Search Results: Pre-Code Film from Royal Books, Inc.

N.p.: N.p., 1932. Vintage reference photograph from the 1932 pre-Code film, showing director Michael Curtiz and a camera crew filming a scene. From the archive of film historian and author Joel Finler. Based on the 1932 memoirs of former prison warden Lewis E. Lawes, about a brash convict's increasingly desperate attempts to escape Sing Sing. Set in Ossining, New York. 8 x 10 inches. Very Good plus, lightly age toned. Grant US. Spicer US Precursor.

Los Angeles, CA: Paramount Pictures, 1931. Vintage reference photograph of actor Clive Brook from the 1931 film. With two Paramount Pictures stamps on the verso crediting Brook. Based on the 1930 novel by Louis Bromfield. A man is having an affair with a woman who is murdered by her ex-husband. He has to try and prove his innocence while shielding his wife from any legal trouble. Set in New York City. 8 x 10 inches. Good, with one chip missing at the bottom right corner and three points of loss from a three hole punch along the left edge.

Culver City, CA: Columbia Pictures, 1932. Two vintage reference photographs from the 1932 film. During the Great Depression, a bank owner's bank is robbed and his protégé, an ex-con, is the only suspect. His protégé can't reveal his alibi because one of his witnesses is having an affair he does not want revealed. Partially shot on location at Citizen's National Bank in Los Angeles, California. 8 x 10 inches. Poor, with significant creasing on across the top middle of the photographs.

N.p.: N.p., 1931. Archive of 14 vintage photographs of movie theaters circa 1931. Each with a manuscript pencil notation on the verso identifying the theater and city. Three photographs with the photographer's stamp bearing his name and Reading, PA address on the verso. Films by Warner Brothers, Fox, Columbia, Paramount, and RKO are represented in the archive. Seven of photographs have the stamp of photographer Jack Thamm, and feature theaters from Thamm's native Pennsylvania, while the remainder show theaters from as far afield as St. Louis, MO, Santa Barbara, CA, and Sheboygan, WI. Many of the images show the theaters in the larger context of the places they resided, featuring the street, other shop fronts and signage, pedestrians, and cars. Theaters represented in the archive include Capitol, Shubert, Regent, and Warner theaters, as well as independently owned cinemas. The penciled annotations on the verso of each photograph are all in the same hand, likely indicating all the photographs were… Read More

Beverly Hills, CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [MGM], 1932. Vintage reference photograph, with snipe printed on the verso identifying director Harry Beaumont on the set with actresses Anita Page and Joan Marsh in the 1932 film, based on the 1932 J.P. McEvoy novel of the same name. With an additional stamp on the verso reading "Country of origin USA." Left jobless and about to be kicked out of his apartment by the Great Depression, a former radio writer accidentally kills his wife. Going on the run with his mistress, he comes on a radio show hosted by his former boss to protest his innocence and lead a manhunt for the "killer." 10 x 8 inches. About Near Fine with some light creasing to the corners and light soil.

Beverly Hills, CA: Warner Brothers, 1922. Set of six vintage hand-tinted lobby cards for the 1922 film, including the title card. Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1922 novel. A young husband and wife spend money with aplomb, anticipating a large payout once the man's grandfather dies. Trouble ensues, however, when the patriarch passes away and they realize they have been left nothing in his will. Today considered a lost film. 14 x 11 inches. Very Good plus, some with pinholes to the corners.

Culver City, CA: RKO Radio Pictures, 1957. Combined Continuity script for the 1957 re-release of the 1932 film. Based on the 1921 play by Clemence Dane. A man who has spent over a decade in a mental hospital escapes and returns home to find his wife engaged to a different man. The film debut for Katharine Hepburn. Tall white titled self-wrappers, noted as Combined Continuity on the front wrapper, dated March 3, 1957. 64 leaves, with last page of text numbered 64. Mimeograph duplication, rectos only. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Near Fine, bound with two stapes along the top edge.

Hollywood: Paramount Pictures, 1933. Revised Final Script for the 1934 pre-Code film musical. A stylish Paramount musical that, unlike so many others from its time, came with a great storyline. George Raft rises from coal mine laborer to top dancer in prewar Europe. While weaving his way through romantic entanglements (including a fling with Sally Rand, who performs her famous fan dance here), he secures his own nightclub, at which point he meets the real love of his life, Carole Lombard (after asking her to audition in her underwear in his hotel room). A pre-Code gem that seems almost to have been designed to push the censors' buttons, simultaneously one of the raciest and moodiest "A" musicals produced by this studio. Tall self-wrappers as issued, stamped FILE COPY and RETURN TO SCRIPT DEPT. / PARAMOUNT PICTURES, INC., on the front wrapper, rubber-stamped production No. 171, and dated November 8, 1933. Manuscript pencil notation at the top left corner reading, "P 980." Credits on the front… Read More

London: The Empire Theatre, 1929. Vintage program for the 1929 film screening at the Empire Theatre, Leicester Square, London, for the week beginning Saturday, May 18th, 1929, with a contemporary annotation of "May 1929" in manuscript ink on top left of front wrapper. Two vaudeville sisters try to make it big on Broadway, but find romance comes quicker than success. The first sound film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture, as well as being one of the first musicals to feature a Technicolor sequence, which is now lost. Set in New York. 4.75 x 7.25, single side-staple, 4 pages. Near Fine.

N.p.: N.p., 1929. Dialogue Draft script for the 1929 film. With manuscript pencil annotations on the front wrapper and throughout. Based on H.C. McNeile's 1920 novel "Bulldog Drummond." A former army captain bored with civilian life aids a young woman whose uncle has been wrongly committed to a psychiatric institution. The third Bulldog Drummond film to be released, following the silent films "Bulldog Drummond" (1923) and "Bulldog Drummond's Third Round." Actor Ronald Colman's first sound film. Set in London. Blue untitled wrappers. 59 leaves, with last page of text numbered 56. Mimeograph duplication, rectos only. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Very Good plus, bound with three gold brads.

Beverly Hills, CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [MGM], 1931. Proposed Treatment script for the 1935 film. In a later white leatherette binding with Jean Harlow's name and the date of the treatment (Dec. 15, 1931) in gilt on the front board and the spine. Original front wrapper bound in. Based on the 1931 novel by Crosbie [here spelled Crosby] Garstin, with Garstin and screenwriters John Colton and John Lynch credited on the front wrapper. Likely the earliest draft for the story idea that led to the 1935 film, preceding production by nearly 4 years. When earthy Dolly Portland (Harlow) is rejected by Captain Gaskell (Clark Gable) in favor of a socialite, she aids Jamesy McCardle (Wallace Beery), in league with Malay pirates, in his plot to seize Gaskell's ship. In other words, hell hath no fury. White leatherette binding with gilt titles on the front board and spine. blue studio wrapper, with the MGM white title label, noted as Proposed Treatment on the front wrapper, rubber-stamped copy No. 0818 and… Read More

N.p.: N.p., 1934. Vintage photograph of a San Bernardino Ritz Theatre employee holding a sign to promote the 1934 film Circus Clown. This appears to have been taken at the intersection of 5th Street and North E Street, just north of the Ritz Theatre, which was located at 423 North E Street in San Bernardino, California. With the stamp of photographer Walter Fiss on the verso. An unorthodox advertising campaign, with a theatre usher pretending to picket the film because it is too funny. Happy Howard runs off and joins a circus, against the wishes of his father, an ex-circus clown. 8 x 10 inches. Very Good plus, small tear on lower center.

Beverly Hills, CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [MGM], 1931. Vintage still photograph from the set of the 1931 film. Featuring Madge Evans and Lew Cody comparing binoculars while a very young and not yet famous Clark Gable smiles over their shoulders. Mimeograph snipe on the verso. Based on the short story "Horse Flesh" by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan, published in the "Saturday Evening Post" on September 13, 1930. An orphaned foal's journey through various owners, including that of nefarious gambler Ludeking (Hallam Cooley), before being returned to his loving breeder Jim (Ernest Torrence). Clark Gable's first starring role, as a card dealer with occasional moral failings, whose love story with Ruby (Madge Evans) makes for an entertaining side plot. Set in Kentucky, shot on location in Lexington, Kentucky and California. 8 x 10 inches. Just about Fine.

N.p.: N.p., 1930. Collection of 37 vintage portrait photographs of actors of the silent film era, circa 1930, all but one with the actor's inscription printed from the negative, and eight with the Paramount Studios logo printed from the negative. Four with stamps on verso stating costs of larger sizes, "25¢ each for 8x10 ... $1.00 each for 11x14." Actors in the collection include: Mary Astor, Richard Barthelmess, Clara Bow, Ann Harding, Leatrice Joy, Myrna Loy, Ramon Novarro, Aileen Pringle, Norma Shearer, and Claire Windsor, among others. Seven images 6.5 x 8.5 inches, and 30 images 5 x 7 inches. Near Fine overall. Complete list of actors available on request.

N.p.: N.p., 1948. Collection of six vintage photographs of actress Joan Blondell and her husband, theater and film producer, Mike Todd, circa 1948. Two of the photographs, of Blondell and Todd at their estate in Westchester County, New York, have photographer Leo Friedman's stamp on the versos. Blondell and Todd were married in 1947, Blondell's third and final marriage, and Todd's second, in a famously tempestuous and short-lived relationship. During the marriage Todd went through a well publicized bankruptcy, having lost hundreds of thousands of dollars to gambling, and was accused by Blondell of holding her by the ankles outside of a hotel window. The marriage ended in an acrimonious divorce in 1950. In 1957 Todd married Elizabeth Taylor, and died in a plane crash the following year, the only one of eight marriages of Taylor's that did not end in divorce. Four 8 x 10 inches, and one 5 x 7 inches. Very Good plus to Near Fine, three with light creasing overall, and one with pinholes in the margins.

N.p.: Paramount Pictures, 1934. Final draft script for the 1934 film, with two annotations in manuscript pencil and Paramount "File Copy" stamp on front wrapper. Laid in are four blue revision pages, dated 1-20-34, "Changes in Scene A-28," with Paramount "File Copy" stamp and one annotation in manuscript pencil on first page. US Marine Sergeant "Lucky" Davis (Richard Arlen) leads his squadron on an expedition through the Philippine jungle against a guerrilla rebellion, and are assigned to rescue a group of children cut off from communication. Davis and his squadron are pleasantly surprised to discover the "children" are a group of 18-25 year old girls, bathing in a pool, awaiting rescue. Tall self wrappers, front wrapper dated January 16, 1934, rubber-stamped production No. 310. 127 leaves, with last page of text numbered E-2. Mimeograph duplication, rectos only, with laid in blue revision pages, dated 1-20-34. rubber-stamped production No. 310. Pages Near Fine, saddle-stapled with three staples.… Read More

Los Angeles: The Samuel Goldwyn Company, 1929. Final Continuity script for the 1929 film. Copy belonging to assistant director H. Bruce Humberstone, with his manuscript pencil annotations on the front wrapper and several pages, mostly regarding sequencing for scenes. The film was released in silent and sound versions, and included with the script are ten sets of dialogue intended for use in the sound release, housed in a tan card folder. Based on the 1928 novel by Blair Niles. A prisoner on fictional Devil's Island is selected as a house boy for the wife of the prison warden. The two begin to fall in love with each other. Set in fictional Devil's Island, shot on location at Catalina Island, California. Red titled wrappers, rubber-stamped copy No. 11. Distribution page present, with receipt removed, noted as Sound Version. Title page present, noted as Final Continuity. Approximately 130 leaves, with pages missing page numbers. Mimeograph duplication, rectos only. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Very… Read More

N.p.: N.p., 1932. Vintage reference photograph from the 1932 short film. With provenance stamps on the verso, along with manuscript ink annotations noting the film's title and associated cast and crew members. Hardy goes to visit Laurel in the hospital. Chaos ensues. 10 x 8 inches. Very Good, moderately toned and edgeworn overall, with a 2.5 inch dampstain to the upper portion of the image.

Culver City, CA: Columbia Pictures, 1930. Vintage reference photograph from the 1930 film. Based on the 1929 play by Martin Flavin. A man convicted of manslaughter over a drunken brawl is given new work duties as a valet for the warden. A group of prisoners plan to escape but are ratted out by an informant. When one of the prisoners kills the informant the warden finds his new valet with the body. 10 x 8 inches. Very Good plus, with some small chips missing along the top left edge and at the bottom left corner and some small tears along the top left and right edges.

N.p.: N.p., 1929. Vintage reference photograph from the 1929 film, showing director Melville Brown and a camera crew setting up a shot in the titular dance hall. RKO's penultimate release of the 1920s, about a love triangle between a shipping clerk, an aviator, and a young taxi dancer. 10 x 8 inches. Near Fine.