Horse Racing from Royal Books, Inc.

Los Angeles: Twentieth Century-Fox, 1940. Final Script for the 1940 film. A wealthy young Argentinean visiting the US to sell his father's prize racehorses falls in love with a girl in New York. The first of several films made by Twentieth Century-Fox in accordance with Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Good Neighbor" policy, in the hope of strengthening the… Read more about this item

Hollywood: King Brothers [Bros.] Productions, 1965. First Draft script for an unproduced film. Not to be confused with the 1990 film adaptation of Marguerite Henry's novel. Based on the 1948 Newbery Medal-winning novel, about the early life of the Godolphin Arabian, an Arab colt who becomes a successful racehorse in eighteenth-century England. Screenwriter John Fante is… Read more about this item

N.p.: Astor Pictures, 1949. Two vintage studio still photographs from the 1949 film, here under the American re-release title "Ride a Reckless Mile." Based on the story of champion harness race horse Dan Patch who, born in 1896 and retired in 1909, won nine world records. The horse was also depicted in the 1948 Disney film "So… Read more about this item

Culver City, CA: Columbia Pictures, 1948. Vintage studio still photograph of actress Terry Moore from the 1948 film. Terry (Moore) thinks her horse October is the reincarnation of her Uncle Willie (James Gleason) and she is tried for insanity by her cousins to keep her from getting her Aunt Martha's (Dame May Whitty) inheritance. Top psychologist Professor Bassett… Read more about this item

Hollywood: Ventura Pictures, 1950. Draft script for the 1950 film, seen here under the working title "Blaze of Glory." Working copy belonging to actor Lon McCallister, with his annotations in manuscript pencil throughout, amending dialogue and noting deletions. Laid in with the script is a 15 page master schedule, and a document relating to rent regulations. A… Read more about this item

Burbank, CA: Warner Brothers, 1949. Second Revised Temporary script for the 1949 film, seen here under the working title "Always Sweethearts." An Irish horse trainer and his niece take a liking to a young Kentucky thoroughbred named Seabiscuit, deciding to convince the horse's owner to let them train the horse for races. A loosely fictionalized account of prizewinning… Read more about this item

London: Ealing Studios, 1953. Second Draft script for the 1953 film, here under the working title "Newmarket Heath." A former champion jockey who was discovered accepting bribes and subsequently banned from jockeying decides to train a young man to become his racing successor. Set and shot on location in England. Tall tan titled wrappers, noted… Read more about this item

Los Angeles: Twentieth Century-Fox, 1957. First Draft script for the 1958 film with single "?" notation in manuscript pencil. Good-guy Max (Tom Ewell) and mooch Gus (Mickey Rooney) are horse-race loving pals whose lives are going nowhere. Desperate, they turn to bank robbery and actually pull it off. Using the money to buy a race horse, their… Read more about this item

California: Elliott-Shelton Films, 1953. Vintage US one-sheet poster for the 1953 film. A young boy (Courtney) is befriended by a horse trainer (Woods), who has the boy train a new horse for an upcoming, albeit fixed, race. Written for screen by Adele Buffington, a major proponent of using original screenplays during the silent film era,… Read more about this item

Los Angeles: Twentieth Century-Fox, 1937. Vintage black-and-white reference press photograph from the 1937 film. The photograph features child star Jane Withers, prolific child actress of the 1930s and 1940s, and her pet lamb, Snowdrop. Ditto-style mimeo snipe on the verso. Checkers (Withers) and a horse trainer named Edgar (Erwin), save a racehorse by mending its broken leg… Read more about this item

N.p.: N.p., 1940. Treatment script for an unproduced film. Two brothers with a patchy relationship both end up becoming competent jockeys, and one who had previously slighted the other throws the important race so the other can win. Self wrappers, with integral title page present, showing credits for screenwriter Pinkham. 9 leaves, original typescript. Pages… Read more about this item

N.p.: N.p., 1955. Treatment script for an unproduced film. From the collection of British film director and editor Peter Hunt, presumably one of only a handful of copies made. The only other copy located is in the Harry Ransom Center film library at the University of Texas, and the notes from that collection read: "'The Speaker's… Read more about this item