Editore: National Screen Service / Columbia Pictures, Culver City, CA, 1959
Da: Royal Books, Inc., ABAA, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.
Fotografia
Vintage full-color British front-of-house card from the UK release of the 1959 US film. Based on Glendon Swarthout's 1958 novel, about the 1916 US "war" against Pancho Villa, and the group of men who unceremoniously are awarded medals. Together they must return to the battlefront, along with a prisoner (Hayworth) who helped them before. 8 x 10 inches. Faint creasing and rubbing overall, else Near Fine.
Editore: Hal Wallis Productions, Hollywood, 1946
Da: Royal Books, Inc., ABAA, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.
Fotografia
Vintage borderless satin-finish publicity photograph from the 1946 film noir, showing Van Heflin. A drifter returns to his childhood home, stirring up buried secrets and forgotten passions in the process. Nominated for the Palme d'Or. 8 x 10 inches. Fine. Grant US. Selby US Canon. Silver and Ward US. Spicer US.
Editore: N.p., N.p., 1947
Da: Royal Books, Inc., ABAA, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.
Fotografia
Vintage reference photograph from the 1947 film noir. An amateur prizefighter's desire for fortune and fame leads him to join a corrupt boxing syndicate, led by an unethical promoter. Widely considered one of the finest boxing films ever made, with a strong screenplay by noted screenwriter Abraham Polonsky (who would later face blacklisting in Hollywood as a result of the HUAC trials). 10 x 8 inches. Near Fine. Grant US. Olive Films 452. Selby US. Silver and Ward Classic Noir. Spicer US.
Editore: N.p., N.p., 1957
Da: Royal Books, Inc., ABAA, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.
Manoscritto / Collezionismo cartaceo
Final script for the 1962 film. Early draft, preceding the film's release by five years, credited to screenwriter Robert Rossen. Rossen was ultimately uncredited in the film, but was involved in this early stage of the script's development. Based on Louis O. Coxe and Robert H. Chapman's 1949 play, which was based in turn on Herman Melville's 1924 novella. A seaman's innocence and natural beauty wins him the affection of the entire crew except the abusive master-at-arms, who eventually wrongly accuses the seaman of conspiracy to mutiny. The feature film debut of Terence Stamp, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his performance. Yellow titled wrappers, noted as FINAL SCREENPLAY and dated October 15, 1957, with credit for screenwriter Robert Rossen. 122 leaves, with last page of text numbered 122. Mimeograph duplication, rectos only. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Near Fine, bound with three gold brads.
Editore: N.p., N.p., 1961
Da: Royal Books, Inc., ABAA, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.
Manoscritto / Collezionismo cartaceo
First Draft script for the 1962 film. Based on Louis O. Coxe and Robert H. Chapman's 1949 play, which was based in turn on Herman Melville's 1924 novella. A seaman's innocence and optimism win him the affection of the entire crew except the abusive master-at-arms, who eventually wrongly accuses the seaman of conspiracy to mutiny. The feature film debut of Terence Stamp, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his performance. Yellow wrappers with a die-cut title window in the British style. Title page present, dated March 21, 1961, noted as FIRST DRAFT, with credit for screenwriter Peter Ustinov. 127 leaves, with last page of text numbered 123. Mimeograph duplication, rectos only, with pink and blue revision pages throughout, dated variously between May 5 and August 22, 1961. Title page lightly toned, else pages Near Fine, wrapper about Near Fine, bound internally with three silver brads.
Editore: Columbia Pictures, Culver City, CA, 1964
Da: Royal Books, Inc., ABAA, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.
Fotografia
Vintage photograph of actors Peter Fonda, Jean Seberg and Warren Beatty from the 1964 film. With manuscript annotations in pencil on the verso. Based on J. R. Salamanca's 1961 novel of the same name. Vincent (Warren Beatty) a recent Korean War veteran is in training at a mental institution as an occupational therapist where he becomes obsessed with Lilith Arthur (Jean Seberg), a schizophrenic patient whose seductive behavior stirs the order of the mental institution and destabilizes Vincent's own sense of reality. Set in Rockville, Maryland. Shot on location in Virginia, Long Island, and Maryland. 9.75 x 7.5 inches. Near Fine. Grant US.
Editore: N.p., N.p., 1963
Da: Royal Books, Inc., ABAA, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.
Fotografia
Vintage reference photograph from the seminal 1963 film. Partial label on the verso. Based on the 1960 play by Warren Miller and Robert Rossen, which was based on Miller's 1959 novel. The second feature to be directed by independent filmmaker Shirley Clarke, following "The Connection" (1961). Both films were statements on the limitations of cinema verite, and while appearing improvisational, were in fact semi-documentaries with carefully scripted dialogue. Clarke aspired to make a non-judgmental film that resisted the moralizing prevalent in Hollywood "social issue" films. It was the first film to be produced by Frederick Wiseman, who would go on to become a legendary documentary filmmaker, and was scored by noted jazz composer and pianist Mal Waldron, with performances by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. Set and shot on location in New York. 5 x 8 inches, trimmed irregularly, with wide margins, photograph measuring 3.75 x 4.75 inches. Near Fine. National Film Registry.
Editore: United Artists, Beverly Hills, CA, 1947
Da: Royal Books, Inc., ABAA, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.
Fotografia
Vintage linen backed keybook photograph of cinematographer James Wong Howe, actress Lilli Palmer, and members of the crew on the set of the 1947 film noir. Manuscript annotations on the verso. Considered by many to be amongst the best boxing films of all time as well as one of the great 1940s noirs. "Body and Soul" tells the story of a man who became a successful boxer to support himself and his mother after his father is killed, but who realizes that he has slowly lost his integrity somewhere along the way. Winner of an Academy Award and nominated for two others. Shot on location in New York City. 10 x 8 inches. Near Fine. Grant US. Selby Canon US. Silver Classic Noir. Spicer US.
Editore: Cinema V., N.p., 1963
Da: Royal Books, Inc., ABAA, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.
Fotografia
Two vintage reference photographs from the 1963 film, both showing actor Hampton Clanton. Printed mimeo snipes and date stamps on the versos. Based on the 1960 play by Warren Miller and Robert Rossen, which was based on Miller's 1959 novel. The second feature to be directed by independent filmmaker Shirley Clarke, following "The Connection" (1961). Both films were statements on the limitations of cinema verite, and while appearing improvisational, were in fact semi-documentaries with carefully scripted dialogue. Clarke aspired to make a non-judgmental film that resisted the moralizing prevalent in Hollywood "social issue" films. It was the first film to be produced by Frederick Wiseman, who would go on to become a legendary documentary filmmaker, and was scored by noted jazz composer and pianist Mal Waldron, with performances by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. Set and shot on location in New York. 8 x 10 inches. Very Good plus. National Film Registry.
Editore: Vitagraph, Los Angeles, 1939
Da: Royal Books, Inc., ABAA, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.
Fotografia
Three vintage studio still photographs and one reference photograph from the 1939 film. All four with Cinemagence stamps on the versos. A classic in the gangster genre, following the experiences of three men through the tumultuous 1920s, starting in the final days of World War I. The third and last film to co-star Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney, following "Angels with Dirty Faces" (1938) and "The Oklahoma Kid" (1939). 10 x 8 inches. Near Fine. Criterion Collection 1208. Godard, Histoire(s) du cinema. Scorsese, A Personal Journey Through American Movies. Spicer US Antecedent.
Editore: Cinema V., N.p., 1963
Da: Royal Books, Inc., ABAA, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.
Fotografia
Eight vintage studio still photographs from the 1963 film. Provenance labels on the versos. Based on the 1960 play by Warren Miller and Robert Rossen, which was based on Miller's 1959 novel. The second feature to be directed by independent filmmaker Shirley Clarke, following "The Connection" (1961). Both films were statements on the limitations of cinema verite, and while appearing improvisational, were in fact semi-documentaries with carefully scripted dialogue. Clarke aspired to make a non-judgmental film that resisted the moralizing prevalent in Hollywood "social issue" films. It was the first film to be produced by Frederick Wiseman, who would go on to become a legendary documentary filmmaker, and was scored by noted jazz composer and pianist Mal Waldron, with performances by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. Set and shot on location in New York. 10 x 8 inches. Very Good plus to Near Fine. National Film Registry.
Editore: Simon and Schuster, New York, 1961
Da: Royal Books, Inc., ABAA, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.
Prima edizione
Condizione sovraccoperta: dj. First Edition. First Edition. Robert Rossen's annotated copy of the novel, with his name in manuscript ink on a label affixed on the front board. Rossen would go on to adapt to the novel to the screen and direct in 1964. The film, a psychological drama that was very much an antecedent for the New Hollywood era, starred an array of actors that would go on to great heights: Warren Beatty, Jean Seberg, Peter Fonda, and Kim Hunter. Rossen's paper clips, all along the top page edges, are still in place, and the book's profuse annotations are mainly in the form of text that is bracketed in manuscript pencil at the margins, indicating Rossen's decision process for pulling the content he would need to write the screenplay. Rossen's career began as a playwright in New York, and like Odets, Rossen had a tremendous passion for literature, the theatre, and radical politics. His intuitive understanding of the working class informed his first three screenplays after moving to Hollywood, all for director Raoul Walsh: "The Roaring Twenties" (1939), "They Drive By Night" (1940), and "High Sierra" (1941). During this period he also wrote the screenplays for a number of seminal films noir, including "Out of the Fog" (1941), "Blues in the Night" (1941), "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" (1941), and many others. Rossen's work in what became known as classic film noir culminated in three of his most powerful endeavors, which he would also direct: "Johnny O'Clock" (1947), "Desert Fury" (1947), and "Body and Soul" (1947). He ended the 1940s with "All the King's Men" (1949), a powerful adaptation of Robert Penn Warren's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. In 1961, Rossen would adapt and direct the film that was the pinnacle of his career, "The Hustler" (1961), a brave and unsettling study of a complex man whose psychological makeup cannot accommodate the burdens of his own talents as a professional pool player. Good to Very Good lacking the dust jacket. Well read, with many leaves dog-eared, hinges loose and split, backstrip worn.