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Published by N.p., N.p., 1945
Seller: Royal Books, Inc., ABAA, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.
Manuscript / Paper Collectible
Revised Draft script for the 1945 film, here under the working title "The Fugitive." With a single manuscript ink annotation on the front wrapper reading "92." All leaves watermarked CONTRACT FILE COPY. The twelfth entry in the fourteen film Sherlock Holmes series featuring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, loosely based on Arthur Conan Doyle's 1911 short story "The Adventure of the Red Circle." The prime minister of the fictitious eastern European country Rovinia begs Holmes and Watson to escort Prince Nikolas back home, as the king has been assassinated and the prince must ascend to the throne. The transatlantic voyage proves to be a dangerous journey, and every passenger becomes a suspect, though Holmes carries more than a few tricks and surprises up his cape. Set in Algiers. Tan titled wrappers, rubber-stamped production No. 7309, dated May 20, 1945. 93 leaves, with last page of text numbered 92. Carbon typescript on onionskin stock, rectos only. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Very Good plus, with three closed tears on the front wrapper and light edgewear overall, bound with three gold brads.
Published by Universal Pictures], [Los Angeles, 1945
Seller: William Reese Company - Literature, ABAA, New Haven, CT, U.S.A.
[1],109 leaves. Quarto. Mimeographed typescript, printed on rectos only of salmon stock. Bradbound. Title leaf pulled a bit at brads, script number stamped on title leaf, with manuscript number and pencil ownership signature, otherwise very good. An unspecified, but interim revised pre- production draft of this adaptation of the Holmes/Watson characters to the screen. The earliest draft of this script we have handled was dated 25 April, and the latest included revises dated 4 August. The film, directed by Roy William Neill, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, involves their protection of the heir of Rovenia after the King of that nation was assassinated. Although well over one hundred and fifty adaptations of Sherlock Holmes to the screen are known, beginning with SHERLOCK HOLMES BAFFLED (1903), the Rathbone-Bruce portrayals have become almost canonical, beginning with THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (March 1939), and concluding with the twelfth in sequence, DRESSED TO KILL (1946), for which Lee also served as screenwriter. DE WAAL 5157.
Published by Universal Studios, Los Angeles, 1945
Seller: Lakin & Marley Rare Books ABAA, Mill Valley, CA, U.S.A.
Manuscript / Paper Collectible Signed
Original Wraps. Condition: Very Good. Doyle, A. Conan (Leonard Lee, screenwriter). PURSUIT TO ALGIERS [here bearing the initial title "The Fugitive."] Los Angeles: Universal Studios, 1945. Dated July 26th, 1945, Leonard Lee's complete brad-bound studio mimeographed draft script (production number #7309 stamped on the cover) consists of 113pp of typescript bearing numerous penciled revisions, emendations, and additions - along with another 20pp of massively hand-corrected typescript which clearly had contained so many penciled changes that the pages had to be retyped. These remarkably annotated pages have been appended to the rear of the screenplay, creating a 133pp comprehensive look at the evolution of the script. Given the fragile nature of WW2-era scripts, this example is in excellent original condition, very good indeed, the pages are a little soft with some very light edge-wear and tears. As fully marked up as any script in our nearly complete Universal Studio archive. PURSUIT TO ALGIERS, set almost entirely on a passenger ship, required elaborate sets and thus became the series's most expensive production; it premiered at the Rialto Theatre in New York on October 26th, 1945. The twelve Sherlock Holmes films produced by Universal Pictures during the years 1942-1946 are legend; they are surely the best known screen-adapted adventures of English Literature's most iconic character and Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce are still cherished, despite our current superb 21st century film and TV adaptations, as the definitive Holmes and Watson. A treasure for the fan of the Universal Sherlock Series. Please see our other scripts from the same archive. Signed by Author(s).
Published by Universal Studios, Los Angeles, 1946
Seller: Lakin & Marley Rare Books ABAA, Mill Valley, CA, U.S.A.
Book Signed
Original Wraps. Condition: Very Good. Doyle, A. Conan. DRESSED TO KILL [here bearing the initial, later discarded, title "Prelude To Murder"]. Los Angeles: Universal Studios, 1946. Complete 78pp brad-bound shooting script consisting of a mix of original ribbon-copy typescript and studio-mimeographed white pages, dated January 16th, 1946 with production number 7337 stamped on the cover. This remarkable writer's draft contains extensive author-revised annotations, emendations, revisions and additions throughout. This is accomplished via a cut-and-paste, the insertion of additional leaves, and new dialog and description scrawled on the versos, an exceptional artifact which boldly captures the revision process of this last entry in the Sherlock Holmes' Universal Studios film series. The front cover has been neatly reinforced with tape and bears the original penciled filing notation indicating that this particular script is the copy from which the final draft was produced. The title, DRESSED TO KILL, refers to the film's wily femme fatale Hilda Courtney (played by Patricia Morison), an homage to Irene Adler from "A Scandal In Bohemia" complete with a familiar misdirection trick which Hilda uses to fool Watson into revealing a hidden location. The plot is an amalgam of several Holmes stories but also draws from other plots in the Universal Sherlock film canon: a convicted thief in Dartmoor Prison hides stolen Bank of England printing plates inside three music boxes -- leading to the murder or attempted murder of their owners, using the central device of a secret code which, of course, only Holmes can brilliantly break. Starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in their final film together. Signed by Author(s).