June Mathis Screenwriter (4 results)

Vintage photograph album containing 65 photographs compiled by cellist Carl Steppi between 1926 and 1927, documenting a tour with an orchestra in support of the 1925 film. A unique collection of vernacular photographs, many with manuscript captions in English and German. Steppi is identified in contemporary newspaper articles as having been a cellist for the St. Louis Symphony in the early 1920s. The tour was apparently by rail, as the archive includes several photographs of the assembled musicians outside train cars and one photograph of the musicians in a passenger car. The dates of the tour are noted on the album's first blank leaf, captioned with "On the Road with the Picture 'Ben Hur' (Goldwyn-Mayer Corporation) / September 1926." The album's last leaf bears a photograph of (presumably) Steppi's wife and child, captioned "Und endlich Kam die ersehnte Heimhehr! [And finally the longed-for Homecoming!] / Brooklyn, N.Y. / Back in: April 24, 1927." The many locations captioned in the photographs are: Illinois (Dixon, Rochelle, and Rock Island), Iowa (Anamosa, Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Davenport, Des Moines, Grinnell, and Muskatine), Kansas (Wichita), Missouri (Kansas City and Hannibal), Ohio (Zanesville), Texas (Austin, Dallas, and Gainesville), and West Virginia (Charleston and Huntington), with Gainesville incorrectly noted as being in Oklahoma. Jewish prince Ben-Hur is sent to prison at the behest of his childhood friend Messala as a result of a mishap during a Roman parade. Through sheer will, the prince endures prison and, once released, vows revenge on his childhood friend. The most expensive silent film made, with a budget of $3.9 million. Shot on location in Italy and California. Album: 10 x 6.75 inches, 30 pages. Very Good, with paper tape repairs to the front and rear partially detached wrappers, and with light chipping overall to the album leaves, with eight leaves detached. Photographs: approximately 3 x 2 to 6 x 4 inches. Near Fine overall. National Film Registry. Godard, Histoires de cinema.

Vintage reference photograph from the 1924 film, showing actor Gibson Gowland in character as McTeague. Printed mimeo snipe affixed to the verso. From the archive of film historian and author Joel Finler. Based on the 1899 novel "McTeague" by Frank Norris. An impoverished miner-turned-dentist wins the lottery, but the ensuing fortune threatens to ruin the lives of everyone it touches. Director Erich von Stroheim's masterpiece, one of the first films to be shot entirely on location, in San Francisco and Death Valley, using (what were then considered) sophisticated and relatively new filming techniques, such as montage editing and deep focus. Stroheim's first cut of the film was a mammoth, 9.5 hour presentation, edited down to two and a half hours against his wishes. All that survives today is a restored, slightly choppy but coherent 240-minute version, supplanted with still photographs, that conveys to the viewer the unimaginable grandeur of the original. 7.5 x 9.75 inches. Very Good plus, with brief wear along the bottom edge and a small toned spot near the bottom left corner. National Film Registry. Ebert I. Godard, Histoire(s) du cinema. Rosenbaum 1000.

Vintage photograph from the 1921 film. With a mimeo snipe on the verso. Based on the 1916 anti-war novel by Vincent Basco Ibanez, about a French and German family on both sides of World War I. Along with "The Sheik" later the same year, the film the catapulted Rudolph Valentino to stardom and helped create his "Great Lover" image. The film also launched the career of director Rex Ingram, made screenwriter June Mathis one of the most powerful woman in Hollywood, inspired a tango craze, and was the first to gross over $1,000,000 at the box office. 10 x 8 inches. Very Good plus, with a partial and faint studio stamp on the recto, light soil and edgewear. National Film Registry.

Vintage reference photograph of the cast, crew, and onlookers from the set of the 1925 film. Mimeo snipe and annotations in manuscript ink on verso. Based on the 1899 novel "McTeague" by Frank Norris. An impoverished miner-turned-dentist wins the lottery, but the ensuing fortune threatens to ruin the lives of everyone it touches. Director Erich von Stroheim's masterpiece, one of the first films to be shot entirely on location, in San Francisco and Death Valley, using (what were then considered) sophisticated and relatively new filming techniques, such as montage editing and deep focus. Stroheim's first cut of the film was a mammoth, 9.5 hour presentation, edited down to two and a half hours against his wishes. All that survives today is a restored, slightly choppy but coherent 240-minute version, supplanted with still photographs, that conveys to the viewer the unimaginable grandeur of the original. 8 x 10 inches. Very Good plus, with a small closed tear in bottom margin and faint creasing. National Film Registry. Ebert I. Godard, Histoire(s) du cinema. Rosenbaum 1000.