Lot 31
Two preliminary drafts of Preston Sturges' The Great McGinty
25 November 2013, 13:00 EST
Los AngelesSold for US$4,375 inc. premium
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Two preliminary drafts of Preston Sturges' The Great McGinty
Carbon Typescript titled "Down Went McGinty," 161 pp, on yellow paper, dated October 3, 1939 on p 1, final page dated "November 14, 1939 / 4:45 a.m." and with various dates in-between to some pages, staple bound, minor creasing, otherwise fine.
WITH: Mimeographed Manuscript, titled "Down Went McGinty" on title page (with "The Great McGinty" added in red pencil above), "Biography of a Bum" on the half title, and "The Vagrant" on p 1, 107 pp, on peach legal-sized paper, foreword dated July 19, 1933 and title page marked "copied April 28, 1939," with Paramount story department stamps "File copy ... Master File ... produced" to cover, staple bound, moderate wear to spine.
Provenance: Serendipity Books (penciled note from Peter Howard to p 1 indicating this is the Paramount file copy); the Richard Manney Collection.
The Great McGinty is Sturges' only Academy Award®-winning film (for Best Screenplay), a dark comedy told in flashback about a bum's quick rise and spectacular fall in politics. Dan McGinty comes to the attention of the local political boss by enthusiastically stuffing ballot boxes, then works his way up from Alderman to mayor and finally to governor. Along the way his marriage of convenience awakens his conscience, and when his wife encourages him to do good with his position, the boss destroys him.
Sturges finished his first draft, originally titled "The Vagrant," in August of 1933. He shopped the piece around to the studios for 6 years before Paramount bought it in April of 1939, agreeing to let Sturges direct.
This lot features the story department's copy of the original 1933 script purchased by Paramount (with all three provisional titles). The main character is still named O'Hara and the Boss is not introduced until very late in the story. The copy on yellow paper, however, appears to be a transitional draft of Sturges' first directorial triumph (though fairly close to the final shooting version), and is likely from the typewriter of Sturges' secretary.
UCLA's Preston Sturges Collection file has copies of both the 1933 script and the October 3-November 14 script. Their file indicates that the 1939 script is the second revised draft of that year, and that Sturges produced three more drafts in quick succession after this one.
WITH: Mimeographed Manuscript, titled "Down Went McGinty" on title page (with "The Great McGinty" added in red pencil above), "Biography of a Bum" on the half title, and "The Vagrant" on p 1, 107 pp, on peach legal-sized paper, foreword dated July 19, 1933 and title page marked "copied April 28, 1939," with Paramount story department stamps "File copy ... Master File ... produced" to cover, staple bound, moderate wear to spine.
Provenance: Serendipity Books (penciled note from Peter Howard to p 1 indicating this is the Paramount file copy); the Richard Manney Collection.
The Great McGinty is Sturges' only Academy Award®-winning film (for Best Screenplay), a dark comedy told in flashback about a bum's quick rise and spectacular fall in politics. Dan McGinty comes to the attention of the local political boss by enthusiastically stuffing ballot boxes, then works his way up from Alderman to mayor and finally to governor. Along the way his marriage of convenience awakens his conscience, and when his wife encourages him to do good with his position, the boss destroys him.
Sturges finished his first draft, originally titled "The Vagrant," in August of 1933. He shopped the piece around to the studios for 6 years before Paramount bought it in April of 1939, agreeing to let Sturges direct.
This lot features the story department's copy of the original 1933 script purchased by Paramount (with all three provisional titles). The main character is still named O'Hara and the Boss is not introduced until very late in the story. The copy on yellow paper, however, appears to be a transitional draft of Sturges' first directorial triumph (though fairly close to the final shooting version), and is likely from the typewriter of Sturges' secretary.
UCLA's Preston Sturges Collection file has copies of both the 1933 script and the October 3-November 14 script. Their file indicates that the 1939 script is the second revised draft of that year, and that Sturges produced three more drafts in quick succession after this one.
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