Wallach Eli Actors (2 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. 1st Printing. Signed. 208 pages. Published in 1956. Full Screenplay of the author's film adaptation. The most controversial film of Tennessee Williams' controversial career. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions, of which there are several. Published in a small and limited first print run by New Directions as a hardcover original only. There is no ISBN. The First Edition is now rare. Presents, in its true First Edition format, Tennessee Williams' "Baby Doll". Condemned, and eventually banned in many states, as NO other Tennessee Williams outing ever was. The right-wing hysteria was over both implied and perceived pedophilia. Specifically, that the sexualized, "barely legal" Baby Doll - who is never given a proper name - is permanently caged in a crib while asleep ostensibly because her bankrupt husband has no other furniture. Which begs the question, How did he come to own a crib? Baby Doll dutifully explains in due course. Second, that the scenes between his rival, "The Sicilian" cotton gin owner, and Baby Doll, were framed and filmed in such a way that he appears to be caressing and fondling her "below what's visible on screen". If you can trust the Roman Catholic Church's luridly over-active imagination on that. Giving credit where credit is due, Elia Kazan was indeed mainly responsible for the immense critical and financial success of Tennessee Williams' theatre and film careers. He prodded - and worked closely with - Williams to adapt for film two of the playwright's promising one-act plays, "27 Wagons Full of Cotton" and "The Long Stay Cut Short, Or The Unsatisfactory Supper". The texts of both plays appear in their entirety in this volume, inviting - and rewarding - comparison and contrast with their inspired, transcendent adaptation as "Baby Doll". The role of Silva Vaccaro ("The Sicilian") marks Eli Wallach's brilliant film debut. At first, Wallach hesitated, as he felt that his training for dramatic stage acting was incompatible with film. He went on to have a long and distinguished career as a great film character actor. Carroll Baker's career-defining performance was nominated for an Oscar, vindicating Williams' risk-taking decision to choose her over Marilyn Monroe. She will be remembered as "Baby Doll" for posterity. An absolute "must-have" title for Tennessee Williams collectors. This copy is very boldly and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on top of the title page by Tennessee Williams. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This was Charles John Muto's personal copy, whose elegant bookplate is neatly pasted on the inside front cover, discreetly hidden from view by the front DJ flap. Muto was one of Tennessee Williams' earliest and most steadfast supporters, and obtained the signature in person. This title is a great book. As far as we know, this is the only such signed copy of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing available online and despite its imperfection (slight wear and one scrape on the DJ corner) is still in fine condition overall: Clean, crisp, and bright. Worth noting is that this copy is NOT price-clipped, which most copies available online are. Please note: Tennessee Williams did NOT tour to promote the book. So signed copies will always be rare. Copies available online have very serious flaws, not just price-clipped, or are in multiple subsequent printings. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. The greatest American playwright of the 20th century. A near-fine collectible copy. Signed by Author.…

Condition: Very good. - A letter penned in dark blue ink filling a little more than one side of a sheet of Anne Jackson Wallach's blue, 10-1/2 inch high by 7-1/4 inch wide, personalized letterhead. There are a few light ink smudges to the letter with a small ink blot & red pencil notation at top right. Folded twice for mailing. Stapled to the letter is a carbon copy of a note about publishing part of the letter. Very good. Anne Jackson Wallach and Eli Wallach were American film, television and stage actors who often co-starred on and off Broadway. They were one of the best known acting couples in American theatre.This is a splendidly impassioned letter addressed to Dick Ficks attacking a Saturday Evening Post article by James Atwater, which hashed over at length the failure of "Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly?", produced by Joseph E. Levine and David Susskind. The production ran one night and lost $650,000. "What earthly good does it do to rehash mistakes and place blame? Those of us who work in the theater know the odds when we sign contracts. Nobody sets out to fail. The most knowledgeable practitioners goof.Much more loot is invested in oil wells which are dry.trips to the moon which never come off.and wars which never pay off.why advertise the figures for a play which bombs?"The attached note is from a Post letters editor to LUV Press expressing her appreciation for the Wallachs giving permission to publish part of their letter. The Saturday Evening Post article appeared in the April 24, 1965 issue.…