The Dale Wasserman Papers, composed almost entirely of scripts and related material, are organized in three sections. Part 1 is the original collection comprised of materials received in the Archives in 1964. This part dates 1946-1963. Part 2 are the 1967 Additions received in the Archives in that year; they date 1953-1967. Part 3 are designated the 1984 Additions and were received in the Archives in 1980 and 1984. Materials in this part date 1966-1983. The three parts are similar in that they all document Wasserman's work in the theater, motion pictures, and television and consist primarily of scripts.
PART 1, THE ORIGINAL COLLECTION, 1946-1963, is arranged alphabetically by script title. The material for each production is grouped alphabetically and includes correspondence, clippings, outlines and notes for scripts, programs, production notes, research, and scripts in various stages of revision. Holdings are most extensive for The Citadel, “Eichmann: Engineer of Death,” “Elisha and the Long Knives,” “The Fog,” “The Lincoln Murder Case,” Livin' the Life, The Power and the Glory, Sylvester, The Vikings, and The Wind Blows Free.
Included in this part of the collection are play posters for Livin' the Life and Cafe Crown, and watercolor paintings of the sets of The Wind Blows Free.
PART 2, THE 1967 ADDITIONS, 1953-1967, include heavily annotated scripts which document the writing process as well as detailed notes which discuss writing and production decisions. This part is organized in three subseries--Motion Pictures, Television, and Theater--and contains both produced and unproduced works. Within each subseries arrangement is alphabetical by production title. Unless noted otherwise all scripts are either Wasserman's adaptations or original works.
The Motion Pictures subseries includes Doctor, You've Got to be Kidding, Quick, Before It Melts, and Mr. Buddwing. The files for Doctor, You've Got to be Kidding, apparently one of the first films produced by Wasserman, are particularly informative. Script notes detail the decisions made about the tone and look of the film, the roles of its characters, and the sets and wardrobe wanted in addition to information on prop needs and sound effects. Mr. Buddwing's files contain notes on casting while those for Quick, Before It Melts reveal some interesting sidelights about censorship problems the film encountered. Among the latter film's files are an article by Wasserman, in which he describes his involvement in producing the film, and reports which contain the results of an audience survey taken after two sneak previews. Also documented is O Jangadeiro, an adaptation of a story by Oscar Wilde, which was apparently produced in Brazil but never released in this country.
The Television subseries includes scripts and related materials for “The Stranger,” produced on The Richard Boone Show, and “I,Don Quixote,” a television drama aired on The DuPont Show of the Month.
A later version of the Don Quixote teleplay can be found in the Theater subseries where extensive files exist for Man of La Mancha. In addition to a script for an unproduced straight stage play of the show there are several variant scripts, clippings, notes, and unused lyrics written by W. H. Auden which relate to the musical. The series also contains production files for the 1963 stage version of One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, which starred Kirk Douglas. Included with this material is a script annotated by Ken Kesey, author of the book of the same name.
PART 3, THE 1984 ADDITIONS also include scripts and a tape recording from Mr. Wasserman's activities between 1966 and 1983. Again the materials are arrangement alphabetically by title; several are unproduced. At the end of this part are a printed version of a speech given by Wasserman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Honors Convocation, May 1980; and a few annual reports and publications of the Association of Cinematograph, Television and Allied Technicians (Britain).
