A Billy Wilder Archive of Letters and a Script from "Double Indemnity." Paramount, 1944. A group of correspondence related to this all-time classic film noir including: 1) six letters sent to Wilder, dated from May to November of 1944, all from industry people complimenting the director on the film including ones from (in alphabetical order): Albert Deane, Sidney Franklin, Sam Jaffe, Robert Lord, Bill Perlberg, and Jerry Wald; 2) four file copies of responses (some very funny) that Wilder sent to people, dated from August to December 1944, including one sent to an executive about his frustration over the name changes that were taking place in the script; 3) two letters that Wilder was copied on, circa 1945, one about "Double Indemnity" screening for UCLA students and one to Raymond Chandler (though its second page is now missing); 4) a copy of a memo, dated "August 13, 1943," about Barbara Stanwyck's contract for the film plus a newspaper clipping showing an image of her from the film; and 5) six sets of notes typed on goldenrod paper, dated from "6-1-43" to "6-7-43," outlining various parts of the story line that appear to be Raymond Chandler's own outlines as they have his name on them; also included is a script, housed in a 3-ring black leather binder, screenplay by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler, dated "6-15-43" (and various other dates throughout the year), approximately 120 pages, with the first part of the script noting the characters have the original names from the book, "Walter Huff" and "Phyllis Nirdlinger" that then change to "Walter Neff" and "Phyllis Dietrichson," the script also has two endings: the one from the final version of the film and a gas chamber ending; further included are a few extra pages folded into the back side pocket of binder; overall, a fascinating collection from the director's files related to his film starring Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, and Edward G. Robinson.
Binder: 12" x 11" x 1"