The John Wexley Papers consist primarily of variant drafts for stage plays and motion pictures written by Wexley, covering the entire span of his career. The first six boxes contain manuscripts for his plays, arranged chronologically. There is a limited amount of additional material, including correspondence, contracts, playbills, photographs and clippings documenting the various productions. Two drafts for a screenplay, They Shall Not Die, apparently unproduced, have been filed after the materials pertaining to the stage play by that name.
Boxes 7 through 10 contain screenplays and treatments, arranged chronologically by dates of the scripts. Only two films represented include additional materials. There is a folder of clippings relating to Footsteps in the Dark (1941); there is a photo of the cast and production crew of The Long Night (1947).
Box 10 contains two items not directly related to Wexley's career. In this box is a copy of “Theatre Incorporated Has the Honor to Present the Old Vic Theatre Company May 6th to June 15th, 1946: A Report and a Reaction,” written by Edward Choate and John F. Matthews. There is also a copy of Scheme and Estimates for a National Theatre by William Archer and Granville Barker (1908).
