The Mighty Barnum: A Screen Play

New York: Covici Friede, 1934. First edition, a photoplay edition. Inscribed "from Zanuck's undertaker" by Fowler to Richard Watts, motion picture critic for the New York Herald. Signed and dated in the month prior to the movie's release. Producer and co-founder of 20th Century Fox movie studio, Darryl Zanuck was known for his hands-on approach, often overseeing scripts, ordering cuts, and working closely with writers. A contemporary article in The New Yorker reported that while writing the script for "The Great Barnum," Fowler had a two-hour conversation on Barnum with Zanuck. "I can't remember a word of this," Fowler complained, so Zanuck used his dictaphone to turn the conversation into a 30,000-word draft by the next morning. From the dust wrapper: The Mighty Barnum "is the first full-length scenario for an actual talking picture production to be published in book form". According to Time Magazine, "[t]he idea is credited to Publisher Pascal Covici of Covici, Friede. Visiting Hollywood last summer he watched the filming of The Mighty Barnum with his good friend, Author Gene Fowler. Publisher Covici secured rights to print the script of The Mighty Barnum in book form. The producers. Twentieth Century Pictures, Inc., asked nothing but the publicity from simultaneous release of book and film. Author Fowler and Co-Author Bess Meredyth were to split 15% of the gross sales. Not to be confused with drug-store novelized editions of cinemas. The Mighty Barnum is the first film script published and sold as a book. Price: $2.00. It is complete with stage directions, camera & sound details, author's notes." Corners scuffed, slight fraying to top spine, otherwise a solid very good copy retaining the brightness of its original orange color and green titles. Very good dust wrapper edges a little rubbed, spine toned, corners clipped but $2.00 price intact.…