http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8h70mm3 No online items Catherine Turney Papers: Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Stephanie E. Clayton, May 13, 2009 and updated by Brooke M. Black in July 2018. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens Manuscripts Department 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, California 91108 Phone: (626) 405-2191 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.huntington.org © 2018 The Huntington Library. All rights reserved. Catherine Turney Papers: Finding mssTurney papers 1 Aid Overview of the Collection Title: Catherine Turney Papers Dates (inclusive): 1761-1998 Bulk dates: 1934- 1985 Collection Number: mssTurney papers Creator: Turney, Catherine. Extent: Approximately 4,000 items in 36 boxes and 5 volumes. Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Manuscripts Department 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, California 91108 Phone: (626) 405-2191 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.huntington.org Abstract: This collection contains the papers of American screenwriter and writer Catherine Turney (1906-1998) chiefly dating from 1934-1985 and including manuscripts, research notes and files, correspondence, and ephemera. Among the manuscripts are drafts of her screenplays, television and movie treatments, biographies, and novels. The correspondence reflects Turney's communication with many people involved in or associated with the film, literary and art worlds in both America and England. Subjects in this collection also include: Hermione Baddeley; Empress Josephine; Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley; Percy Shelley; George and Martha Washington; Warner Bros.; actresses; literary agents; women authors; California fiction and history. Language: English, French, Spanish, and German. Access Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services. Publication Rights The Huntington retains the literary rights to the material. The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher. Preferred Citation [Identification of item]. Catherine Turney Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California. Provenance Gift of Bettina Hanson Salter, April 27, 2005. 1. Materials pertaining to Catherine Turney’s sister, Elizabeth Turney, are listed under Elizabeth Turney Hanson. 2. Virginia Scott Steele’s husband, Norman Nixon, was often referred to as Nick. 3. The great majority of the collection is in English. Only a handful of items are in another language. 4. Catherine Turney’s mother is referred to by her married name, Elizabeth Blamere Turney. 5. The Huntington Library also has screenplay drafts of “Mildred Pierce” by Turney and some related letters (1944) - mssHM 71516-71519. 6. Several items were transferred to the Huntington’s Rare Books Department: Alexander, Diane. (1984). Playhouse. 1 item. Signed by author. Behlmer, Rudy. Inside Warner Bros. (1935-1951). (1987). 2 items. Signed by author. Includes bookmark. Dolman, Bob, and Ron Howard. (1992). Far and Away: The Illustrated Story of a Journey from Ireland to America in the 1890s. 1 item. Francke, Lizzie. Script Girls: Women Screenwriters in Hollywood. (1994). 1 item. Signed by author. MacDougall, Ranald, Albert J. LaValley, and James M. Cain. Mildred Pierce. (1980). 2 items. Includes 1 note from Peter to Catherine Turney. Schwartz, Nancy Lynn, and Sheila Schwartz. (1982). The Hollywood Writers' Wars. 1 item. Signed by Sheila Schwartz. -----. (1929). Biographical Sketch of Rev. Mother M. Hyacinth, Foundress of the Daughters of the Cross in America. 1 item. Front cover missing. Catherine Turney Papers: Finding mssTurney papers 2 Aid Biographical Note Catherine Turney (1906-1998) was born on December 26, 1906, in Chicago, Illinois. Her family moved to Pasadena, California, in 1921. She graduated from Bishop’s School of La Jolla, California, in 1924. After graduation, Turney attended the Columbia School of Journalism for a year where she took courses in playwriting, stage work, and short story writing. Due to illness, Catherine Turney returned to Pasadena where, in 1928, she began classes at the Pasadena Community Playhouse under the direction of Gilmore Brown. It was here that she began writing plays for production on stage. Her first play, “Bitter Harvest” about Lord Byron’s alleged incestuous affair and daughter, was performed locally in 1933. In 1936, the play was opened in London starring Eric Portman and was soon hailed a success. She also wrote plays and programs for radio in the 1930s. She married Cyril E. Armbrister in 1931 and they divorced in 1938. She married Clifford Guthrie “George” Reynolds on February 18, 1940, and they divorced in 1949. After two unsuccessful marriages, Turney never married again, but she did have a long-term relationship with California artist Lenard Kester. Her success with “Bitter Harvest” prompted MGM to offer her a writing contract for 1936- 1937. She went back to the stage in 1937, writing “My Dear Children” with Jerry Horwin, starring John Barrymore, and other plays that were produced in Chicago and New York. World War II brought a shortage of writers in Hollywood and Warner Bros. story editor Jim Geller offered her a contract in 1943. At Warner Bros., Turney developed a reputation for being a woman’s writer and wrote for Barbara Stanwyck, Bette Davis, and Joan Crawford. She went back to MGM in 1948, but is not credited for her work there. She wrote three movies independently in the 1950s, “No Man of her Own” for Paramount Pictures, “Japanese War Bride” for Joseph Bernhard Productions Inc., and “Back from the Dead” for Emirau Productions Inc. From the late 1950s to the early 1960s, Turney wrote for television. Her credits include, “Maverick,” “General Hospital,” “Alcoa Presents,” and “The Wonderful World of Disney.” In the late 1950s she turned her attention to fiction and biographies. Her first novel, The Other One, was published in 1952 and was made into a motion picture in 1957. Her most famous published work, published in 1974, is her biography of Elizabeth Medora Leigh, the third daughter of Augusta Leigh and the reputed daughter of Lord Byron. Titled, Byron’s Daughter, Turney spent years researching, writing, and then defending her first scholarly work. Despite her prolific writing in a variety of mediums, Catherine Turney spent much of her life suffering from financial troubles, though she did, however, have many friends. She died in 1998. Scope and Content This collection contains the papers of American screenwriter and writer Catherine Turney (1906-1998) chiefly dating from 1934-1985 and including manuscripts, research notes and files, correspondence, and ephemera. There are 711 items in the manuscript section which are arranged alphabetically by author and then title. Materials without author and title are arranged alphabetically by type. Oversize materials are located in boxes 34 and 35. The manuscripts consist of various screenplays, television and movie treatments, biographies, and novels, both published and unpublished, written by Turney throughout her career (some written with co-authors such as Jerry Horwin and Stephen Longstreet). The collection includes an unproduced screenplay, written for Bette Davis titled “Angel Manager.” A version of the screenplay for “Of Human Bondage” is located in the manuscripts. Also included is one of the first scripts for “Japanese War Bride,” originally titled “East is East.” There are materials related to Turney’s first play, “Bitter Harvest,” including two published copies with Turney’s edits, and her most successful play, “My Dear Children.” The manuscripts contain drafts of Byron’s Daughter and Turney’s research notes for that book. Other manuscripts include: a draft of her biography “The Patriarch,” which was intended to illuminate the lives of the women in George Washington’s life; a fictional trilogy regarding early California entitled “Light in the Spring,” “Manifest Destiny,” and “Fruit of the Vine”; and a biography of Aimée Dubuc de Rivery entitled “The Beautiful One.” Research notes and materials for her biographies and novels are listed under “Note cards” and “Notes.” There are reviews of Turney’s biographies and novels, two interviews with Catherine Turney, and poetry written by Turney while she attended Bishop’s School. Of note are seventeen drawings by the artist Stephen Longstreet. There are also manuscripts relating to the creation and early days of the Pasadena Community Playhouse and two manuscripts regarding Catherine Turney’s experiences with John Barrymore in the 1930s while he played the leading role in “My Dear Children.” Correspondence consists of approximately 2,000 items arranged alphabetically by author. The majority of the correspondence is either to or from Catherine Turney. The topics range from business matters regarding her scripts and book deals to personal matters. Many of the letters to and from publishing companies are requests and permissions for the use of copyrighted material in Catherine Turney’s published works. The most common topic of her business correspondence in the late 1970s was her dispute with the heirs of Lord Byron regarding her use of the book Lord Noel Byron and the Leighs. The financial and legal debates prevented her from finishing her