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The King Vidor collection consists of photographs, scripts, props, publicity
materials, production reports, studio memos, and other production materials
primarily from the 1941 film H. M. Pulham, Esquire.
Vidor donated the Pulham materials to The University
of Texas Drama Department in conjunction with his guest lecture on movie making
at
the university on December 3, 1941. The materials were intended to form the nucleus
of a program for the study of the production and direction of motion pictures,
organized by Drama Department Chairman James Parke, Interstate Theatres President
Karl Hoblitzelle, and Paramount Pictures Executive Vice President Y. Frank Freeman.
Also in the collection are a typescript of Vidor's 1936 film The Texas Rangers and an accompanying photo of Vidor, and four
additional photographs of Vidor dating from around 1924. The materials are arranged
by volume, with H. M. Pulham, Esquire constituting
almost the entire collection. The two Texas Rangers
items and the four circa 1924 photographs are housed at the end of the collection. |
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The H. M. Pulham, Esquire materials are arranged
roughly in order of their creation or use in the film-making process. Besides
directing the film, Vidor also acted as producer and adapted the screenplay with
his
third wife, Elizabeth Hill, from the novel of the same name by John P. Marquand.
Marquand, a Pulitzer Prize winner, helped Vidor and Hill work on the screenplay
and
is pictured with Vidor in one of the movie's research photos. |
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Included in the materials are the book review that inspired Vidor to make the film,
Vidor's working copy of the book with numerous handwritten notations, and a
transcription of a letter from Marquand to Vidor about the screenplay. Also present
are several drafts of the screenplay, including retakes, the script clerk's copy,
and the prop man's copy. |
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Photographs constitute the bulk of the materials and include costume, makeup, set,
production, and film stills. The film's stars, Hedy Lamarr, Robert Young, Ruth
Hussey, Charles Coburn, Van Heflin, Fay Holden, and Bonita Granville, are depicted
in many of the photos. Publicity photos of actors and actresses considered for
casting but not selected are also present. |
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Scenes and settings are documented with twenty production design sketches, and with
architectural drawings and models for six of the movie's sets. Costume sketches
include twenty-two original women's gowns by Robert Kalloch and thirty-three men's
wardrobe sketches by Gile Steele, a six-time nominee and two-time winner of Academy
Awards for costume design. |
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The tools of film making are represented by various props, a production board with
shooting schedules, a scene slate, and a small brass periscope. Various daily
reports and breakdowns for production, footage, and wardrobe track the financial
and
business aspects of the film. |
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Comment cards from members of a preview audience accompany editing notes from the
preview. The original musical score by Branislaw Kaper is documented with one
folder
of sheet music, memos, editing notes, and photographs of the orchestral recording. |
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Several items located with publicity materials may actually have been used for
Vidor’s lectures at The University of Texas. Other publicity materials include
box
office analyses, advertising plans, clippings, and promotional images. |
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All of the H. M. Pulham, Esquire materials date from
1941, except for a 1932 photograph from the MGM location department. A prop
photograph depicting the lead character's World War I army unit is a photo of
an
actual army unit, identified in writing on the image as "137th Engineers USA 1918," but the date of the print is unknown. |
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The Texas Rangers script and accompanying photograph,
signed by Vidor to the University of Texas, were presented to the university on
the
occasion of Vidor's August 28, 1936, visit to Dallas, Texas, for the world premiere
of The Texas Rangers at the Majestic Theatre.
Inspired by Walter Prescott Webb's book, Vidor wrote the screenplay, again in
collaboration with his wife Elizabeth Hill, and premiered the movie in cooperation
with the 1936 Texas Centennial celebration. |
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Four matted photographs of Vidor dating from around 1924 include handwritten captions
indicating their use in magazine or newspaper stories. Their provenance is
undetermined. |