Published by Los Angeles 4 pages, 8 1/2Ó x 11Ó January 8, 1936, 1936
Seller: James Pepper Rare Books, Inc., ABAA, Santa Barbara, CA, U.S.A.
Signed
Original Typed Document Signed by Sidney Howard comprising a contract between Sidney Howard and Samuel Goldwyn, Inc. regarding Howard being hired to write the script adaptation of Sinclair LewisÕs novel Dodsworth. The contract is initialed three times by Sidney Howard and is signed in full by him at the end of the document where it is additionally signed by a vice-president of the Samuel Goldwyn Company. With two punch holes at the top edge and two small metal brads at the outer top corners. Fine. Both Sidney Howard and Sinclair Lewis are Pulitzer Prize winners for fiction which makes this item especially noteworthy as it represents one Pulitzer winner adapting the work of another. The film Dodsworth was released on September 23, 1936, directed by William Wyler, starring Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton, Paul Lukas, Mary Astor, David Niven, and Maria Ouspenskaya as Baroness Von Obersdorf. It won an Oscar for Best Art Direction and was nominated for 6 more; Best Screenplay by Sidney Howard, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Huston), Best Supporting Actress (Ouspenskaya). The film tells the bittersweet story of a retired auto manufacturer (Huston) and his wife (Chatterton) who take a long-planned European vacation only to discover that they want very different things from life.