Title: Otto Preminger Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1948-1972

Creator:

• Preminger, Otto, 1906-

Call Number: U.S. Mss 191AN

Quantity: 5.4 c.f. (12 archives boxes and 1 flat box)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society Archives / Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research
Contact Information

Archival Locations:

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

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Papers of Hollywood motion picture director-producer Otto Preminger. Included are production files for Hurry Sundown, In Harm's Way, and Skidoo which contain scripts, correspondence, call sheets, reports, breakdowns, musical scores, cast lists, financial and promotional materials, notes, and sketches. Although the quantity and type of material varies with each film, these files generally document aspects of filmmaking such as writing, casting, design, technical production, and promotion. Noteworthy in the Skidoo files is a series of notes which describe the activities and accomplishments of each day's shooting; occasionally these include short quotes made by Preminger on the set which reveal his directing methods and temperament. A dissertation by Ronald Policy, based on the Skidoo records and describing the film's production, is also included. A small file of biographical clippings completes the collection.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0191an

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

Director, producer, actor Otto Preminger was born in Vienna, Austria, on December 5, 1906. His father, Josefa Preminger, was an attorney, and, complying with his parents' wishes, young Preminger studied law. He received an LL.D. from the University of Vienna in 1928. But Preminger was also interested in theater and had made his stage debut at the age of seventeen in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream in Vienna's Theater in der Josefstadt. During his summer vacation he continued to act and stage plays and eventually formed his own company, the Comedie. After completing his degree, Preminger became a producer-director at the Theater in der Josefstadt where he staged many plays.

In 1935 he immigrated to the United States where his first effort was the Broadway production Libel. Other theater works included Outward Bound, Margin for Error (in which Preminger also played the lead); My Dear Children, and In Time to Come. In 1941 he signed a contract with Twentieth Century Fox to produce, direct, and act in motion pictures. He appeared or starred in The Pied Piper (1942), They Got Me Covered (1943), and Margin for Error (1943), the last-named of which he also directed. His 1944 film, Laura, won him an Oscar nomination for best director. Preminger remained with Fox until 1951 when he left to form his own production company, Carlyle Productions, Inc.

In December 1951 he staged the Broadway play The Moon Is Blue; two years later he transferred this work to film serving as producer and director. The film version was denied a stamp of approval by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and was banned as obscene by several local censor boards. A 1955 Supreme Court decision ultimately determined that local censors could not prohibit its performance. Similarly his 1955 work The Man with the Golden Arm, which he also produced and directed, was not sanctioned by MPAA. It also ran afoul of state censors. Again court decisions reversed these actions. Ultimately the motion picture code was revised in 1956, partially due to the influence of Preminger's controversial films and successful court cases.

Among Preminger's other film credits as both director and producer are Angel Face (1953), Carmen Jones (1954), Saint Joan (1957), Bonjour Tristesse (1958), Anatomy of a Murder (1959), Exodus (1960), Advise and Consent (1962), The Cardinal (1963), In Harm's Way (1964), Hurry Sundown (1967), Skidoo (1968), and Rosebud (1975). His directing credits include River of No Return (1954), The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955), and Porgy and Bess (1959). In addition he starred as the concentration camp commandant in Stalag 17 (1953).

The majority of the collection consists of production files for three of Preminger's latter works: Hurry Sundown, In Harm's Way, and Skidoo. Unfortunately, no records for earlier films such as Laura, Anatomy of a Murder, Exodus, or Advise and Consent are included. A small file of biographical clippings, samples of motion picture logos, and miscellany from Paramount Pictures complete the collection. Arrangement is in two series: a General File and Motion Pictures.

The MOTION PICTURES production files are arranged in a rough chronological sequence with variant scripts completing each file. The type and quantity of material varies with each film but may include scripts, correspondence, call sheets, reports, rundowns, breakdowns, notes, music, lists, budgets, schedules, designs and sketches, clippings, press releases, promotional material, and box office reports; these document aspects of film-making such as writing, casting, design, technical production, and promotion. Among materials for In Harm's Way are files relating to the production designs and special effects needed to stage the film's World War II naval battle sequences. Also included is a scrapbook of photographs and posters documenting the film's promotion in China (“Cathay”), which reveals the international aspects of film distribution and promotion. The Skidoo files are the most extensive in the collection and contain sketches from art director Bob Smith and various promotional and publicity files. Among the latter are a Preminger spot on the Steve Allen talk show and a newsreel featurette about the film's production. Also included is a “daily diary,” which traces Skidoo through pre-production, production, and post-production. The diary is arranged by day and consists of charts of production hours, script pages completed, and monies spent; production reports; clippings; call sheets; and notes describing the day's activities. The latter occasionally include short quotes that Preminger made on the set which reveal his directing methods and temperament. Much of the material relating to Skidoo was placed on deposit by Ronald Policy, who used the papers in writing his dissertation. A copy of Policy's dissertation, which describes the film's production and includes photographs, completes the Skidoo files.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Otto Preminger, Los Angeles, California, 1965-1968; and by Ron Policy, Austin, Texas, 1973-1974. Accession Number: MCHC65-146, MCHC68-80, MCHC73-29, MCHC73-120, MCHC74-59

Processing Information

Processed by I. Lee, P. Deming, and Christine Rongone, September 1979.

	Series: General File
Box   1 Folder   1	Biographical clippings, 1948-1972, undated
Box   1 Folder   2	Motion picture logos, undated
Box   1 Folder   3	Paramount Pictures, directory, newsletters, and miscellany, 1968
	Series: Motion Pictures	⇧
	Hurry Sundown (Sigma Productions, 1966. Paramount)
Box   1 Folder   4	Call sheets, June 1-August 12, 1966
Box   1 Folder   5	Sound Effects, set up sheets, February 9, 1967
Box   1 Folder   6	Daily Code Sheets, June-August 1966, undated
Box   1 Folder   7	Production Miscellany, circa 1966
Box   1 Folder   8	Daily Sound Reports, June 5-August 13, 1966
Box   1 Folder   9	Sound, Voice, and Music, continuity notes and rundowns, circa 1966-1967
Box   1 Folder   10	Editor's Assembly Sheets, June 6-August 13, 1966
Box   1 Folder   11	Promotion Spots, including trailer and teaser scripts, 1967
Box   1 Folder   12	Script, undated
Box   2 Folder   1	Script, by Horton Foote, December 28, 1965
Box   2 Folder   2-3	Revised Shooting Script, by Thomas C. Ryan, annotated, May 27, 1966
Box   2 Folder   4	Release Script, 1966
	In Harm's Way (Sigma Productions, 1965, Paramount)
Box   2 Folder   5	Casting, 1964
Box   2 Folder   6	Production Designs, naval battle, scenes 378-435, by Lyle Wheeler, undated
Box   2 Folder   7	Production Designs, for PT Boat sequence and miniatures, by Lyle Wheeler, undated
Box   3 Folder   1	Special and Miniature Effects, circa 1964
Box   3 Folder   2	Shipping Memoranda re equipment and supplies, 1964
Box   3 Folder   3	Production Miscellany, 1964
Box   13 Folder   1-2	Musical Underscore, 1965
Box   3 Folder   4	Script Breakdown, circa 1964
Box   3 Folder   5	Script Breakdown for Battle Sequence, miniature stock, circa 1964
Box   3 Folder   6	Step Sheets, Act I and II, by Jessup, undated
Box   3 Folder   7	Step Sheets, unidentified, undated
	Publicity
Box   3 Folder   8	General, premiere program and press releases, circa 1964
Box   13 Folder   3	Cathay, scrapbook including photographs and posters, undated
Box   3 Folder   9	Philippines souvenir program and photographs, undated
	Foreign Clippings, 1965
Box   3 Folder   10-12	Argentina-Great Britain
Box   4 Folder   1-4	Holland-Switzerland, unidentified
Box   4 Folder   5	Revised Release Continuity, undated
Box   4 Folder   6	Second Revised Release continuity, fragment, undated
Box   4 Folder   7	Trailer Continuity, undated
Box   4 Folder   8	Script, draft, annotated, undated
Box   4 Folder   9	Revisions, annotated, undated
Box   4 Folder   10	First Draft Script, by Jessup, February 5, 1964
Box   4 Folder   11	Draft, annotated, undated
Box   4 Folder   12	Draft, slightly annotated, undated
Box   5 Folder   1	Revisions, circa March-May 1964
Box   5 Folder   2-3	2 Scripts, by Wendell Mayes, undated
Box   5 Folder   4	Script, fragment, by Wendell Mayes, undated
Box   5 Folder   5-6	Script, by Wendell Mayes, undated
	Skidoo (Sigma Productions, 1968. Paramount)
Box   6 Folder   1	Staff and Crew, lists, clippings, and notes, 1968
Box   6 Folder   2	Cast and Casting, 1968
Box   6 Folder   3	Sets and Locations, budgets, maps, and notes, 1968
Box   6 Folder   4	Bob Smith, Art Director, notes and sketches re balloon and other sequences, undated
Box   6 Folder   5	Wardrobe Plot and 2 Fabric Swatches, undated
Box   6 Folder   6	Production Miscellany, 1967-1968
Box   13 Folder   4	Breakdown Sheets, undated
Box   6 Folder   7	Production Breakdown, “old script” by Ken Deland, undated
Box   6 Folder   8	Production Breakdown, undated
Box   6 Folder   9	Shooting Schedule, March 12, 1968, undated
Box   6 Folder   10	Shooting Schedule, to accompany Erich Von Stroheim's shooting script, 1968
	Daily Diary
Box   6 Folder   11-12	November 6, 1967-March 21, 1968
Box   7 Folder   1-7	March 22, 1968-August 30, 1968
Box   7 Folder   8	Cast and Crew Party, May 13, 1968
Box   13 Folder   5	Promotion, press book, undated
Box   7 Folder   9	Newsreel Featurette, shot lists and fragment of rough script, 1968
Box   7 Folder   10	Script for Otto Preminger sketch on The Steve Allen Show, May 23, 1968
Box   7 Folder   11	Publicity, press releases and biographies, 1968
Box   8 Folder   1	Publicity, clippings, 1968
Box   8 Folder   2	Ticket Receipts, reports, 1968
Box   8 Folder   3	Script Notes and Comments, from William Cannon, February-March 1968, undated
Box   8 Folder   4	Script, manuscript fragment, undated
Box   8 Folder   5	Script, fragment, from Bob Smith, annotated, undated
Box   8 Folder   6	Revisions, superseded pages from Erik Kirkland's script, undated
Box   8 Folder   7	Script Deletions, undated
Box   8 Folder   8	First Draft Script, by Doran William Cannon, May 1967
Box   8 Folder   9-11	Script Revisions, annotated, October 22-December 22, 1967
Box   9 Folder   1-2	2 Second Draft Scripts, by Doran William Cannon, November 6, 1967
Box   9 Folder   3	Second Draft Script with Subsequent Revisions, by Doran William Cannon, November 6, 1967
Box   9 Folder   4	Script, fragment, by William Cannon?, annotated, December 8, 1967
Box   9 Folder   5	Script Fragment, rewrite of Cannon's second draft, by Bernie Orenstein and Saul Turtletaub, December 17, 1967
Box   9 Folder   6	Script Fragment, January 10, 1968?
Box   9 Folder   7-8	2 Scripts, January 22, 1968
Box   10 Folder   1	Shooting Script, by Erich Von Stroheim, annotated, January 22, 1968
Box   10 Folder   2	Script Fragments, deletions from Erich Von Stroheim's shooting script, annotated, undated
Box   10 Folder   3	Script, annotated by Otto Preminger, January 22, 1968
Box   10 Folder   4	Script Revisions, by Bob Smith, March 4, 1968
Box   10 Folder   5	Script, March 4, 1968
Box   10 Folder   6	Script Revisions, annotated, undated
Box   11 Folder   1-2	Script Revisions, annotated, undated
Box   11 Folder   3	Revisions, superseded rough pages, undated
	Dissertation, “Otto Preminger's Skidoo: Biography of a Motion Picture,” by Ronald Policy, (University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1973)
Box   11 Folder   4-6	pp. 1-450
Box   12 Folder   1-3	pp. 451-799