Hollywood's Greatest Year
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The Definitive Partnership for Classic Movie Memorabilia Presents 1939: Hollywood’s Greatest Year Los Angeles | December 10, 2019 Bonhams 220 San Bruno Avenue San Francisco, California 94103 © 2019, Bonhams & Butterfields Bond No. 57BSBGL0808 Auctioneers Corp.; All rights reserved. TCM Presents ... 1939: Hollywood’s Greatest Year Los Angeles | Tuesday December 10, 2019 at 2pm BONHAMS Please note that bids must be ILLUSTRATIONS REGISTRATION 7601 W. Sunset Boulevard submitted no later than 4pm on Front cover: lot 1089 IMPORTANT NOTICE Los Angeles, CA 90046 the day prior to the auction. New Inside front cover: lot 1346 Please note that all customers, bonhams.com bidders must also provide proof Session page 1: lot 1009 irrespective of any previous activity of identity and address when Session page 2: lot 1062 with Bonhams, are required to PREVIEW submitting bids. Session page 3: lot 1063 complete the Bidder Registration Thursday, December 5 Session page 4: lot 1103 Form in advance of the sale. The 10am to 5pm Please contact client services with Session page 5: lot 1133 form can be found at the back of Friday, December 6 any bidding inquiries. Session page 6: lot 1162 every catalogue and on our website 10am to 5pm Session page 7: lot 1166 at www.bonhams.com and should Saturday, December 7 Please see pages 175 to 179 Session page 8: lot 1249 be returned by email or post to 12pm to 5pm for bidder information including Session page 9: lot 1301 the specialist department or Sunday, December 8 Conditions of Sale, after-sale Inside back cover: lot 1000 to the bids department at 12pm to 5pm collection and shipment. Back cover: lot 1319 [email protected] Monday, December 9 10am to 5pm INQUIRIES PROPERTY COLLECTION To bid live online and/or leave Tuesday, December 10 Dr. Catherine Williamson NOTICE internet bids please go to 10am to 1pm Vice President, Director Please note the property will be www.bonhams.com/ Entertainment Memorabilia available for collection at our Los auctions/25492 and click on A Q&A WITH MITZI GAYNOR +1 (323) 436 5442 Angeles gallery at the time of the the Register to bid link at the Sunday, December 8 at 3pm [email protected] auction. Local, out-of-state and top left of the page. international buyer property will Caren Roberts-Frenzel SALE NUMBER remain available for collection Cataloguer/Junior Specialist in our Los Angeles gallery after 25492 +1 (323) 436 5409 Lots 1000 - 1377 the auction. Please contact the [email protected] department or cashiers with inquiries or shipping requests. CATALOG Jabari Ajao $35 Administrator, Los Angeles +1 (323) 436 5506 BIDS [email protected] +1 323 850 7500 +1 323 850 6090 fax Giles Moon [email protected] Director San Francisco To bid via the internet please visit + 1 (415) 503 3205 www.bonhams.com/25492 [email protected] Dana Hawkes AUCTIONEER Consultant Catherine Williamson - +1 (978) 283 1518 2010144-DCA [email protected] Bonhams & Butterfields Claire Tole-Moir Auctioneers Corp. Specialist 2077070-DCA London +44 020 7393 3984 [email protected] Bonhams 220 San Bruno Avenue San Francisco, California 94103 © 2019, Bonhams & Butterfields Bond No. 57BSBGL0808 Auctioneers Corp.; All rights reserved. Welcome to another terrific Bonhams auction ... Do we really want to go out on a limb and claim that David O. Selznick—which has an auction low estimate 1939 was Hollywood’s greatest year? I don’t know … of $50,000, fittingly the same amount Selznick pays the devil’s advocate in me immediately wants to argue Mitchell in the contract. for other years: 1976, for instance, the year of All The President’s Men, Taxi Driver, Rocky, and Network; 19 67, Let’s also stand up and cheer for Mitzi Gaynor, the year of Bonnie and Clyde, In The Heat of the Night, celebrating eight decades in show business. Mitzi’s Cool Hand Luke, and The Graduate. Wait, this is fun. putting up better than 100 lots of memorabilia from her How about a year that includes A Face in the Crowd, life and career – and typically for Mitzi, she is bringing Sweet Smell of Success and Paths of Glory – that’s the razzle dazzle. She’s offering her script from South 1957. And any year, 1942 in this case, that features the Pacific, an 18th century French gown from Les Girls, release of Random Harvest and Casablanca, has to be and her rare, early Henrietta award for “Best Young considered. Clearly, this debate could go on for quite Box Office Personality of 1952.” But mostly, there’s an some time. impressive selection of Bob Mackie gowns. For most of her career, Mitzi was a tireless stage performer, But there’s no doubt: 1939 is in the conversation. singing and dancing on Broadway, in Vegas, and Hollywood was more successful—commercially and, around the globe, as well as appearing in a series of arguably, artistically—than any other year during the popular television specials in the 1960s and 70s. She Golden Age. Perusing the list of films released that and Mackie were dynamic collaborators - Mackie would year, you could be forgiven for thinking you were watch her in rehearsal before anything was sewn so at a TCM Classic Film Festival: Mr. Smith Goes to the final product looked and moved perfectly. The Washington, Dark Victory, Ninotchka, Gone With the gowns Mitzi is offering are some of the most beautiful Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Union Pacific, The Women, examples of Mackie’s work. Intermezzo, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Drums Along the Mohawk, Another The auction is also replete with memorabilia that Thin Man, and Stagecoach. Clearly, 1939 has a valid spans Hollywood history, from Theda Bara’s costume argument. in the lost silent film Cleopatra to Tom Jung’s original concept artwork for Star Wars – it’s all here. And then Once again, Bonhams has uncovered a treasure trove there’s the one thing I would buy if TCM decides to give of Hollywood history to bring to auction. Check out the me a gargantuan (and let’s be honest, undeserved) cover lot in this auction: a test wand from The Wizard of Christmas bonus: a prop “Springtime for Hitler” Oz, the only surviving one; the others were destroyed poster from The Producers, from choreographer Alan in a fire. There’s also a huge selection of Gone With the Johnson’s estate. Keep paging through the catalog. Wind material, including the necklaces worn by Scarlett, You’ll find something you love. And then you’ll find eight Leslie Howard’s personalized copy of the screenplay, more things. and Margaret Mitchell’s contract selling the film rights to Ben Mankiewicz Movers and Shakers: Writers, Directors, & Producers in Hollywood Lots 1000 - 1012 1000 AN EXTENSIVE GEORGES MÉLIÈS ARCHIVE OF AUTOGRAPH MATERIAL AND ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS 1. 11 Autograph Letters Signed (“G. Méliès”) and two autograph life during the time as his star was again in ascendance, including an manuscripts, all in French: nine letters to Léo Sauvage, dated March invitation from Hans Richter to a (in translation): “show at the home to November, 1937, and two, likely to critic Maurice Noverre, which of an American sculptor that I know, and who it is said makes very were given to Sauvage by Merritt Crawford, dated October-November amusing shows with animated dolls that he fabricates with iron wires.” 1930, 25 pp total on various papers, concerning his films, career, other The first-hand contemporary reference to Alexander Calder’s circus filmmakers, as well as a first-hand reference to a young American from the venerable magician Méliès is very rare, and Méliès further sculptor and his animated dolls made of wire performing shows in his references a possible collaboration in film with Richter. There are Paris home (Calder’s Circus, which he is to visit with Hans Richter); also two manuscripts in Méliès’s hand being Méliès’s account of the the two manuscripts are autograph lists of his primary illusions and important tricks in his films, as well as his own account of his films and tricks (“Illusions et grands trucs”) produced by him at the Theatre his own categorization. Robert Houdin from 1888 to 1918, and his Principal Major Cinematic The two letters from Méliès, likely to Noverre, were given to Sauvage Compositions (“Principales grandes compositions cinematiques”), by Merritt Crawford and discuss the contemporary arguments of containing a list of 60 of his greatest films in 4 categories; with 3 Crawford and Noverre in defense of Méliès in the arguments regarding carbon copies of typed responses from Léo Sauvage; the beginnings of cinema, as well as Méliès’s progress on a bookplate 2. 9 mounted vintage gelatin silver prints, roughly 5 x 7 in. to 6 x 9 in., he is designing for Crawford. There are also two letters from Jehanne on card mounts, various pencil notations to the verso, from the sets D’Arcy, widely credited as the first female movie star, who appeared of the following films: Faust and Marguerite (1904), The Dreyfus Affair in countless (literally) Méliès films before leaving the profession in (Suicide of Colonel Henry) (1899), Humanity through the Ages (1908) 1903, and then becoming his wife later in 1916. We locate no other (?), Eclipse (1907), Tunnel Under the Channel (1907), an unidentified examples of Madame Méliès’s autograph at auction, or in institutional family scene, and three promotional films for Brunot shoeshine, collections. Bornibus mustard, and Dewars scotch. This is a large and important archive of materials, both autograph A complete list is available online and upon request.