Mark Sandrich Papers

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Mark Sandrich Papers http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8gb25j9 No online items Mark Sandrich papers Special Collections Margaret Herrick Library© 2013 Mark Sandrich papers 336 1 Descriptive Summary Title: Mark Sandrich papers Date (inclusive): 1924-1994 Date (bulk): 1926-1945 Collection number: 336 Creator: Sandrich, Mark Extent: 7.8 linear feet of papers. Repository: Margaret Herrick Library. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Languages: English Access Available by appointment only. Publication rights Property rights to the physical object belong to the Margaret Herrick Library. Researchers are responsible for obtaining all necessary rights, licenses, or permissions from the appropriate companies or individuals before quoting from or publishing materials obtained from the library. Preferred Citation Mark Sandrich papers, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Acquisition Information Gift of Cathy Sandrich, 1999-2013; Jay Sandrich, 2003 Biography Mark Sandrich was an American director active from the 1920s to mid-1940s. A short film he directed, SO THIS IS HARRIS (1933), received an Academy Award. Sandrich also directed several Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musicals. Collection Scope and Content Summary The Mark Sandrich papers span the years 1924-1994 (bulk 1926-1945) and encompass 7.8 linear feet. The collection contains a variety of film-related production material, scripts, and clippings. There is some script material for television and some miscellaneous story material by Sandrich and others. There are Paramount and RKO studio memos, government-issued production material from World War II, and extensive correspondence with Irving Berlin. A scrapbook containing clippings, correspondence, and programs within its several hundred pages was dismantled. The resulting files contain primarily press clippings from West and East Coast industry trade papers and newspapers documenting Sandrich's professional career. Arrangement Arranged in the following series: 1. Production files, subseries A-B as follows: A. Produced; B. Unproduced; 2. Television files; 3. Story files; 4. Subject files; 5. Oversize; 6. Photographs, subseries A-C as follows: A. Biography; B. Subject; C. Production Indexing Terms Sandrich, Mark , 1900-1945--Archives. directors Mark Sandrich papers 336 2.
Recommended publications
  • Camera Stylo 2021 Web
    A Volatile Ventriloquy With a Vicious Dummy: Sid and Nancy and the War Between Image and Soundtrack MONICA FOSTER Monica Foster is passionate about Classical Hollywood and exploitation cinema, psychoanalysis, the 20th century, and David Lynch’s voice. During her time with the Cinema Studies program, she has written about Daisies, Gothic paperbacks and Mario Bava, as well as the history of the Rialto Theatre in Times Square. 51 5 When Judy Vermorel interviewed notorious Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious in 1977, she asked him what types of films he enjoyed. His response was one of snobbery and complete negation, a stab at the cultural status and esteem that film holds as a medium. Vicious called film a fantasy, a pretense, a pack of lies, and criticized its tendency to glamorize circumstance (Slycheetah). What remains uncertain, however, is if these are Vicious’ own opinions or one of the collective punk milieu that he was a part of. The incorporation of fantasy and the glamorization of life is integral to the spectacular and dazzling musicals of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Those musicals were devoured by audiences because the story worlds provided an escapist fantasy from the economically depressed one they inhabited. The Golden Age musicals of the 1930s revelled in excess and spectacle, as did catalogue musicals including Mark Sandrich’s Shall We Dance (1937) and George Stevens’ A Damsel in Distress (1937), which celebrated songwriters, in this case, George and Ira Gershwin (Cohan 12). These films were colourful, pleasant, and happy-go-lucky, striving to make their audiences leave the theatre with optimism and hope for the future (12).
    [Show full text]
  • “White Christmas”—Bing Crosby (1942) Added to the National Registry: 2002 Essay by Cary O’Dell
    “White Christmas”—Bing Crosby (1942) Added to the National Registry: 2002 Essay by Cary O’Dell Crosby’s 1945 holiday album Original release label “Holiday Inn” movie poster With the possible exception of “Silent Night,” no other song is more identified with the holiday season than “White Christmas.” And no singer is more identified with it than its originator, Bing Crosby. And, perhaps, rightfully so. Surely no other Christmas tune has ever had the commercial or cultural impact as this song or sold as many copies--50 million by most estimates, making it the best-selling record in history. Irving Berlin wrote “White Christmas” in 1940. Legends differ as to where and how though. Some say he wrote it poolside at the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona, a reasonable theory considering the song’s wishing for wintery weather. Some though say that’s just a good story. Furthermore, some histories say Berlin knew from the beginning that the song was going to be a massive hit but another account says when he brought it to producer-director Mark Sandrich, Berlin unassumingly described it as only “an amusing little number.” Likewise, Bing Crosby himself is said to have found the song only merely adequate at first. Regardless, everyone agrees that it was in 1942, when Sandrich was readying a Christmas- themed motion picture “Holiday Inn,” that the song made its debut. The film starred Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby and it needed a holiday song to be sung by Crosby and his leading lady, Marjorie Reynolds (whose vocals were dubbed). Enter “White Christmas.” Though the film would not be seen for many months, millions of Americans got to hear it on Christmas night, 1941, when Crosby sang it alone on his top-rated radio show “The Kraft Music Hall.” On May 29, 1942, he recorded it during the sessions for the “Holiday Inn” album issued that year.
    [Show full text]
  • NEW MUSEUM FILM SERIES OPENS with SPIES • 1 •«! 1 • ^Mm^Mmmm Wmm\N\M,\ — .»^WM——11111 Mi.— 1 — •,*Iwwii ••Mmmmmmm•*—!•» —'.'Br^'Iu!" IUSWJ
    No. 67 THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART For Release t1 WEST 53 STREET, NEW YORK 19. N. Y. Sunday rtUPHONI: CltCLI 5-8900 August 9» 1959 NEW MUSEUM FILM SERIES OPENS WITH SPIES • 1 •«! 1 • ^mm^mmmm wmm\n\m,\ — .»^WM——11111 mi.— 1 — •,*iwwii ••mmmmmmm•*—!•» —'.'Br^'iu!" IUSWJ Spies, directed by Rritz Lang, will be shown at the Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53 Street, August 9-15* daily at 3 and 5:30, The 1928 silent German production is the first of six films in a new Museum series, NEW ACQUISITIONS; THE CIRCULATION PROGRAM. The series will continue, August 16-22, with A Cottage on Dartmoor (England, 1929); directed by Anthony Asquith, with Norah Baring and Uno Henning; August 23-29, Shall we Dance (1937)> directed by Mark Sandrich, music by George and Ira Gershwin, with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers; August 30-Sept. 5* Crossfire (19^7)* directed by Edward Dmytryk, with Robert Young and Robert Mitchum; Sept. 6- 12 > The Set-Up (19^9)> directed by Robert Wise, with Robert Ryan, Audrey Totter and George Tobias; and, Sept. 13-20, The Great Adventure (Sweden, 195*0> written, di­ rected, produced and photographed by Arne Sucksdorff, with Arne Sucksdorff, Anders Norborg and Kjell Sucksdorff. All films will have two daily showings, at 3 and 5:30. According to Miss Margareta Akermark, Circulation Director of the Film Library, the Circulation Program was started in 1937 "to make films important to the develop­ ment of this contemporary art form available to educational institutiona throughout the united States. The Program is designed to help fill the needs of serious film student8 unable to attend the regular public screenings in the Museum auditorium.
    [Show full text]
  • Hollywood Modern: Film Design of the 1930S February-March 2011 AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center
    Hollywood Modern: Film Design of the 1930s February-March 2011 AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center In conjunction with the National Building Museum's exhibit, "Designing Tomorrow: America's World's Fairs of the 1930s," AFI Silver presents this series of films featuring an eclectic, and occasionally over-the-top, array of modernist set designs, reflecting the forward-looking design sensibilities of the 1930s. At a time of incredible economic difficulty, Hollywood provided moviegoers in the 1930s with sparkling fantasies of fashion, urban decadence and nights on the town, set within environments offering the most deluxe, most glamorous, most modern styles available. Many of the same design trends seen onscreen were displayed in demonstration homes at the World's Fairs of the 1930s, from chrome accents, modular furnishings and plate glass, to synthetic fabrics and surfaces. Whether it is the appearance of Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis House in FEMALE, the spiraling lobby of GRAND HOTEL, William Powell's penthouse in STAR OF MIDNIGHT or the glittering Silver Sandal Club in SWING TIME, examples of modern architecture and design can be seen within a long list of films considered classics of Hollywood's golden age. Washington Post film critic Ann Hornaday and National Building Museum curator Deborah Sorensen will introduce the Hollywood Modern series before the screening of Grand Hotel on February 5. This kick-off discussion will focus on how, at a time of great economic difficulty, Hollywood provided moviegoers with glamorous fantasies of modern living filled with fashion, urban decadence, and nights on the town. Grand Hotel (Edmund Goulding, 1932, 112 min.) Female (Michael Curtiz, 1933, 60 min.) The Gay Divorcee (Mark Sandrich, 1934, 107 min.) Trouble in Paradise (Ernst Lubtisch, 1932, 83 min.) Design for Living (Ernst Lubitsch, 1933, 91 min.) The Women (George Cukor, 1939, 133 min.) Swing Time (George Stevens, 1936, 103 min.) A Star is Born (William A.
    [Show full text]
  • The Inventory of the Fred Astaire Collection #767
    The Inventory of the Fred Astaire Collection #767 Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center /' Astaire, Fred July, 1980 #767 I. SCRAPBOOKS (All include tearsheets and newsclippings of advertisements; reviews and related stories; newsclippings on Adele Astaire, then Lady Charles Cavendish, and correspondence, Most printed items from U,S, newspaperst some English and AustralianJ Package //1 A. Black leather scrapbook: "Flying Down to Rio" and "Dancing Lady" 1933 0 7 telegrams, 1 TLS incl,: Berman, Pandro telegram Dec, 8, 1933 Brock, Louis (screenwriter) 2 telegrams Nov, 28, Dec. 23, 1933 TLS Nov, 13, 1933 Hayward, Leland (agent, producer) 2 telegrams Nov. 10, Dec. 29, 1933 "Hollywood on the Air". Mimeo typescript. Nov. 4, 1933. 16 p. Schwartz, Arthur (producer, composer) telegram Dec. 25, 1933 Package /12 B. Black scrapbook with tan leather spine: "Follow the Fleet" 1936 Package #3 C. Black leather scrapbook: "Gay Divorce" 1932-1933 (stage production) includes publicity clippings, reviews, photos of theatres (Wilbur in Boston and Ethel Barrymore in New York), box office statement, sheet music, playbills, Theatre World magazine December, 1933, news- clippings on FA's marriage and correspondence. 21 telegrams, 6 TLS, 2 CTL, 1 ALS, incl.: Astaire, Ann (mother) telegram July 13, 1933 Dietz, Howard (librettist) telegram July 12, 1933 Ephraim, Lee 12 telegrams ~fuy 3, May 11, May 23, May 29, May 31, June 3, June 6, June 10, June 19, June 27, July 4, July 11, 1933 5 TLS April 18, May 2, May 12, June 1, June 10, 1933 Fred Astaire Page 2 Package /13 c. "Gay Divorce" 1932-1933 correspondence (cont.) Ephraim, Lee To Claire Luce telegram May 26, 1933 FA to Lee Ephraim CTL May 18, 1933 with Luce, Claire CTL to Fred Astaire May 16, 1933 Hayward, Leland telegram May 18, 1933 Po~ter, Linda (Mrs.
    [Show full text]
  • Films from the THIRTIES: PART II 1935-39
    t% The Museum of Modern Art 1] West 53 Street, New York, N.Y. 10019 Tel. 245-3200 Cable: Modernart No. 83 FOR RELEASE: Friday, August 25, I968 Films from THE THIRTIES: PART II 1935-39 The Museum of Modern Art, will present a retrospective of films from the thirties beginning August 23, and running through October 6. The Thirties, according to Willard Van Dyke, Director of the Department of Film, will consist of 39 pictures, representing some of the richest creative talent in American cinema at a time that has been called "the dear, dead days not beyond recall." Two years ago the Museum presented The Thirties, U.S.A., Part I, covering the first half of the decade. The films being shown now as Part II were made from 1935 ^^ 193 '• Among the pictures to be shown are: Frank Capra's "Lost Horizon"; Paul Muni in "The Life of Emile Zola," the Story of a Northern Jew's lynching in the South; the great thriller "Night Must Fall," an adaptation of the Emlyn Williams play starring Robert Montgomery; and "The Good Earth," a spectacle film in black and white, from Pearl Buck's popular novel, for which Luise Rainer won her second Academy Award, with Paul Muni in the starring role. The latter part of the thirties was characterized by further achievements in the musical film, largely due to the talents of Fred Astaire, who with Ginger Rogers starred in "Top Hat," and "Shall We Dance," both of which are in the retrospective. The most important contributions to the annals of films made in the thirties was the series of "snowball" comedies Hollywood turned out at a time of grim, economic hardships.
    [Show full text]
  • We Encourage You to Find out More About the DGA by Contacting Us at 1-800-421-4173
    We encourage you to find out more about the DGA by contacting us at 1-800-421-4173. Or contact us at any of our offices: 7920 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90046 Phone: 310-289-2000 Fax: 310-289-2029 400 N Michigan Avenue, Suite 307, Chicago, IL 60611 Phone: 312-644-5050 Fax: 312-644-5776 110 W 57th Street, New York,, NY 10019 Phone: 212-581-0370 Fax: 212-581-1441 4000 Hollywood Boulevard, Suite 265-S, Hollywood, FL 33021 Phone: 305-981-0233 Fax: 305-963-6155 DGA’s Internet Home Page at http://dga.org/dga/ Design by A. H. Leman From the organizational skills of such mas- ters of the trade as Frank Borzage, Herbert Biberman, John Ford, Howard Hawks, Henry When solidarity began King, Rowland V. Lee, Ernst Lubitsch, for Hollywood’s film directors Rouben Mamoulian, Lewis Milestone, A. nearly sixty-four years ago, two Edward Sutherland, Frank Tuttle, W.S. evenings before Christmas, “Woody” Van Dyke, Richard Wallace and 1935, a dozen-plus directors William A. Wellman, who gathered that Vidor and the Guild’s founding have the Directors Guild, direc- Six decades, three headquar- gathered in a secret meeting at evening in Vidor’s home, grew what has fathers were rich men and the most tors—with the exception of a few ters, one very short strike and the home of King Vidor. the become one of the strongest, most influential respected filmmakers in the busi- mavericks—would be cut to pieces more than 10,000 members later, agenda for discussion was to and trend-setting forces in American enter- ness, but they realized that in order because the Directors Guild really the Guild has become the fore- deal with two threats to the tainment labor: The Directors Guild of to protect their rights, and those of stands behind its members and the most of Hollywood’s collective bar- standing of the filmmakers’ pro- America.
    [Show full text]
  • With Lost Kids, Dysfunctional Families and Too Much Food, the Holidays Have Always Been a Perfect Backdrop for Comedy, Drama and Even Action
    Season’s Greetings With lost kids, dysfunctional families and too much food, the holidays have always been a perfect backdrop for comedy, drama and even action. Here’s how some directors have celebrated the occasion. CITY LIGHTS: (opposite) The Gotham Plaza set for Tim Burton’s Batman Returns (1992) was based on the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. It was built on Stage 16 on the Warner Bros. lot, one of Hollywood’s biggest stages. (above) Bob Clark directs Peter Billingsley (who would later become a director himself) in the perennial A Christmas Story (1983). Filmed in Cleveland, Clark said he wanted the film to take place “amorphously [in the] late ’30s or early ’40s,” but a specific year is never mentioned. 50 dga quarterly PHOTOS: (Left) MGM/UA ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY/PHOTOFEST; (Above) AlamY dga quarterly 51 52 film required more than 400 special effects shots. effects special 400 than more required film Strauss-Schulson’s Todd in tree perfectChristmas the for looking York New in time wild a have House) White the at feature after directing Allen on the TVthe on Allen after directing series feature shirt)from scene a prepares (left, Pasquin white rooftop in John as a over Allen) (Tim Claus Santa fly to H RUD I G dga H H O H quarterly L PH PH O L I A da N YS: YS: D F RIEN Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn, on leave from his job his from leave on Penn, (Kal Kumar and Cho) (John Harold D S: S: Reindeer borrowed from the Toronto Zoo get ready get Zoo Toronto the from borrowed Reindeer The Santa Clause Santa The A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas 3D Kumar & Harold Very A Home Improvement Home (1994).
    [Show full text]
  • The Rhythm of Learning: Why the Shortest Distance Between Cultures Is
    The Rhythm of Learning: Why the Shortest Distance Between Cultures is Tin Pan Alley By Holly Van Leuven I In the fall of 2010, I began teaching my first English as a Second Language (ESL) class. For eight weeks, nine immigrants from Spain and Russia between the ages of forty and eighty joined me in the tiny office of Operation P.E.A.C.E. in Boston. Our textbook was Steps in Time, the autobiography of American singing and dancing legend Fred Astaire. For homework, my students read through Astaire’s song lyrics. In class, we watched his films. The more my students saw of this cultural genius, the more fluent and eloquent their use of the English talent became to discuss their amazement. How could a man perform like that? they asked, and where did I ever get the idea for this class? The second question proved easier to answer: The idea for this class came from my own love of Fred Astaire’s musicals. His effortless cadence in such routines as “Cheek to Cheek,” the incredible lyrical abilities of Irving Berlin, and the beautiful Art Deco sets of Astaire’s 1930s musicals at RKO Studios never fail to stimulate my imagination. Watching Astaire’s mastery of dance has always inspired me to pursue excellence in my chosen art: creative writing. Who couldn’t benefit from watching these timeless films and listening to these masterful songs? I wanted to find out, and so I brought Fred Astaire to students hoping to improve their English. In the first week of class, my students took turns reading aloud the lyrics of the song, “Cheek to Cheek.” While Irving Berlin’s lyrics are simple and melodious, my intermediate students sought my help in deciphering some of the outdated phrases.
    [Show full text]
  • A Guild Is Born Dorothy Arzner
    80-YEAR ANNIVERSARY The Screen KING VIDOR 1938 >“Women’s dramatic sense is “Directors Guild DOROTHY invaluable to the motion picture was organized industry,” said Dorothy Arzner, solely by ARZNER whose contributions include and for the First Female 80 YEARS STRONG motion picture being the first female member Member 1933 >The formation of the Directors director…. We of the Directors Guild. In early A GUILD Guild had been percolating for a are not anti- Hollywood, Arzner was a typist, number of years. Amid nationwide anything: the screenwriter, editor, and ultimately, director. IS BORN labor unrest in the country, the Guild being She is believed to have developed the boom mic, studios had been squeezing directors formed for the enabling actors to move and speak more easily purpose of both financially and creatively. The first step toward in early talkies. At one time under contract to assisting and Paramount, Arzner is organizing a guild occurred in 1933 outside the Hol- improving the lywood Roosevelt Hotel, after a meeting in which best known for directing director’s work such strong personalities the studios announced a 50 percent across-the-board in the form of pay cut. After the meeting, King Vidor and a handful a collective as Clara Bow, Claudette of directors congregated on the sidewalk and knew body, rather Colbert, Katharine something had to be done. They understood, as Vidor than as an Hepburn, and Joan put it, “We must have a guild to speak [for us], and individual. Crawford in films such not the individual, who can be hurt by standing up as Honor Among Lovers “I worked on my for his rights.” That guild was born in late 1935 and ” (1931) and Christopher first project under Strong (1933).
    [Show full text]
  • Examining the Careers and Artistic Contributions of Fred Astaire's
    Western Kentucky University TopSCHOLAR® Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Honors College at WKU Projects Fall 12-14-2015 Backwards in High Heels: Examining the Careers and Artistic Contributions of Fred Astaire’s Female Dance Partners Fiona Mowbray Western Kentucky University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/stu_hon_theses Part of the Dance Commons, Other Theatre and Performance Studies Commons, and the Performance Studies Commons Recommended Citation Mowbray, Fiona, "Backwards in High Heels: Examining the Careers and Artistic Contributions of Fred Astaire’s Female Dance Partners" (2015). Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects. Paper 591. http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/stu_hon_theses/591 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by TopSCHOLAR®. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors College Capstone Experience/ Thesis Projects by an authorized administrator of TopSCHOLAR®. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BACKWARDS IN HIGH HEELS: EXAMINING THE CAREERS AND ARTISTIC CONTRIBUTION OF FRED ASTAIRE’S FEMALE DANCE PARTNERS A Capstone Experience/Thesis Paper Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degrees Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Science with Honors College Graduate Distinction at Western Kentucky University By Fiona Mowbray ***** Western Kentucky University 2015 CE/T Committee: Approved by Dr. Michelle Dvoskin, Advisor Dr. Julie Lyn Barber ______________________ Advisor Dr. Dana Bradley Department of Theatre & Dance Copyright by Fiona Mowbray 2015 ABSTRACT This project examines the careers and contributions of three of Fred Astaire’s female dancing partners during the golden age of movie musicals: Ginger Rogers, Vera- Ellen, and Cyd Charisse.
    [Show full text]
  • Vets to Offer Alternative Counseling
    Vol. 74 THE TRINITY TRIPOD Issue 18 IVED Z 1976 Vets To Offer Alternative Counseling by Marc Blumenthal The" Veterans Coalition for among others, health care and Members plan to expand the marine recruiters present and to Roberts urged the Trinity Community Affairs will offer school benefits available to program. offer pre-enlistment counseling community to stop in to hear what alternative counseling in op- veterans. Roberts said the Coalition has with the aid of their literature. the Coalition members have to say position to U.S. Marine recruit- Within the last year, the also become involved in the Roberts emphasized that the and to pick up some of their ment on campus on Monday, Coalition nas become involved in military discharge question. It is counseling the Coalition offers literature. March 8. The Coalition has an different issues. It is concerned devoting considerable time to a stems from the actual experience active membership of about 50, with the presence of the military campaign to expose the alleged of people who have been intimately with representation from all four and the military-industrial com- faults in the military justice involved with the military. armed services. plex on college and university system. According to Christopher Shink- According to coalition member, campuses. The Coalition hopes to include man, career counselor, the Tentative Gordon Roberts the group was Recently, the coalition has put the issue of the military justice Coalition will have the opportunity formed two years ago at the together an anti-military slide system in its program here at to present their point in the career University of Massachusetts at show based on Vietnam.
    [Show full text]