Title: Alida White Sherman and H.J. Biberman Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1949-1971 (bulk 1964-1971)

Creators:

• Sherman, Alida White, 1929-1986
• Biberman, H. J. (Herbert J.), 1900-1971

Call Number: Mss 822; Audio 1259A; AC 620

Quantity: 1.0 cubic foot (3 archives boxes), 2 tape recordings, and 1 film

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Papers, mainly 1964-1971, of Alida White Sherman, a psychologist who collaborated with the blacklisted Hollywood writer/director Herbert Biberman in his writings from 1964 until his death in 1971. The collection contains: scripts for the motion picture Slaves (1969) and other projects; professional and romantic correspondence exchanged between the married Biberman and Sherman; a brief memoir by Biberman including comments on his Hollywood Ten imprisonment; recorded readings by Biberman and Sherman; a home movie of the two of them; and poetry by Biberman (mainly 1961-1971).

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00822

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Alida White Sherman (September 4, 1929-August 4, 1986) was the granddaughter of Wisconsin military figure Rufus Dawes and the daughter of Robert Trowbridge Sherman and Jean (Dawes) Sherman. Sherman was trained as a psychologist, receiving her master's degree from the University of Chicago in 1956 and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from New York University in 1967.

Between 1964 and 1971 she worked at Montefiore Hospital and Medical Center in New York City and collaborated with Herbert J. Biberman, a member of the blacklisted Hollywood Ten. Together the two wrote the screenplay for Slaves (1969), as well as several unproduced motion pictures and plays.

Herbert Joseph Biberman (March 4, 1900-June 30, 1971) was an American screen writer and film director, best known as being part of the Hollywood Ten as well as directing Salt of the Earth (1954). In 1930 he married actress Gale Sondergaard, to whom he stayed married until his death.

Biberman became one of the ten Hollywood directors and writers cited for contempt of Congress when he refused to answer questions about any Communist Party ISA affiliation. Biberman went to jail for six months for contempt convictions. The only works Biberman worked on in Hollywood after being blacklisted were Salt of the Earth (1954) and Slaves (1969).

The Alida White Sherman and H.J. Biberman Papers document the personal and professional relationship between Sherman and blacklisted film director H.J. Biberman during the years 1964 through 1971. The papers consist of correspondence they exchanged, drafts of scripts on which they collaborated, and poetry which Biberman wrote. Also included is a file of legal documents pertaining to the assignment of literary copyright of the scripts and poetry in the collection to Sherman.

The correspondence in the Sherman collection, the majority of which was written by Biberman, is largely personal, although portions of the letters deal with the writing and revision of several titles, the filming of Slaves, and Biberman's philosophy of life. Also included is a letter to Biberman's brother and several letters from publishers concerning Over the Carnage, an unproduced screenplay about Kathy Boudin, and a letter from Lorraine Hansberry thought to refer to Slaves.

Other Writings in the collection include a handwritten, episodic memoir by Biberman that touches on his Hollywood Ten imprisonment and the making of Salt of the Earth and Slaves; a large quantity of poetry written by Biberman for Sherman; and variant drafts of eight titles on which they collaborated. The poetry is arranged chronologically by date; the scripts are arranged alphabetically by title.

On tape is a reading by Biberman and Sherman of their play Journey Around a Room and Biberman reading scenes from Slaves (as well as commenting occasionally on production matters for that film). A home movie received with the papers documents Biberman and Sherman constructing a rustic studio on property owned by Biberman. The photographs received with the collection have been separated to the WCFTR Name and Title files.

The Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research holds at the Wisconsin Historical Society the H.J. Biberman and Gale Sondergaard Papers (U.S. Mss 58AN), which contains extensive information on his theatrical and motion picture career as well as on his response to the blacklisting of the 1950s. Biberman's papers also contain some additional documentation on the scripting of Slaves, although none of the other titles in the Sherman Papers are documented there.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Alida White Sherman, Plymouth, Wisconsin, July 18, 1983. Accession Number: MCHC83-26

Mss 822 Box   1 Folder   1-3	Correspondence, 1965-1971, undated
AC 620	Biberman and Sherman in Nova Scotia: film, circa 1970 Physical Description: 1 film reel (300 feet); silent, color; 16 mm (archival positive)  Scope and Content Note: Home movie of Herbert Biberman and Alida White Sherman at her cabin in Mulgrave, Nova Scotia. Includes woodsy scenery, carpenters building a shed out of old barn planks, and the interior of the cabin.
Mss 822 Box   1 Folder   4	Legal documents regarding rights to Biberman-Sherman collaboration, 1971
Box   1 Folder   5	Recollections of Biberman, undated
	Writings
Box   1 Folder   6-10	Poetry, 1949-1971, undated
	Scripts
	Journey Around a Room, circa 1964-1965
Box   1 Folder   11	Script: typed / by Sherman and Biberman, undated
Box   1 Folder   12	Script: typed, undated
Box   1 Folder   13	Script: mimeograph, undated
Box   1 Folder   14	Script: mimeograph, undated
1259A/1	Reading by Biberman and Sherman, undated
Mss 822 Box   2 Folder   1	Mac, the Shrink: script, mimeograph / by Sherman and Biberman, 1969 May 6
Box   2 Folder   2	Over the Carnage: script, mimeograph / by Sherman and Biberman, 1971 January
	The Pacification of Andromada Penfield
Box   2 Folder   3	“The Dummy”: script, mimeograph / by Sherman and Biberman, 1968 March 18
Box   2 Folder   4	Script: mimeograph / by Sherman and Biberman, undated
Box   2 Folder   5	Role Over: script, mimeograph / by Sherman and Biberman, undated
	Slaves
Box   2 Folder   6	Script: mimeograph / by Sherman, Biberman, and John O. Killen, 1968 July 5 Note: Annotated with revisions of August 5, 1968.
Box   2 Folder   6	Lyrics for title song
Box   3 Folder   1	“Herbert Biberman: Cannes” Positif Revue de Cinema, 1969
1259A/2	Biberman reading selected scenes
Mss 822 Box   3 Folder   2	Under the Volcano / by Malcolm Lowry; mimeo treatment by Sherman and Biberman, undated
Box   3 Folder   3	Winners Weepers: mimeo treatment / by Sherman and Biberman, 1970 February 1