandoned before filming began. Philip J. Riley mentions it in his narrative account of the production The Making of the Phantom of the Opera 1999 but the present manuscript preserves it as Clawson actually wrote it. Riley records that by the fifth revised shooting script most of the genuinely frightening scenes like the anthill death scene had been removed because the front office feared the original material would drive audiences out of the theater. RELATIONSHIP TO THE KNOWN RECORD: Riley's study draws on two principal script documents: an early Clawson draft which he quotes in places and the fifth revised shooting script which he reproduces in full. The present manuscript shares the general scope and character of the early draft yet it differs in both scene numbering and the wording of specific directions. At the bedchamber scene Riley's source is numbered 286; here the same scene is numbered 289. The three-scene offset indicates that this manuscript contains material Riley's source lacks at that point suggesting either an earlier compositional layer or a fuller parallel version. Riley does not say where his early draft is held so the relationship between the two documents remains open. Our comparison is limited to the passages Riley chose to quote and a full collation may well reveal further differences. THE ANNOTATIONS: Pencil annotations appear intermittently throughout. They are pointed and analytical raising questions of continuity pacing and plot logic. One asks how Christine could communicate with Raoul while held captive and another asks why certain developments do not occur earlier in a sequence. They suggest close review by a reader with editorial authority over the script. Note: Although the draft breaks off during the climactic rescue attempt by Raoul and Ledoux and does not include the full text as we've come to know the story the draft appears complete as it originally existed. There is no sign of removed pages - in fact the last page with type seems to be on a different stock and serves also as the rear wrapper - which is consistent with an unfinished working draft rather than later loss. RARITY: Universal silent-era screenplays rarely survive. Scripts were typed in small numbers on unstable pulp paper and much of the studio's early paper record was later discarded. This draft documents The Phantom of the Opera before commercial pressure and successive rewrites displaced Clawson's original conception. It preserves a version of the film that Universal chose not to make. Typescript working draft. Universal City California: Universal Pictures ca. 1925. More than 200 pages typed on 8.5 x 13 inch legal-size pulp stock; original blue wrapper; pale toned rear wrapper. Pencil annotations throughout. Front wrapper present but detached; leaves brittle with edge chipping creases foxing marginal staining and small losses as is typical of Universal scripts of the period. Housed in custom archival presentation box. Universal Pictures unknown
1935ref. 124528Beverly Hills CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer MGM 1935. Dashiell Hammett's original submitted Treatment script for the first sequel to "The Thin Man" here referred to only as "Thin Man Sequel" and ultimately titled "After the Thin Man." With a single manuscript correction by Hammett and letter of provenance from Hammett's daughter Josephine Hammett Marshall regarding the discovery of the treatment in the family's estate. The first "Thin Man" film released in 1934 and based on Hammett's novel was a smash hit and is today a key film in the American screwball comedy cycle. Five sequels were made between 1936 and 1947 all starring the original acting team of William Powell and Myrna Loy and this previously unknown attempt at a sequel by Hammett was clearly commissioned by MGM but never produced making this script an entire unpublished Hammett work. The story is a completely original one never reworked for the other films very much written in Hammett's trademark style and reading a bit more like a story treatment i.e. a novel than a final screenplay which is likely as far as the story got on the road to production. The piece is dated Sept. 17 1935 at the lower right corner of the front panel along with Hammett's name and Hammett's name is noted in pencil next to the title label though not in Hammett's hand. There is only one single-word correction to the entire text at page 83 in Hammett's hand where the word "compact" is replaced with "cigarette case." Accompanying the screenplay is a typed letter signed from Hammett's daughter who edited a recently published collection of Hammett's letters on her personal stationery stating that the screenplay was discovered by Hammett's wife in 1980 and that it had been a part of the family's estate until that time. Probably one of only 2-3 copies that could have been produced and very possibly the only copy extant. To our knowledge no other copy of this story in any form has ever been recorded at auction or sold on the market. Light blue titled wrappers with the white MGM studio label present manuscript pencil notation of Hammett's name secretarial rubber-stamped COMPLETE dated September 17 1935 with a single credit for Hammett. 115 leaves mimeograph duplication. Pages and wrapper Very Good plus bound with two gold brads. In a custom clamshell box. Full pagination available upon request. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [MGM] unknown
ref. 142842N.p.: N.p. 1981. Handmade vernacular conceptual journal documenting the shooting of Robert Frank's 1981 film "Energy and How to Get It" circa 1980-1981. Includes tipped in ephemera drawings business cards and 46 Polaroids of Wurlitzer Robert Frank June Leaf and "Lightning" Bob. Annotations and captions throughout by Wurlitzer. Also included are 4 reference photos all likely unique from the shooting of the film: two showing both Wurlitzer and Frank one showing Wurlitzer and one of the "Enola Gay" aircraft in the film. Mead Memo notebook spiral bound. Green wrappers. 4.25 x 6 inches Very Good overall tipped in photos Near Fine. Reference photos 8 x 10 inches Near Fine. N.p. unknown
1958ref. 167441N.p.: N.p. 1958. Vintage ribbon copy typescript treatment for the 1960 French film. With substantive annotations in director Jean Cocteau's hand throughout noting deletions and amending dialogue. Full provenance available. The final film in Cocteau's "Orphic" trilogy following "The Blood of a Poet" 1930 and "Orphee" 1950. The only film in the trilogy featuring Cocteau himself as an aging poet who knows he is dying as indeed he was his greatest desire being to experience rebirth so that he can qualify for celestial immortality. With cameos by Pablo Picasso Charles Aznavour bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguen and Yul Brynner. A few seconds of color are spliced in at one point a surreal effect used prior to this film in "Portrait of Jennie" 1948 and later in Samuel Fuller's "Shock Corridor" 1963. Having run out of funds in mid-production Cocteau was given money to complete filming by François Truffaut who used the prize money he had won at Cannes for "Les Quatre Cents Coups" 1959. Unbound housed in a gray paper folder. Title and Cocteau's name in manuscript pencil on the front of the folder. 31 leaves with last page of text numbered 28. Ribbon copy typescript on onionskin stock rectos only. Pages Fine unbound. N.p. unknown
1942ref. 151348Santa Ana CA: RKO Radio Pictures 1942. Final Draft screenplay for the 1942 film. Copy belonging to legendary screenwriter Dudley Nichols inscribed by Nichols to Los Angeles Times film critic Phil Scheuer on the title page: "By Dudley Nichols / Confidential! / For Phil Scheuer from D. Nichols-with admiration." Nichols' ownership name is also in manuscript pencil at the top right corner. Renoir's second American feature an anti-fascist propaganda film following a meek schoolteacher in a German-occupied European country who is falsely accused of murder and forced to take a stand against the Nazis and their collaborators. At the peak of his career Nichols worked with many key Golden Age directors including John Ford George Cukor Howard Hawks Fritz Lang and of course Jean Renoir. He was a founding member of the Screen Writers Guild and is best remembered for "The Informer" 1935 for which Nichols won an Academy Award "Bringing Up Baby" 1938 "Stagecoach" 1939 "For Whom the Bell Tolls" 1943 "Scarlet Street" 1945 "And Then There Were None" 1945 "The Bells of St. Mary's" 1945 and "The Tin Star" 1957. He continued to write prolifically for film up until the time of his death in 1960. Housed in a custom quarter-leather clamshell box. Pink titled wrappers noted as FINAL on the front wrapper rubber-stamped copy No. 104 dated OCTOBER 2 1942 with credits for director Jean Renoir and screenwriter Dudley Nichols. Distribution page present with receipt removed. Title page integral with the front wrapper. 169 leaves with last page of text numbered 162. Mimeograph duplication rectos only. Pages Near Fine wrapper Near Fine bound with three gold brads. RKO Radio Pictures unknown
1954ref. 153634N.p.: N.p. 1954. Archive of five vintage borderless oversize photographs of director Alfred Hitchcock with various cast and crew members on the set of the 1954 film noir. Manuscript ink and pencil annotations to the verso including layout annotations "FILE" stamps and the stamp of photographer Sanford H. Roth. Four photographs with printed mimeo snipes affixed to the verso and four photographs with manuscript annotations noting their appearance in the May 24 1954 issue of Life magazine. Brooklyn-born photojournalist Sanford Roth was best known for his portrait photography capturing intimate and now iconic images of artists and actors throughout his decades-long career including Marc Chagall Joan Crawford Albert Einstein Henri Matisse and Elizabeth Taylor among many others. Based on the 1952 play by Frederick Knott who also wrote the screenplay about a tennis player who arranges to have his wife framed for murder after discovering her infidelity. The only Hitchcock film to be shot in 3D although the format would ultimately be discarded for theatrical release and the first of three Hitchcock films to feature actress Grace Kelly followed by "Rear Window" 1954 and "To Catch a Thief" 1955. One photograph features Hitchcock leaning over a giant rotary dial a prop made as a result of Warner Brothers' proprietary 3D camera rig. Hitchcock wanted the first shot of the film to feature a finger pressing the letter M on a rotary dial telephone but the specialized 3D camera was unable to focus the close-up correctly leading the director to order a giant finger made from wood and a proportionally large dial in order to achieve the effect. Four photographs 10 x 13.5 inches one photograph 9.5 x 13.5 inches. Lightly edgeworn else generally Near Fine. Grant US. Selby US. Spicer US. N.p. unknown
1949ref. 143058Tokyo: Film Art Association 1949. First Draft script for the 1949 Japanese film noir. Manuscript ink and pencil annotations from production on two leaves. Text in Japanese. Generally considered to be the greatest film noir made in Japan and hugely influential on American film noir of the 1950s and 1960s. White titled wrappers. 96 leaves with last page of text numbered 96. Mechanical duplication. Toning due to aging throughout wrapper split at spine with mild foxing otherwise Good condition. BFI 534. Criterion Collection 233. Grant Japan. Selby Japan. Spicer Japan Classic Noir. Film Art Association unknown
1936ref. 147033Burbank CA: Warner Brothers 1936. Collection of nine vintage oversize photographs from the 1936 film. Each with a mimeo snipe on the verso. Based on the 1930 Pulitzer Prize winning play by Marc Connelly itself based on "Ol' Man Adam an' His Chillun" a 1928 collection of pseudo African American folk tales by Roark Bradford. One of only a handful of films to feature an all-Black cast made by a major Hollywood studio during the Golden Age becoming the highest grossing such film and remaining so until surpassed by "Carmen Jones" in 1954. 14 x 11 inches. Very Good with light edgewear and light vertical creasing down the center. Warner Brothers unknown
1938ref. 163880N.p.: N.p. 1938. James Hilton's typescript draft screenplay for the 1939 film an adaptation of his own 1937 novel the only such adaptation he ever completed. With the author's profuse manuscript ink annotations as well as many pages executed entirely in manuscript ink throughout. Included is a privately commissioned essay by Hilton scholar Kurt Kausler detailing both the history of Hilton's work on the film an analysis and a breakdown of the manuscript. Almost certainly Hilton's first corrected manuscript screenplay for the film. After Jack Warner raised concerns about the script being too long screenwriter Milton Krims was employed to clean up and shorten it-though in the end Hilton received sole credit as screenwriter. A man hires an Austrian governess and both are suspected of murder when his wife is discovered to be dead. 123 leaves a gathering demonstrating the author's method his attention to detail and his extreme frugality with the use of paper the last most likely due to wartime shortages. The script consists of a ribbon copy typescript leaves on both onionskin and paper stock with manuscript emendations on virtually every page in many cases both recto and verso with some leaves executed on the versos of unrelated previous work by Hilton b leaves consisting entirely of text executed in manuscript ink c hand-cut partial leaves and d a handful of later Xerographically duplicated facsimiles of Hilton's original annotated typescript leaves. Included is a very detailed analysis of the manuscript as well as the events surrounding its creation along with a detailed breakdown of the manuscript elements. Hilton's manuscript leaves Very Good to Fine quite supple and well preserved. Housed in a modern white three-ring binder. Leaves individually held in modern mylar page protectors. N.p. unknown
1943ref. 156715Beverly Hills CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer MGM 1943. Draft script for the 1945 film. Copy belonging to an unknown crew member with their manuscript annotations in pencil on several pages. Based on the 1890 novel by Oscar Wilde about a man whose portrait magically takes on the ability to absorb the sins of his debauched life while he remains unaged. Nominated for three Academy Awards winning one for Best Cinematography. Set in London. Goldenrod studio wrappers rubber-stamped FILE COPY and COMPLETE on the front wrapper noted as copy No. 67 and production No. 5069 dated 11-5-43 with credits for director Albert Lewin. Title page integral with the first page of the text. 168 leaves with last page of text numbered 169. Mimeograph duplication rectos only with a single pink revision page dated 3-13-44. Pages about Near Fine wrapper Good only with a tear on the bottom right portion of the front wrapper and rear wrapper split from the binding bound with two gold brads. Selby US. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [MGM] unknown
ref. 169944Chanhassen MN: Graffiti Bridge Inc 1990. Archive of two original scripts and over 100 pages of production documents from the 1990 film all belonging to Sound Mixer and Playback Operator Matthew Quast. The archive consists of: A Fourth Draft script dated February 1 1990 with manuscript ink annotations on the versos of two pages and the recto of a third housed in a large generic blue three-ring binder with the labels "Graffiti Bridge" on the spine and "Sound Mixer / M. Quast" on the front board. Bound in preceding the script are: 40 pages of song lyrics with manuscript ink and highlighter annotations noting timing of stanzas on nearly every page. Seven pages of employment applications agreements and memos. Sixteen pages of crew contact information. And thirteen pages of One-Line Schedules dated February 8 20 and 26 1990. An undated Revised Draft script lacking the first seven pages and title page housed in a narrow generic red three-ring binder. Bound in following the script is a six-page "Contact Suppliers List" an eight-page "Area Info" and four pages of maps and directions to Prince's Paisley Park studio. Laid in with the scripts are: Copies of Prince's wardrobe sketches on three pages and one half leaf. A four page Music List dated January 26 1990. Four Call Sheets dated 3/13/90 3/26/90 3/27/90 and 3/28/90 with a memo dated March 27 1990 stapled to the last call sheet. A three page One-Line Schedule dated March 20 1990. A copy of a handwritten page listing six scenes for "Thursday 3/8/90." And six "Graffiti Bridge" film reel labels and a blank Avalon Entertainment employee time and reimbursement submission form with the attached carbon copy. Prince's standalone sequel to his hit 1984 movie "Purple Rain" and his third and final film role following "Purple Rain" and the 1986 film "Under the Cherry Moon" Prince's directorial debut. Prince returns as "The Kid" now a club owner in a "West Side Story" style rivalry with competing club owner Morris Morris Day and puts his club on the line with a bet with Morris over who can write the best song. Set and shot on location in Eden Prairie and Minneapolis Minnesota. Fourth Draft script: Housed in a large blue generic three-ring binder. Title page present dated February 1 1990 noted as FOURTH DRAFT with credits for screenwriter Prince. 70 leaves with last page of text numbered 66. Xerographic duplication rectos only with blue and yellow revision pages throughout dated variously between 2/7/90 and 3/9/90. Pages Near Fine bound in a Very Good plus three-binder. Revised Draft script: Housed in a thin red generic three-ring binder. 56 leaves with last page of text numbered 60. Xerographic duplication rectos only with undated blue revision pages. Pages Near Fine bound in a Very Good plus three-ring binder. Other production documents 8.5 x 11 inches to 8.5 x 14 inches. Near Fine overall. Graffiti Bridge Inc unknown
1950ref. 158441Buenos Aires: Industia Argentina 1950. Vintage one sheet poster for the Argentinean release of the 1951 film the film's country of origin and whose premiere preceded the US release by more than three months. Richard Wright accepted an offer to star as the leading man in the film adaptation of his own novel after initial choice Canada Lee was stuck in South African customs after shooting "Cry the Beloved Country" 1951. Lee had starred in Orson Welles' prior stage adaptation. Set in Chicago and shot on location in Chicago and Argentina. 29 x 43.25 inches folded as issued. With a few small closed tears and creases at the extremities else Near Fine. Bright and unfaded. Industia Argentina unknown
1931ref. 151422Beverly Hills CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer MGM 1931. Draft script for the 1931 film with annotations in manuscript pencil primarily in later half of script largely regarding dialogue but also setting and shots. A largely fictionalized account of the life of Mata Hari exotic dancer and courtesan who was executed by France for espionage during World War I. A sensation in the US and Europe it was Greta Garbo's most commercially successful film. The pre-Code film was censored upon its reissue in 1936 which was the only version believed to exist until 2005 when an uncut French and Dutch subtitled version was screened at the Cinematheque Royale de Belgique in Brussels. Set in 1917 Paris shot on location in Agoura California. Tan titled wrappers with credits for screenwriters Benjamin Glazer and Leo Birinski and M-G-M label dated "Copied May 4 1931." Title page present with credits for screenwriters Benjamin Glazer and Leo Birinski. 172 leaves with last page of text numbered 169. Mimeograph duplication rectos only with six white revision pages dated June 5 1931. Pages Very Good plus with foxing and edgewear and stain to upper right of title page Wrapper Very Good with light soiling and chipping and closed tears to extremities and spine and upper right section cut from rear wrapper bound with two gold brads. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [MGM] unknown
1966ref. 152454Los Angeles: The Mirisch Corporation 1966. Revised First Draft script for the 1967 film. Laid in is a Call Sheet from the production dated Tuesday November 29 1966. Based on John Ball's 1965 novel. An African American police detective from Philadelphia is recruited to help solve a murder in a small bigoted Mississippi town. Winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor for Rod Steiger nominated for two others. After the success of the film version the characters were developed further for a police procedural television series in 1988 developed by James Lee Barrett and starring Carroll O'Connor and Howard Rollins which aired on NBC then CBS from 1988 to 1995. Set in the fictional town of Sparta Mississippi and shot largely on location in Illinois. Poitier insisted the movie be filmed in the North because of a 1964 incident in Mississippi in which he and Harry Belafonte had been run off the road and almost killed by Klansmen while in the state to support the SNCC Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. Goldenrod titled wrappers noted as REVISED FIRST DRAFT on the front wrapper rubber-stamped copy No. 84 dated July 1 1966. Title page present dated July 1 1966 noted as REVISED FIRST DRAFT with credits for screenwriter Stirliing Silliphant. 134 leaves with last page of text numbered 140. Mimeograph duplication rectos only with blue pink and white revision pages throughout dated variously between 7/27/66 and 8/10/66. Pages with damp stain on top right of last several pages else Near Fine wrapper Very Good plus bound with two gold brads. Call Sheet 8.5 x 14 inches folded horizontally. Near Fine National Film Registry. Criterion Collection 959. Penzler 101 Greatest Films of Mystery and Suspense. The Mirisch Corporation unknown
ref. 132794Universal City CA: Universal Pictures 1986. Archive of three title card maquettes hand lettered by Harold Adler for the 1963 film. Also included are two fascinating autograph letters both elaborately designed and executed in a calligraphic style from Adler to author illustrator and editor Fridolf Johnson relating to Adler's work with Hitchcock. Harold Adler was a calligrapher who created hand lettered titles on over 100 films worked frequently with Alfred Hitchcock and was a favorite of legendary title sequence designers Saul Bass and Pablo Ferro. In addition to "The Birds" 1963 his credits include "Comanche!" 1956 "The Man with the Golden Arm" 1955 "The Seven Year Itch" 1955 "Carmen Jones" 1954 "Psycho" 1960 "In the Heat of the Night" 1967 and "Justine" 1969. In 2012 an exhibition of Adler's work was organized by noted typographer and design historian Jill Bell at the American Advertising Federation Kansas City. In the first letter dated May 16 1986 Adler describes after touching on other topics meeting Hitchcock and then presenting him with layout ideas for the titles. He then goes into detail regarding his answer to a question about the techniques of artist Eric Gill stating that Hitchcock "was amazed" by this answer and after that would "request 'to be sure to bring that nice young man along" meaning Adler whenever he had a job for Adler's firm. The second letter dated June 10th 1986 focuses almost exclusively on Adler's work on "The Birds" going into some detail regarding both the creative and technical processes of producing hand lettered titles for films. He also describes Hitchcock as "an unusual person to work with. He was a master at what he did knew what he wanted and smoked the finest cigars." He then concludes the letter with some brief remarks on how his approach to title lettering evolved over the course of his career. The letters themselves are works of art executed in a variety of inks in Adler's detailed penmanship with Johnson's name on each in particular receiving full calligraphic treatment. Also included are draft title cards for the film stylistically similar to each other but much different from the titles used in the finished film. Two of the cards are marked as "camera ready" in manuscript colored pencil with titles executed in white paint on black board. The third card photo stat on black paper which accompanied the June 10th letter has been annotated by Adler on both the recto and verso explaining the in more detail the technical process of putting the lettering on film. Overall a significant collection of material illuminating a little explored aspect of film design with a direct and significant connection to a seminal work by a director known for personally overseeing all aspects of production. Each letter 19 x 24 inches single leaf rectos only. May 16th letter folded twice for mailing June 10th letter folded. Two long diagonal creases to the May 16th letter else both are Fine. Original mailing envelope for the May 16th letter included. "Camera ready" title cards 22 x 14 inches. Lightly rubbed and about Near Fine. Third card 18 x 4 inches. Near Fine. National Film Registry. Clover Men Women and Chainsaws. Godard Histoires du cinema. Universal Pictures unknown
1957ref. 172280N.p.: N.p. 1957. Final script for the 1957 film. Specially bound copy belonging to actress Jacqueline Evans who played the uncredited role of Mrs. Braddock with her annotations in manuscript pencil underlining dialogue on several leaves. SIGNED in round-robin fashion by numerous cast and crew members on the first seven leaves some with inscriptions. Signatures include director Henry King and actors Ava Gardner Mel Ferrer Tyrone Power and Errol Flynn humorously signing as "E. Hemingway" among others. Full provenance available. The first screen adaptation of the 1926 novel by Ernest Hemingway. One of the most honest film adaptations of its era attributable mainly to the screenplay by novelist and Hemingway acolyte Peter Viertel. Featuring a standout performance by Errol Flynn as the hedonistic hard-drinking burned-out Mike Campbell. in other words as himself. Shot on location in Pamplona Paris Biarritz and Mexico. Title page present noted as Final Script dated February 20 1957. 147 leaves with last page of text numbered 142. Mimeograph duplication on eye-rest green stock rectos only with blue revision pages throughout dated variously between March 11 and 14 1957. Pages Near Fine binding Very Good plus specially bound in textured brown cloth with an orange ribbon bookmark. N.p. unknown
1962ref. 171100Stockholm: Svensk Filmindustri SF 1962. Draft script for the 1963 Swedish film. Copy belonging to actor Bertha Sånnell with her name in manuscript ink on a label affixed to the front wrapper her annotations in manuscript ink and pencil on two script pages and on a sheet of lined paper bound in at the rear of the script. The second entry in Ingmar Bergman's legendary and highly personal "Faith" trilogy a series of films that launched an important phase in the director's career. A quiet relentless meditation on the nature of faith imperfection and beauty. Red untitled wrappers. Title page present undated with credit for Bergman. 135 leaves with last page of text numbered 133. Mimeograph duplication rectos only. Pages Very Good plus wrapper Good perfect-bound with the spine of the wrapper and the first two leaves detached from the text block. Criterion Collection 210. Ebert III. Svensk Filmindustri [SF] unknown
1934ref. 144598Culver City CA: RKO Radio Pictures 1934. Draft script for the 1935 film. In a custom quarter leather clamshell box. The second of two films based on Liam O'Flaherty's 1925 novel the first being Arthur Robison's 1929 British feature about a former Republic Army member during the Irish War of Independence who turns in one of his comrades to the British in order to use the bounty money to book passage to America for himself and his girlfriend who has been forced into prostitution. Winner of four Academy Awards including Best Adapted Screenplay Best Director and Best Actor for McLaglen nominated for two others including Best Picture. Screenwriter Dudley Nichols became the first person to decline an Academy Award when his refused his Oscar due to an ongoing dispute between the Screen Writers Guild and the Academy though he would eventually claim it three years later. Detached green wrappers noting the title screenwriter and director on the spine in manuscript ink. Title page integral with first page of text with credits for screenwriter Nichols and novelist O'Flaherty. 105 leaves with last page of text numbered 105. Mimeograph duplication. Pages Near Fine wrapper Very Good side-stapled. National Film Registry. RKO Radio Pictures unknown
1932ref. 169144N.p.: N.p. 1932. A small archive of five vintage French pamphlets flyers and broadsides announcing 1931 and 1932 screenings of the banned 1930 surrealist film. All items are housed loose in a custom bound volume with a "L'Affaire de L'Age d'Or" label on the spine with each item laid in on separate leaves overlaid with heavy protective tissue housed in a custom slipcase. Rare. The archive includes: "L'Affaire de 'L'Age d'Or'" bi-fold pamphlet printed on rectos and versos with a satin-finish photo illustrated insert also printed on the recto and verso published by Nancy Cunard on the occasion of her January 1931 private screening of the film in London. The bi-fold includes the essay "Exposé des Faits" "Statement of Facts" describing the film's initial riotous reception "Extraits du Programme" "Excerpts from the Program" a "Questionnaire" regarding political and legal actions taken in response to the film and an extensive "Extraits de la Presse" "Excerpts from the Press" followed the names of signatories Maxime Alexandre Aragon André Breton René Char René Crevel Salvador Dali Paul Eluard Georges Malkine Benjamin Péret Man Ray Georges Sadoul Yves Tanguy André Thirion Tristan Tzara Pierre Unik and Albert Valentin. Two satin-finish variants of a flyer printed on rectos only for a screening of the film on April 27 1932 by Les Spectateurs de l'Avant-Garde at La Bellevilloise a workers' cooperative theatre with each flyer featuring a different image from the film. A second screening was later added on April 30 not noted on the flyers. The screenings were decidedly low-key private events with Buñuel insisting "No protests." French director Jean Vigo was reportedly among the participants of the screenings. And two items relating to a screening presented by Le Club de L'Ecran at Cine-Casino in Belgium on May 10 1932: A 4 x 5.5 inch announcement for the screening printed on the recto only noting the film as being presented by P.G. van Hecke Paul-Gustave Van Hecke followed by seating and ticket prices purchase locations and Club de L'Ecran membership prices. A large newsprint broadside printed on the recto and the verso for Le Club de L'Ecran announcing the May 10th screening with articles on the recto regarding the film club's activities and an excerpt from the Surrealist manifesto published upon the film's premiere with the verso dedicated entirely to numerous texts and articles on "L'Age d'Or" featuring two images from the film and a portrait of Buñuel. A key and archetypal work of Surrealist cinema alongside "Un Chien Andalou" 1929 also written by Buñuel and Dali and directed by Buñuel featuring a series of absurdist vignettes scathingly and sardonically rebuking the sexual hypocrisy of bourgeois society the Catholic Church and 20th century European society in general. The violence the uproar "L'Age d'Or" created remains as shocking as the film itself: days into the first screenings at Studio 28 on December 3 1930 the theatre was stormed by fascist youths enraged at the film's perceived anti-patriotic and anti-Christian message. Demonstrators threw ink at the screen shouted anti-Semitic death threats smashed the theatre windows and completely destroyed an exhibition of surrealist books and art in the foyer. In response the Board of Censors re-reviewed the film and on December 10 the film was banned from further public showings in France. The film's producers subsequently withdrew "L'Age d'or" from commercial distribution and public exhibition for more than 40 years although three years later in 1933 the film was privately exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. "L'Affaire de 'L'Age d'Or':" Bi-fold 7.5 x 10.5 inches. About Near Fine with a Very Good plus 7.5 x 10 inch insert with both items previously folded horizontally. Two Les Spectateurs April 27 Flyers: 8.25 x 10.5 inches. One Near Fine. One Very Good plus with light creasing faint toning and a .25 inch closed tear to the top edge. Le Club de L'Ecran Announcement: 4 x 5.5 inches. Near Fine. Le Club de L'Ecran Broadside: 14.25 x 21.75 inches folded as issued. About Near Fine with an additional lightly toned horizontal fold. Housed in a 9.25 x 12 inch custom bound Near Fine volume with a 9.5 x 12.25 inch Near Fine slipcase. BFI. Rosenbaum 1000. Vogel Film as a Subversive Art. N.p. unknown
ref. 149056New York: Greenwich Film Productions 1985. Draft script for the 1985 film. With manuscript pencil annotations throughout. Text titles and annotations in Japanese. Based on Shakespeare's play "King Lear." An elderly warlord in medieval Japan divides his vast empire among his three sons. The power corrupts them and turns them on each other as well as their father. Nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Director for Kurosawa winning one. Set in medieval Japan shot on location in Kumamoto Shizuoka Himeji Oita Aichi Yamagata and Tokyo Japan. Bright blue titled wrappers. Title page present. 96 leaves with last page of text numbered 176. Xerographic duplication printed on rectos and versos. Pages Very Good plus wrapper Very Good plus with a lightly faded spine perfectly bound. Greenwich Film Productions unknown
1966ref. 140604Los Angeles: Expanding Cinema 1966. Shooting final for the 1966 film. Copy belonging to actor Peter Haskell with his manuscript annotations throughout and his shooting schedule laid in. Mary Ellen Bute's final film and the first cinematic adaptation of James Joyce's masterfully complex work of fiction. Shot over a two year period Bute was tasked with transforming Joyce's impenetrable prose without losing any of the work's surreal lyrical essence. The subsequent film maintains the original novel's oneiric style. Bute and her husband Ted Nemeth were longtime collaborators and Nemeth worked as both cinematographer and producer of the film. In 1965 it was honored at the Cannes Film Festival as Best Debut and remains Bute's sole feature length film. Shot on location in New York City and Dublin. Brown untitled wrappers. Title page present dated March 4 1963 and December 3 1962 noted as Shooting Final with credits for screenwriters Mary Ellen Bute Romana Javitz and T. J. Nemeth Jr and editor A.I.M.S. Street. 148 leaves with last page of text numbered 139. Mimeograph duplication with onionskin revision pages throughout. Pages Very Good plus wrapper Very Good plus. Some pages detaching and wrapper slightly cracked. Bound internally with prong binding. Expanding Cinema unknown
ref. 150822Culver City CA: Culver City Studios 1973. Third Revision Draft script for the 1973 film with the name "Jim Woods" in manuscript ink on top right of front wrapper and page two of screenplay likely uncredited Set Painter James T. Woods with copy numbers "76" on top left of front wrapper and "13" on top right of title page in manuscript marker and on back wrapper are numeric entries in manuscript ink. Following script is a one page "APPENDIX A -- TV PLATE -- LUNA'S PARTY" featuring dialogue between a mother and child regarding a holiday party. Woody Allen is a health food store owner who is cryogenically frozen in 1973 only to be revived 200 years later to help lead a rebellion against an inept totalitarian government. Winner of a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. Shot on location in Colorado and California. Beige titled wrappers. Title page present dated March 1 1973 noted as REVISION #3 with credits for screenwriters Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman. 131 leaves with last page of text numbered 129. Mimeograph duplication rectos only with yellow and blue revision pages throughout. Pages Very Good plus with silverfish damage to outer edge of last 15 pages wrapper Very Good plus with silverfish damage to outer edge of back wrapper bound with two gold brads. Culver City Studios unknown
1930ref. 166622Paris: Studio 28 1930. Vintage review-program for Luis Buñuel's 1930 surrealist masterpiece created for the film's public premiere at Studio 28 cinema in Montmartre. Program in two parts bound dos-a-dos. Text in French. The first section of the review-program is dedicated to "L'Age d'or" presenting the film's scenario alongside subtitles and dialogue accompanied by a manifesto on surrealism and a catalog of 20 works by Max Ernst Salvador Dalí Man Ray and others which were exhibited alongside the film's screenings at Studio 28. The second part of the program is an overview of film programs at Studio 28 with stills from films by Epstein Ivens Melies and others. The violence of the uproar "L'Age d'Or" created remains almost as shocking as the film itself: days into the first screenings at Studio 28 on December 3 1930 the theatre was stormed by fascist youths enraged at the film's perceived anti-patriotic and anti-Christian message. Demonstrators threw ink at the screen shouted antisemitic death threats smashed the theatre windows and completely destroyed the exhibition of surrealist books and artwork in the foyer. In response the Board of Censors re-reviewed the film and on December 10 the film was banned from further public showings in France. The film's producers subsequently withdrew "L'Age d'or" from commercial distribution and public exhibition for more than 40 years although three years later in 1933 the film was privately exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Page edges faintly foxed else about Near Fine in perfect-bound gold wrappers with a single annotation in manuscript ink censoring a line relating to one of the film's characters and Jesus Christ. Lacking the errata slip. Studio 28 unknown
ref. 155115Hollywood: Occult Productions 1973. Draft script for the 1973 film. Working production copy housed in a black leather binder with production materials bound in before and after the script including handwritten cast and crew contact information and call sheets. A young woman joins a black magic coven governed by a psychic witch queen with dubious and eventually murderous intentions. Considered one of the best and arguably most polished releases from noted psychotronic Z-budget horror director Ted V. Mikels heavily inspired by "Rosemary's Baby" 1968 and the occult concerns of the Age of Aquarius. Pink titled wrappers. Title page present undated with credits for director-screenwriter Ted V. Mikels. 67 leaves with last page of text numbered 64. Mimeograph duplication rectos only. Pages Near Fine wrapper Near Fine. Nightmare USA. Occult Productions unknown
1948ref. 151633Tokyo: Toho Company 1948. Draft script for the 1948 Japanese film noir. Text and titles in Japanese. The first of sixteen film collaborations between director Akira Kurosawa and actor Toshiro Mifune. Kurosawa's seventh film saw him exploring the inter workings and motivations of the yakuza and machismo. Censorship was tight regarding the occupation forbidding criticism of Americans leading Kurosawa to slip in references to the US presence in Japan satirizing jazz "pan pan" girls unlicensed prostitutes catering to American soldiers and Western clothing and hairstyles. Set in the slums of postwar Japan. White titled wrappers. Approximately 40 leaves with last page of text numbered 79. Mimeograph duplication printed on rectos and versos. Pages Very Good plus wrapper Very Good plus covered in a protective plastic wrapping from when the script was used during filming side stapled. BFI 638. Criterion Collection 413. Grant Japan. Toho Company unknown
