Beschreibung:

A collection of drafts of screenplay adaptations of Ben Hecht's novel Count Bruga (New York: Boni & Liveright, 1926, an unjacketed copy of which is present), a dark comedy about an unscrupulous magician and his twin, c.1945-1953, including:
FAULKNER, WILLIAM, and TOM REED. Typed Carbon, "The Shadow," 146 pp, March 2, 1947, in red Feldman wrappers. Annotated throughout by Feldman; identified in ink as "Reed- Faulkner 3/2/47."
[FAULKNER, WILLIAM.] Typed Carbon, 130 pp, 4to, December 1946/January 1947 (from notes about distribution of carbons on inside front cover), in red Feldman wrappers. Annotated "New Orleans script" on first page and opening scene set in Mississippi. Inside front cover also notes that one of the original 5 carbons of the December 12, 1946 draft was sent to Faulkner.
LEDERER, CHARLES and ORSON WELLES Typed Carbon, "The Shadow, by Charles Lederer / Adaptation by Charles Lederer and Orson Welles " 142 pp, 4to, November 25, 1947, in tan Feldman wrappers, with Lederer's signed authorship affidavit stapled to inside front cover.
LEDERER, CHARLES and ORSON WELLES Mimeographed Manuscript, 142 pp, November 12, 1947 (authorship and date noted on spine of wrappers), in tan Feldman wrappers. Mimeo version of above, with variant date given.
[WELLES COPY?] Typed Carbon, "The Shadow," 123 pp, 4to, 1947, marked "H.E. 1" in pen to first page and on cover, bound in gray wrappers, inked "Happy ending '47" to spine. WITH: Western Union telegram from Orson Welles to Feldman, January 16, 1949, laid in, stating that he is starting Othello and "could make Shadow this summer."
GOFF, IVAN and BEN ROBERTS. Typed Carbon, 144 pp, n.d. (but c.1947?), in tan Feldman wrappers. Goff and Roberts identified in pencil to p 1; Lederer's name added to spine.
REED, TOM. Typescript, 123 pp, with Screen Writers Guild registration stamp to title page, March 21, 1947, in tan Feldman wrappers. Authorship indicated in ink to spine of wrapper.
TORS, IVAN. Typed Carbon, 127 pp, November 4, 1949, in tan Feldman wrappers, with Tors' signed authorship affidavit stapled to inside front cover.
O'NEAL, CHARLES. Mimeographed Manuscript, 137 pp, March 10, 1950, in tan Feldman wrappers, with O'Neal's signed authorship affidavit stapled to inside front cover.
O'NEAL, CHARLES. Typed Manuscript, 132 pp, n.d., authorship identified in ink on spine, in tan Feldman wrappers.
NO AUTHOR. Mimeographed Manuscript, 137 pp, 4to, n.d. but mentions "Mr. Douglas" on title page so after he is attached to project, in tan Feldman wrappers.
NO AUTHOR. Mimeographed Manuscript, 129 pp, in CKF wrappers, annotated by Feldman.
NO AUTHOR. Mimeographed Manuscript, 129 pp, in red CKF wrappers.
NO AUTHOR. Mimeographed Manuscript, 129 pp, in red CKF wrappers, some yellow revision pages bound in.
NO AUTHOR. Mimeographed Manuscript, 129 pp, red wrappers, with Screen Writers Guild registration stamp to title page, 8/18/1945.
NO AUTHOR. Mimeographed Manuscript, 133 pp, with two internal memos stapled to interior front wrapper, the first dated June 22, 1948 announcing interest of Welles, the second dated August 17, 1953, identifying two versions of the story and announcing that Kirk Douglas is interested. Feldman names Blacky O'Neal as the author of one version and Ben Roberts, Ivan Goff and Charles Lederer as the authors of the other.
WITH: one other draft, not in wrappers, not identified as to date or author, housed in file folder.
AND WITH: a file of correspondence relating to the project, including retained copy of CKF letter to Orson Welles; an unsigned agreement with Welles for the actor to abandon title or interest to the adaptation of The Shadow; communication with the producers of the radio show with the same title, December 21, 1949; contract negotiations with writer Charles Lederer, 1947; a Ben Hecht contract assigning rights in the project; letters back and forth regarding the rights to the film title, 1947-50; and more.
AND WITH: 2 33 rpm test pressings, "The Shadow, Part 1 / 4 ... Part 2 /5 ... Part 3 /6," title typed on "Radio Recorders / 7000 Santa Monica Blvd / Hollywood, California" label and all marked "copy," each in "Presto" sleeve, some wear to sleeve. WITH: typed transcript, 12 pp, transcript of record content, possibly an adapted radio play of the project produced by William Spier (spelled "Speer" here), starring Welles for Spier's popular radio show, Suspense.
Not long after its original 1926 publication, Count Bruga was published in magazine format as The Shadow, a much catchier name that producer Charles K. Feldman intended to use for his film adaptation. Feldman announced The Shadow as one of the first three projects his new production company would mount in the late 1940s, alongside Orson Welles' Macbeth (1948) and Lewis Milestone's The Red Pony (1949). Correspondence present here indicates that Orson Welles was slated to direct the piece, and he took at least one full pass at the script with veteran writer Charles Lederer. Faulkner also took a pass, alongside veteran script doctor Tom Reed, placing the action outside of New Orleans. Feldman wrestled with the story from 1945 until the mid-1950s, at one point announcing that Kirk Douglas was to star as the twin leads; the project, however, was ultimately abandoned.