Part 1 (U.S. Mss 59AN, Audio 1094A, Audio 1264A, Micro 912, HB 444-449, CB 015): Original Collection, 1929-1985
Physical Description: 17.2 cubic feet (42 archives boxes and 1 card box), 5 reels of microfilm (35 mm), 2 disc recordings, 6 cassette tape recordings, 6 reels of 35 mm film, and 1 reel of 16 mm film 
Scope and Content Note

The Bessie Papers are arranged as BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL, CORRESPONDENCE, HOLLYWOOD TEN RECORDS, and WRITINGS.

BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL includes brief biographies and obituaries; a longer biographical work by Pamela Feinsilber, a graduate student in English literature at San Francisco State University; bibliographies of Bessie's writings; and some film, radio, and television contracts. (Several additional research papers about Bessie and the Hollywood Ten may be found scattered within the correspondence.) Also part of the series is Bessie's typically meticulous accounting of his professional income from 1926 through 1985, together with an inventory of trips he took during his career which exhibits the same personality characteristic.

The folder of notes filed here contains copies of the inventories prepared by Alvah and later by Dan Bessie to accompany the shipment of Bessie's papers to Wisconsin. These lists, which are in many cases an item level inventory of the deposited material, contain useful information about Bessie as well as many of the individuals with whom he was associated.

The biographical clippings, which are available only on microfilm, consist of newspaper and magazine articles in which Bessie was mentioned.

Also part of the biographical series are six cassette recordings of taped reminiscences, some apparently prepared in reply to letters or tapes Bessie received from biographer Jerrold I. Zinnamon. (The footnotes in Zinnamon's thesis suggest that the cassettes in the collection are not all of the taped interviews he made with Bessie. On one of these tapes entitled “The $64 Question” Bessie answers the question of whether he was a member of the Communist Party. Cassette 6 is actually not a reminiscence but a dictated response to a letter Bessie had received from an unidentified correspondent about the book Contempt of Congress and other topics.)

Bessie's CORRESPONDENCE is extensive, for he was an enthusiastic and faithful letter writer. The material, however, primarily dates from the late 1950s to the year of Bessie's death. As a result, research on his role in the Spanish Civil War, the blacklisting era, and other aspects of his early life cannot be studied through contemporary correspondence. Nevertheless, researchers on these subjects will find the series is useful to their study, for these topics continued as vital and prominent themes in Bessie's later letters. The correspondence generally includes carbons of letters sent by Bessie (and even of postcards he sent!), as well as the letters he received. Although the files include many personal letters from friends and professional associates, there are virtually no exchanges with his family during any period in his life, and the few letters of this type that are included primarily consist of correspondence with his son Dan Bessie when they were collaborating on a film project. Letters from prison to family members, which form a striking part of several of the collections of other members of the Hollywood Ten held by WCFTR, are completely absent.

The correspondence is divided, as it was by Bessie himself, into two sections: general correspondence and subject correspondence, both of which are then filed alphabetically. The general correspondence consists of exchanges with individuals and is arranged by last name, while the subject correspondence includes correspondence with publishers and organizations, correspondence concerning Bessie's writings (which is most often arranged by title), and topical material (e.g. protest letters and research requests). In arranging the papers prior to transmittal to WCFTR, the Bessies did not apply these filing distinctions consistently, and as a result researchers will find correspondence with some individuals in both the general correspondence and in appropriate subject categories.

The general correspondence consists of separate files for individuals with whom Bessie corresponded often and combined files (e.g. A, B, C) for individuals with whom he corresponded less frequently. Correspondents in this section include publishers and agents (such as Angus Cameron and Maxim Lieber); other members of the “unfriendly nineteen” and other victims of the blacklist (Herbert Biberman, John Henry Faulk, Paul Jarrico, Albert Kahn, Howard Koch, Ring Lardner, Jr., John Howard Lawson, Albert Maltz, and Dalton Trumbo); political activists (such as Herbert Aptheker, Ed Asner, Dorothy Healey); actors, entertainers and individuals in the motion picture industry (Woody Allen, Kaye Ballard, Lenny Bruce, Jaime Camino, Morris Carnovsky, and Bette Davis); fellow members of the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB); and literary figures ranging from nationally and internationally prominent authors to writers who were primarily known in the San Francisco area (James Aronson, Martha Gellhorn, Ralph Gleason, Stefen Heym, Cyra MacFadden, Herbert Matthews, Arthur Miller, Vladimir Pozner, George Seldes, and Studs Terkel).

The largest portion of the letters in the subject correspondence concerns editorial matters, some filed by publisher and some filed by title, and when several projects involved the same publisher, by the name of the publisher. Correspondence with the foreign publishers of Bessie's articles and books is a prominent aspect of the section. Novels, which are well documented by correspondence, include Inquisition in Eden, Men in Battle, Solo Flight, The Symbol, and The Un-Americans. Bessie's work as a writer for film and television is less well represented here, although there are materials on his disputed screen writing credit for Smart Woman and on the ABC Movie of the Week that was made from The Symbol. Bessie's experiences as a writer during the period of the blacklist are documented in correspondence with the San Francisco International Film Festival, the San Francisco Mime Troupe, and the Limelighters. (Bessie wrote publicity for all three.)

Other correspondence concerns film projects, grant applications requesting financial support for writing and film projects, protest letters to public and corporate officials, and his employment by the hungry i nightclub. Also here are fan mail, letters concerning Bessie's deteriorating health, sympathy letters received by Sylviane Bessie after his death, and letters indicating Bessie's support for various causes. The folders entitled research questions consist of queries received from scholars and students of literary and political history, together with copies of Bessie's replies. (More extended research correspondence such as his many exchanges with Jerry Zinnamon are filed in the General Correspondence.)

Of particular interest in the Subject Correspondence is the mail concerning Bessie's efforts to secure copies of records kept about him by the federal government, together with the complete file that he received in response to his Freedom of Information request.

The HOLLYWOOD TEN RECORDS are mainly printed or mimeographed materials relating to the HUAC hearings and trials and the blacklisting era. Legal briefs originally in this series have been compared to the very complete legal files that are part of the Biberman-Sondergaard Papers held by WCFTR. As a result of extensive duplication, only one brief which Bessie had annotated (presumably for Helen Clare Nelson) has been retained in the Bessie Papers. Notable among the remaining Hollywood Ten materials in the Bessie collection is a script for the mass meeting held for the Ten prior to their departure for Washington and the script for Hollywood Fights Back. The correspondence here includes letters written by Bessie as early as 1948 that describe the impact of the blacklist on his career and numerous exchanges with Biberman, Lester Cole, and attorney Robert Kenny concerning the suits and legal cases with which members of the Ten were individually and jointly involved after their release from prison. Also of interest here is Helen Clare Nelson's correspondence with Dore Schary about the producer's role in the blacklist, letters of support received from Hugh Bryson of the Marine Cooks and Stewards Union, and a letter from Rex Stout, a New York acquaintance, in which he refused to help Bessie. The section of miscellaneous Hollywood Ten statements and speeches includes some budget material prepared for the defense effort and a copy of Biberman's “Films on Fire.” Also included is a 16mm print of the film The Hollywood Ten, about motion picture industry writers accused of subversive activities.

Bessie's WRITINGS are arranged alphabetically by genre (articles, books, film scripts, miscellaneous writings, radio scripts, reviews, short stories, speeches, television scripts, and theatrical scripts) and thereunder alphabetically by title. Some book and motion picture files include variant drafts, although the number of titles in the collection with multiple drafts is limited. When they exist (primarily for Inquisition in Eden, One For My Baby, Smart Woman, The Symbol, The Very Thought of You, and “The Last Volunteer”) this material is chronologically arranged.

Researchers will find a great deal of overlap between genre in Bessie's work, and it is evident that he frequently reworked the same title or concept in several categories. A bibliography of Bessie's published writings (including some his film, theater, and book reviews) that was last reviewed by Bessie in 1983 is filed with the Biographical Material.

Non-fiction articles, which are available only on microfilm, primarily consist of the final printed works, and only a few items are represented by variant drafts. Occasionally some correspondence is included with the drafts, most often letters from readers of “Letters to the Editor” columns in which letters from Bessie had appeared. Articles Bessie wrote for foreign journals are generally preceded by his English-language version of the story.

Prior to their shipment to WCFTR the articles and columns were grouped into scrapbooks by Alvah and Dan Bessie, one scrapbook for each magazine and newspaper in which Bessie's work frequently appeared (the Brooklyn Daily Eaqle, In These Times, Marin Life, New Masses, People's World) and the remainder grouped together chronologically. The general scrapbook covers the period from 1930 to 1980. Of special note among the articles is the long piece, “Hesitation Waltz,” about the Bessies' 1976 visit to post-Franco Spain which appeared in In These Times, as well as an alternate draft of the same story that was rejected by Atlantic Monthly. Also useful are the many pieces he wrote for New Masses about Spain and the special feature (and draft) of “This is Your Enemy,” as well as his interviews with Morris Carnovsky and Hanns Eisler about Spain and his “Hollywood Letter” column which was published by New Masses after Bessie went to California as a screenwriter. In the tentatively-titled “Weekly Review” file is a regular column “The Root Of It” which Bessie wrote for a left-wing youth newspaper during the early 1940s under the name William Root.

The articles in the scrapbooks representing publications in which Bessie appeared only occasionally cover many topics, with autobiographical pieces appearing with increasing frequency as Bessie emerged during the 1960s and 1970s as a sort of radical celebrity. Also of special interest here is a lengthy, undated obituary of the blacklisted actor-screenwriter Nedrick Young, who allowed Bessie to use his name for Cross of Gold.

Present for Bessie's books are revisions and working drafts of manuscripts, research materials, and published volumes. First-edition, English-language editions of Bread and a Stone, The Un-Americans, and Men in Battle, which were received prior to 1978 were transferred, under the policy then in effect in the SHSW Archives to the University of Wisconsin's Memorial Library, where they are currently available. Because of an altered policy for handling published volumes received with manuscript collections, subsequent editions of these books, including many foreign language editions, that were received from the donor after 1978 have been retained as part of the manuscript collection. (They are catalogued in the SHSW Library catalog, although they are stored with the Bessie Papers.)

Among Bessie's writings for film are final and draft scripts for produced and unproduced films, original motion picture stories (including Operation Burma for which he received an Oscar nomination), ghost writings, and educational films. Particularly interesting here are projects on which Bessie collaborated with Jaime Camino, his son Dan, and Lenny Bruce.

Writings for television and radio are comparatively small segments of the collection, as is the section of miscellaneous writings. The latter includes courses he taught at the People's Education Center, some letters to the editor, poetry, and translations. Also grouped here is another scrapbook (available only on microfilm) comprised of samples of Bessie's writings in various genre.

In order to facilitate their microfilm preservation the reviews in the Bessie Papers have been subdivided into two categories: reviews of his works by others and reviews written by Bessie. Reviews of Bessie's writings are grouped alphabetically by genre (books and films only) and then arranged by title.

Writing under various pseudonyms, Bessie had a very active career as a reviewer of films, theater, and books which is documented in the papers almost exclusively by the final, printed columns. The majority of these reviews were collected by the donors into scrapbooks, one for each of the journals for which Bessie was a regular reviewer; publications in which his reviews appeared only occasionally are arranged together chronologically. Because the scrapbooks were in deteriorating physical condition the originals were microfilmed for preservation, after which the original clippings were destroyed.

The reviews by Bessie have been grouped by genre and then alphabetically by publication name. Among the most extensively documented publications are the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, for which Bessie worked as assistant editor of the Sunday magazine section; the Daily People's World of San Francisco, for which he became a reviewer following the implementation of the Blacklist; and New Masses. Because Bessie regularly reviewed only film and theater for New Masses, his book review of For Whom the Bell Tolls for that paper has been filed with the New Masses non-fiction articles. Researchers interested in The Symbol, Bessie's fictionalized account of the life of Marilyn Monroe, should consult his reviews of Monroe's films and biographies of her by others; these are comparatively numerous and scattered through this section of the collection. Researchers should note that many of the reviews for Scribners written during the early 1930s were pasted on the back of letters that he received, and that these letters also appear on the microfilm.

Bessie's short stories are generally documented in the papers only by published versions. (Much of Bessie's early fiction that appeared in Book and Scribners was republished in 1982 together with a previously unpublished novella, “The Serpent was Subtil,” under the title Alvah Bessie's Short Fiction; because the stories appeared without alteration, only the new introductory matter for that volume appears in the books section of the manuscript collection. The speeches section is divided into general speeches and statements dealing with Spain. The early speeches in both categories are generally represented by typed drafts (some extensively edited), while later speeches and public appearances are also documented by press notices and publicity. A few of the public appearances that Bessie made during the last years of his life are documented only by publicity. The general speech files include a number of addresses made by Bessie during the Hollywood Ten era, together with a full mimeographed transcript of the May 17, 1943, “Erase infamy” rally at Madison Square Garden at which he spoke. This section also includes some undelivered remarks prepared for a jury and a recording of Bessie's appearance before HUAC in 1947. The file of speeches on Spain includes general discussions of the situation in Spain as it existed during the 1940s and 1950s; during the 1970s Bessie's emphasis began to shift to recollections of his own experiences.

Series: Biographical Material

Bibliographies

Biographies

Biographical sketches

Biography by Pamela Feinsilber, 1990

Clippings
Note: Filmed without a counter.

Contracts for films, radio, and television

Financial records, 1926-1985

Notes of Alvah Bessie and DB on Bessie papers

Recorded interviews

March 7, 1977, Interview with Bessie biographer Jerrold I. Zinnamon concerning Bessie's birth and childhood

March 14, 1977, Autobiographical interview for unidentified interviewer

April 30, 1977, Interview with Zinnamon

May 21, 1977, Interview with Zinnamon

November 18, 1977, Dictated letter to unknown sender, regarding Contempt of Congress and general topics

Travel records

Biographical miscellany regarding Dan Bessie, 1973

Series: Correspondence

Subseries: General Correspondence

A - General

Albrecht, Joachim, 1968-1985

Allen, Richard Sanders, 1972-1979

Amery, Al, 1983-1984

Anderson, Bruce, 1984-1985

B - General

Baker, Carlos, 1962-1969

Baraff, Jack, 1975-1985

Bessie, Eva, Helen, and Clar, 1950

Bruce, Lenny, 1959-1960, undated

Buck, Janet Rollins, 1979-1982

Burnett, Mary (first wife), undated

C - General

Camino, Jaime, 1964-1985

Cameron, Angus, 1957-1983

Carnovsky, Morris, 1966-1984

Cherry, Arthur B., 1977-1978

Culodny, Robert, 1975-1984

D - General

Davis, Bette, 1941-1978

DeMarco, Gordon, 1979-1983

Dyer, Frank

1977-1982

1983-1984

E-F - General

Feinsilber, Pamela, 1982-1983

Ferguson, Linda, 1975-1976

Fishman, Moe (VALB), 1953-1977

Frewin, Anthony, 1969-1970

Fredriksson, Gunnar, 1971-1979

Fritchman, Stephen and Frances, 1962-1981, undated

G - General

Gellhorn, Martha, 1959-1982

Gleason, Ralph and Jean, 1966-1978

Grunblatt, Jacques, 1976-1985

Gubern, Roman, 1968-1973

H - General

Healey, Dorothy, 1967-1983

Hecht, Randy, 1984-1985

Heffley, Wayne, 1967-1983

Herr, Allen H., 1975-1981

Heym, Stefan and Gertrude Geblin, 1961-1977

Holt, Pat, 1982-1985

I-J - General

Jackson, Gabriel, 1969-1983

K - General

Keil, Doris, 1971-1976

Kozar, Thomas, 1978-1983

L - General

Lamb, Leonard, 1976-1983

Landis, Arthur, 1966-1985

Lardner, Ring, Jr., 1955-1985

Lavery, Emmet, Jr. 1975-1979

Leyda, Jay, 1965-1978

Lieber, Maxim, 1956-1965

Lish, Francis, 1976-1985

Lohr, Helga, 1962-1969

Lowry, Mary, 1982-1984

Lurie, Frieda and Helena Romanova, 1961-1981

M - General

MacFadden, Cyra, 1978-1985

Magee, Betty, 1981-1983

Mainwaring, Deborah, 1977-1983

Maltz, Albert, 1946-1985

Margolis, Ken, 1966-1967

Martin, Fredericka, 1975-1984

Martin, Wolfgang, 1973-1984

Matthews, Herbert L., 1973-1977

Meeropol, Abel, 1977-1978

Mendelson, Maurice, 1977-1982

Menuhin, Moshe, 1967, 1969

Miller, Arthur, 1960-1965

Miller, Gabriel, 1977-1985

Paper on The Symbol and The Sex Symbol, undated

N - General

Navasky, Victor S., 1966-1985
Note: Includes transcript of blacklisting symposium with John Henry Faulk, Ring Lardner Jr., Millard Lampell, January 22, 1967.

Noble, Iris, 1969-1982, undated

O - General

Obadal, Richard Simon, 1977-1978

Ortiz, Jorge Diaz, 1965-1971

P - General

Peet, John and Georgia, 1966-1983

Pozner, Vladimir, 1972-1983

Prenn, Samuel B., 1973-1983

R - General

Rabinovitch, John David, 1981-1985

Raskin, Gene and Francesca, 1969-1981

Robbins, Albert (VALB), 1972-1977

Robinson, LeRoy, 1977-1981

Rojas, Carlos, 1970-1974

Rosenstone, Robert A., 1964-1975

Rumsey, Susan L.

1978-1981

1982-1985

S - General

Sawada, Noriko (widow of Harry Bridges), 1983-1984

Schlichting, Alexan et al., 1961-1966

Seldes, George, 1968-1985

Sentz, Ross G., 1979-1981

Shedd, Margaret, 1974-1983

Sherman, Jory, 1966-1968, 1975, 1978, 1981

Shifrin, Roy, 1978-1981

Solomon, Barbara Proust, 1975-1984

Stevenson, Janet, 1978-1979

Stewart, Cameron, 1965-1968

Sullivan, Monica, 1976-1978?

Postcards, 1978-1985

T - General

Terkel, Studs, 1976-1983

U-V - General

Vail, Earl F., 1977-1982

Vallejo, Felipe, 1969-1972

W - General

Wallach, Hy (VALB), 1975-1976

Winans, A.D., 1984-1985

Winter, Nina, 1979-1982

Wolff, Milton

1953-1970

1971-1980

Wolin, Merle, 1977-1982, undated

Wyatt, Fred, 1968-1981

Y-Z - General

Zinnamon, Jerrold I.

1959, 1965, 1975
Note: Includes “Chronicle of Terror,” Mimeo script by Jerrold I. Zinnamon, undated, and typed outline for “Faces of Evil.”

1977-1983

Bessie-Trumbo “contretemps,” 1970-1971

Thesis, 1978

Unidentified correspondence

Subseries: Subject Correspondence

Academy of Independent Scholars, 1978-1982

Agents, 1966-1979

General, 1966-1979

Abrahams, Williams, 1976-1983

Alcoholism film project, 1977-1978

Associated writing programs, 1978

Birthday cards, 1984-1985

Bread and a Stone, 1941-1983

British Broadcasting Company, 1962-1973

Buro fur Urheber-Rechte, 1961-1969

Cellartemps, 1974-1977

Chandler and Sharp, 1974-1976

Condolences and sympathy letters to Sylviane, 1985-1987

Curtis Brown, Ltd.

General, 1969

Elizabeth Mowat, 1965-1969

Martha Winston

1962-1966

1967-1970

Dilia (Czechoslovakian publisher), 1960-1981

Dwell in the Wilderness, 1935-1948

Editors and publishers

A-K

L-W

Endorsements and sponsorships, 1955-1984

The Enemy Among Us television project, 1980-1981

Fan letters, 1941-1983

Film Comment, 1965-1973

Filmsense, Inc., 1969-1970

Film projects, miscellaneous, 1958-1977

Florida Atlantic University, 1978-1980

Ford Foundation, 1959

Freedom of Information

Correspondence, 1976-1980

Documents received via FOIA, 1948-1972

Miscellany

Frontier, 1960-1963

The Good Fight, 1984-1985

The Good Fight (VALB documentary), 1980-1984

Grant applications, 1961-1984

Heart attack, 1966

Heart of Spain, 1942, 1950-1952

Hecht, Joe, article for New Masses, 1943-1945

Hemingway, Ernest, regarding Fifth Column, 1940

Henschelverlag (German publisher), 1972-1976

Hollywood on Trial, 1976

Hollywood Ten (Penumbrum Films documentary), 1982-1985

Hollywood Ten paper by Suzanne Osredker, 1985

Hollywood Ten thesis by William J. Falk, 1978

The Hostages, 1969-1970

Humanitas Prize, 1974-1975

Hungarian publishers, 1968-1982

hungry i (unfair labor practices suit), 1963-1964

Indian rock art grant proposal, 1978-1979

International Brigade documentary, 1982-1983

In These Times, 1977-1981

International writers meeting in Berlin, 1965

Inquisition in Eden

1962-1964

1965-1975

The Limelighters, 1961

Das Magazine, 1961-1973

Marin Life, 1976-1977

Medical correspondence (Kaiser Group), 1975-1985

Men in Battle/Spain Again

General, 1939-1943

Chandler/Sharp, 1973-1980

Ediciones ERA Publishers (Mexico), 1966-1983

Seven Seas Books, 1959-1960

The Nation (includes Carey McWilliams), 1972-1980

National Guardian, 1961-1965

National Endowment for the Arts, 1976-1984

National Writers Union, 1982-1985

One For My Baby

Correspondence, 1961-1964

Research and reviews, 1962-1981

Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1984-1985

Pacific area travel project, 1964

Pacific Arts and Utters award, 1984

La Pasionara (Dolores Ibarruri), 1978

Personal appearances and speeches, 1947-1973, 1978-1979

Pinnacle Books, 1976-1979

Positif, 1961-1961

Protest letters, 1946-1983

Research requests, 1949-1982

Rosenberg support projects, 1976, 1985

San Francisco International Film Festival (Irving M. Levin), 1963-1965

San Francisco Mime Troop, 1965

San Francisco Review of Books, 1979

Screen Writers Guild dispute over credit for Smart Woman, 1943-1948

Seven Seas Books

Gertrude Gelbin Heym, 1960-1977

Kay Pankey, 1970-1975

Social Security, 1965-1985

Solo Flight

Chandler and Sharp, 1980-1986

Concepts and content, 1981-1982

Contributors, 1981-1982

Fundraising, 1981-1982

Reception, 1982-1983

Spain Again, Miscellany, 1979-1981
Note: See also Men in Battle.

The Symbol

Correspondence, 1960-1973

Credit dispute, 1973-1974

Curtis Brown regarding Symbol/S-Bomb, 1965-1968

Reprints and ABC Movie of the Week, 1972-1975

Producers and directors, 1966-1970

Spanish edition, 1974-1984

This Is Your Enemy, 1942-1944

Thompson, Robert, circa 1953

The Un-Americans

General, 1947-1965, 1985

Cameron and Kahn, 1953-1962

Unemployment, 1963-1974

Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB)

General, 1954-1985

VALB and Jews, 1979-1980

The Volunteers film project, 1971-1972

Volk und Welt publishers, 1961-1971

Wakeford/Orloff (Dan Bessie), 1969

Wallace and Sheil Agency, 1980-1981

Workman Publishing Company (regarding Bette Davis), 1978-1979

Writers Guild of America, 1973-1977

Young, Nedrick, 1968-1969

Series: Hollywood Ten Records

District Court brief (annotated by Alvah Bessie)

Correspondence, 1947-1973

Publicity material, 1947-1964

Shrine meeting, October 15, 1947

Hollywood Fights Back, 1947

“The Way We Really Were,” 1974

Statements and speeches

The Hollywood Ten, film about the Hollywood Ten

Series: Writings

Articles (Non-fiction)
Note: Filmed without a counter.

In These Times, 1976-1978

Marin Life (“Commentary”), 1976-1977

New Masses, 1940-1947

People's World, 1946-1968

Weekly Review, “The Root of It,” 1942-1943

General chronological file

1930-1965

1966-1980, undated

Books

Alvah Bessie's Short Fiction, Introduction

Bread and a Stone

Typewritten draft by Alvah Bessie (annotated), circa 1940

Published volumes, 1941, 1948, 1983

Research

Hard Traveling, Film written and directed by Dan Bessie based on Bread and a Stone, 1985
Note

Shire Films, 1985. Written and directed by Dan Bessie. Produced by Helen Garvy.

Set in California in 1940, this is a love story told in flashback between an intelligent widow with two young sons and a sensitive illiterate laborer. The couple marries and soon after, he is arrested for murder and then is executed. Stars J.E. Freeman, Ellen Geer, and Barry Corbin.

Dwell in the Wilderness, Published volume, 1935

The Free World

Prison Love Song and Other Captive Verse, Mimeo draft (annotated), 1950-1951

Typed draft, circa 1950-1951

The Free World (Novel)

Preliminary material, circa 1954, 1966, undated

Draft of first 100 pages, 1966

“Checkpoint,” Typed draft by Julian Leonard, 1966

Research and rough material, notes, undated

The Good Fight

Prospectus, 1985

Original manuscript

Cut material

The Heart of Spain

Typed draft, 1952

Cut material

Inquisition in Eden

“The Real Tinsel,” Typed first draft (annotated), 1962-1963

“The Humblest Hour,” 2nd draft (annotated), 1963-1964

Notes, deletions, corrections, circa 1965

Unpublished chapter, circa 1965

Seven Seas paper back edition, 1967

Foreign language editions

Published Russian excerpts

Men in Battle/Spain Again

Printed version of second edition, 1954

Reprint, first draft, 1968

Reprint, revised edition of first draft, 1968-1974

Typesetter's copy, 1974

Paperback edition, 1977

Foreign language editions, 1969, 1980

Revisions and cut materials

Photo research

One for My Baby

“Night People,” Typed draft of first 90 pages by Dan Noble, circa 1959

Typed second draft, 1961

Typed revision, 1961-1962

Second revision, 1962-1965

Pages 1-113

Pages 114-321

Final typed revision

Notes and cut material

The Serpent Was More Subtil (short novel), Typed draft (annotated), 1968

The Symbol

“The S Bomb,” Typed draft (annotated), 1964-1965

Carbon draft, 1967

Part I

Part II

Galley proof (corrected pages only), 1967

Foreign editions

Solo Flight, Incomplete typed draft, 1940

Songs of Bilitis, Volume translated by Alvah Bessie, 1926

The Un-Americans

Outline, 1947

Typed draft (annotated), 1952-1954

Foreign language editions

“Wasteland,” Novel prospectus, undated

Films

“An American Hero,” Story idea by Alvah Bessie, 1945

“Angel and the Grave”

“Killer's Grave,” Typed script by Lenny Bruce, undated

Typed draft (annotated) by Lenny Bruce (Alvah Bessie), undated

“Cross of Gold,” Treatment, undated

“Dissolve To,” Treatment by Alvah Bessie, undated

“Early Bird,” Mimeo treatment by Tom Chapman and Alvah Bessie, 1949

Educational shorts, 1956-1980

Espana Otra Vez (Spain Again), Mimeo script (annotated) and revisions

“Father Punish Me,” Typed script (annotated) by Lenny Bruce and Alvah Bessie, 1959

“The Degenerate!”, Mimeo script by Lenny Bruce and Alvah Bessie, 1959

“The Ghosts of Berchtesgaden,” Treatment by Alvah Bessie, Howard Koch, and Emmet Lavery, 1945

“The Golden Calf,” Mimeo treatment by Alvah Bessie, 1946

The Hostages

Typed first draft (annotated), 1969

Second draft (revisions of November 10, 1969 - January 12, 1970)

Third draft (revisions of January 26 - February 17, 1970)

Fourth draft (revisions of December, 1970 - January, 1971)

Hotel Berlin, Typed draft by Jo Pagano and Alvah Bessie, 1944

“I Should Cry,” Mimeo treatment, undated

In Time for Peace

Typed script by Alvah Bessie, 1948

Mimeo script, 1948

“Invasion,” Mimeo outline by Jo Pagano and Alvah Bessie, 1944

Joaquin

Outline (annotated) by Alvah Bessie and Dan Bessie, 1973

Typed draft (annotated) by Alvah Bessie, October 10 - December 15, 1974

Mimeo script, circa 1974

Deleted pages, undated

Keep Your Nose Down

Treatment by Alvah Bessie, 1945

Typed script by Alvah Bessie, 1945-1946

The Last Volunteer

“Class of '37,” Treatment by Arthur Landis, 1972

“The Volunteers,” Typed script by Arthur Landis, 1973

Treatment by Alvah Bessie, 1972

Incomplete typed draft, undated

Typed draft, February 25, 1974

Typed script by Alvah Bessie, Landis, (and Dan Bessie?)

Mimeo script by Alvah Bessie and Arthur Landis, undated

“The Last Volunteer,” Mimeo script by Alvah Bessie, Dan Bessie, and Arthur Landis, 1975

“Love in Our Time,” Outline, 1946

Northern Pursuit, Mimeo script by Alvah Bessie and Frank Gruber, April-June 1943

Objective Burma

Original story by Alvah Bessie, 1944

Mimeo script by Ranald MacDougall and Lester Cole, April-May 1944

“One For My Baby”

Typed script (annotated) by Alvah Bessie, June 15, 1972

Revisions from missing second draft

Typed third draft script, 1972

“The Only Child,” Two treatments by David Daniels, 1958

“Rip Van Winkle,” Outline, 1973

Ruthless. “Prelude to Night,” Mimeo script by Alvah Bessie (annotated), April-July 1946

“The S Bomb,” Mimeo script by Jerrold Zinnamon, undated

Scenarios (“The Frightened Pilot,” “The Gold Bug,” “The Three Bears”), 1945-1951

Smart Woman

Third draft script by Alvah Bessie, September 8, 1947

Mimeo script by Alvah Bessie, Louis Morheirn, and Herbert Margolis, (with multiple revisions to November 11, 1947)

“Spider Web,” Typed translation by Alvah Bessie, 1945

“This is Your Home,” Script by Alvah Bessie, undated

“The Un-Americans,” Typed script by Alvah Bessie, undated

“Undertow,” Typed script by Alvah Bessie and Leonhard Frank, March 13, 1945

The Very Thought of You

Typed script by Alvah Bessie, August 16, 1943

Mimeo script by Alvah Bessie and Delmer Daves, March 2-4, 1944

“Without Fear or Favor,” Typed treatment by Alvah Bessie, October 19, 1943

Miscellaneous writings

Courses taught, undated

International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, Pamphlets and press releases, 1951-1956

Letters to the editor

Poetry

San Francisco International Film Festival, Press releases, 1964

Scrapbook of writings in mixed genre, 1921-1955

Radio

Thirty Minute Theatre, “The Best Policy,” Mimeo script by Alvah Bessie, March 5, 1963

“Words Are Bullets,” New Masses broadcast, January 3, 1943

The Un-Americans

Mimeographed Czech radio script, 1975

Typed BBC radio script (annotated) by Alvah Bessie, 1963-1964

Typed East German radio script, 1974

Reviews of Bessie's writings
Note: See also Reel 1, Segment 2.

Books

Bread and a Stone

Dwell in the Wilderness

Heart of Spain

Inquisition in Eden

Inquisition in Eden (continued)

Men In Battle

One For My Baby

The Un-Americans

Films

Short Stories

Television

The Sex Symbol

God in Asia

Reviews by Bessie

Book reviews

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1936-1937, undated

People's World, 1948-1968

Saturday Review of Literature, 1931-1935, undated

Scribner's, 1931-1935, undated

General book reviews, 1931-1983

Film reviews, 1940-1942

New Masses, 1940-1942

People's World, 1955-1964

General film reviews, 1942, 1960-1966

Theatre reviews

New Masses, 1939-1943

People's World, 1956-1966

Short stories

1929-1977, undated

“American Underground” (two versions)

Japanese translation of “Soldier, Soldier”

Speeches

General, 1943-1983

Speeches on Spain, 1946-1983

Recording of Bessie's HUAC testimony, October 28, 1947
Note: Also Disc 201A.

Television

Bread and a Stone, Slovak language script, circa 1976-1978

“I Can't Sleep,” Three draft scripts by Alvah Bessie, 1965

“The Owl-Glass Mystery,” Typed script by Alvah Bessie, 1974

The Symbol

Outline, pre-January 29, 1973 draft

Outline, January 29, 1973 draft

Rough draft with notes

Typed draft by Alvah Bessie, February-July 1973

Typed draft, post July 1973

Typed draft with network notes, August 1973

Mimeo shooting script, November 26-30, 1973

“To Kill A Man,” Typed treatment by David E. Daniels and Helen Clare Nelson (two versions), 1948, 1960

“The Un-Americans,” Typed script by Alvah Bessie, 1961

Theatre

Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been

Typed script by Alvah Bessie, 1966

Typed script by Alvah Bessie and John Hancock; research, undated

Part 2 (M95-070): Additions, 1950-1951
Physical Description: 0.1 c.f. (1 folder) 
Scope and Content Note: Copies of letters from Alvah Bessie to his sons, David and Daniel, while he was in prison, 1950-1951; a poem written by him, “For My Sons”; an undelivered address to the jury; and his statement to the judge of the District Court, June 20, 1950.

Part 3 (M95-071): Additions, circa 1929-1990
Physical Description: 3.9 c.f. (3 record center cartons, 2 archives boxes, and 1 oversize folder) 
Scope and Content Note: Additions, which comprise the Bruce Rubenstein Collection of the Alvah Bessie Archives, circa 1929-1990. Included is correspondence (originals and carbon copies) especially between Bessie and his sons David and Daniel; typed film and play scripts; outlines; novels; stories and articles; a 16mm film The Hollywood Ten (1950; script by the 10; produced by Paul Jarrico; directed by John Berry); and a pair of bookends.
Arrangement of the Materials

Box 1 contains items numbered 1-82.

Box 2 contains items numbered 83-156.

Box 3 contains items 10, 11, 84, 87, 94, 95, 108-110, 119, 123, 137.

Items 94 and 136 are housed separately.

Items 76, 88, and 91 were not received.

Unnumbered Items

Miscellaneous letters, cards, clippings

5 stories by Alvah Cecil Bessie (ACB), 1932-1937

Pamela Ellen Feinsilber--M.A. thesis, San Francisco State University, 1990

Unidentified fragment

Dave Bessie/ACB correspondence

1981-1986

1953-1969

1969-1971

1971-1974

Dave Bessie/ACB correspondence, 1975-1978

1979-1984

1984-1986

Letters to Helen Clare Nelson Bessie from ACB, 1940-1980

Unidentified correspondence, found with items 39-54

Spain Again (press kits, including synopses and photos)

Correspondence, ACB/Dan Bessie regarding Bread and a Stone, August-November 1982

Original carbon story, Rip Van Winkle, adaptation by Alvah Bessie, 1976
Note: This list derives from a photocopy of Bruce Rubenstein's inventory of his donation. Asterisked items were not received with the accession.

Physical Description: 36 typed pages plus handwritten changes 

The Only Child, Original typed story treatment by Alvah Bessie
Physical Description: 33 pages, handwritten changes 

Original typed screenplay by Alvah Bessie of The Hostages
Physical Description: 117 pages, handwritten changes 

Story Magazine, January-February 1940, and , November 1933, with articles by Alvah Bessie entitled, “My Brother, My Son,” and “No Final Word”

Eight magazine articles by Alvah Bessie, 1929-1934 (early in his career)

Original correspondence of Alvah Bessie to his son, Daniel, 1963-1985
Physical Description: Hundreds of typed and written pages 

Original correspondence of Alvah Bessie to his son, David, and from David to Alvah Bessie, 1955-1980
Physical Description: Hundreds of pages 

Original adaptation into Slovak of Bread and a Stone, broadcast between 1976 and , 1978, Bratislava
Physical Description: 85 pages, handwritten changes 

Neamericane, Slovak adaptation of Bread and a Stone
Physical Description: 133 pages 

Gott in Asien, original German screenplay by Alvah Bessie
Physical Description: 70 pages, handwritten changes 

Die Aufrechten (The Un-Americans), original television adaptation in German by Alvah Bessie
Physical Description: 132 pages, handwritten changes 

Unfinished original typed manuscript, Culture and the People's War
Physical Description: 16 pages, handwritten changes 

Unfinished original typed article, “What You Can Do”
Physical Description: 37 pages, handwritten changes 

Unfinished original typed article, “Dress Rehearsal”
Physical Description: 9 pages, with signature of Alvah Bessie 

Unfinished typed original article, “You Can Fly,” by Julian Leonard (Alvah Bessie)
Physical Description: 5 pages 

Original unfinished typed review of Richard Wright's Native Son
Physical Description: 4 pages handwritten changes 

Original unfinished typed article entitled “Since the Wrights”
Physical Description: 9 pages and handwritten changes 

Original unfinished typed article entitled “North to America,” by Mikhail Gromov (Alvah Bessie)
Physical Description: 11 pages with handwritten changes 

Original unfinished typed article on the opera, “No For An Answer”
Physical Description: 3 Pages, with signature 

Original unfinished article, typed

Typed and signed original article on Cole vs. Loew's and reflections on Hollywood Ten cases, January 20, 1949
Physical Description: 4 pages 

Original typed and signed article, “Letter to the Editor,” February 16, 1954
Physical Description: 5 pages 

Original typed and signed article for Masses and Mainstream, “From Spain to Washington”
Physical Description: 9 pages 

Original typed and signed “We Ten,” January 18, 1948, setting out of the reasons why the Hollywood Ten challenged the law and Congress
Physical Description: 9 pages, handwritten changes 

Original typed article, “I Am in Contempt of Congress”
Physical Description: 3 pages 

Original typed article, “Thoughts While Awaiting Judgment,” on the Hollywood Ten, October 3, 1949
Physical Description: 2 pages, signed 

Original undated typed article “It Happened to Us-It Can Happen To You,” signed with a signed letter of Ben Margolis, Attorney for the Hollywood Ten, March 29, 1950
Physical Description: 8 pages 

Original typed and signed article, 1965, and typed re-write signed with handwritten changes on attending an international writers meeting in Germany
Physical Description: 12 pages 

Original typed and signed article for Pravda, September 27
Physical Description: 5 pages 

Original TLS (typed letter signed) of Alvah Bessie to Jean-Paul Sartre, July 20, 1953, discussing the Rosenberg Case
Physical Description: 9 pages 

Original typed analysis of Norman Mailer, June 1965
Physical Description: 5 pages, signed 

Original typed statement for Attorney Francis J. McTernan by Alvah Bessie upon McTernan being summoned before the Naval Board of Inquiry
Physical Description: 2 pages, signed initials 

Original articles to The New Republic and San Francisco Chronicle

Original typed article, “Movies Are Worse Than Ever,” October 1965
Physical Description: 8 pages, signed 

Original typed article, January 16
Physical Description: 4 pages 

Original typed review, March 7

Original typed review of We Have Not Forgotten for California Living Magazine, March 9, 1981, and reply
Physical Description: 5 pages 

Original typed story with handwritten changes entitled “The Witches of Hollywood,” undated
Physical Description: 14 pages 

Typed correspondence with Henry Moe of the Guggenheim Foundation regarding grants, 1934

TLS to Steve Nelson, December 28, 1984, with ALS (autographed letter signed) reply and another TLS, , January 8, 1985 with ALS reply
Physical Description: 5 pages 

TLS from Jessica Mitford (DECCA), October 31, 1966 to Alvah Bessie
Physical Description: 1 page 

TLS from Robert Kenny to Alvah Bessie, October 10, 1966
Physical Description: 1 page 

2 ALS of Albert Maltz to Alvah Bessie, 1958 and 1966
Physical Description: 3 pages 

TLS of John Henry Faulk- to Alvah Bessie, October 8, 1982, and TLS reply from Alvah

TLS, October 3, 1966 from Kay Boyle to Alvah Bessie
Physical Description: 1 page 

TLS from Albert Kahn to Alvah Bessie, February 20, 1974

TLS, June 26, 1965 postcard from Steve Nelson

Typed certification from VALB designating Alvah Bessie as the official reporter and historian-observer for VALB to the 40th Reunion in Italy, October 9-10, 1976, and signed by Steve Nelson, Commander and T. Wallach, Executive Secretary
Physical Description: 1 page 

TLS, December 4, 1965, to Norman Corwin with TLS reply
Physical Description: 1 page 

TLS, June 9, 1974, from Ring Lardner to Alvah Bessie, and one TLS reply concerning the Rosenberg Memorial
Physical Description: 2 pages 

Three poems by Helen Sobell and ALS note

The Soul Book by Malvina Reynolds, inscribed to Alvah Bessie

TLS to Art Hoppe Newsman of the San Francisco Chronicle, February 12, 1985, and reply note

Two TLS from Edward Asner to Alvah Bessie with replies, 1984

Original Academy Award (Original Story)-Objective Burma, December 31, 1945, with seal

Carbon screenplay of Honesty
Physical Description: 57 pages 

Archive material, 1973-1979

TLS from Bessie welcoming international writers and directors to a conference, April 6, 1956
Physical Description: 1 page, signed 

TLS of speech at John Lawson Memorial, September 8, 1977
Physical Description: 4 pages, signed 

TLS speech at , 1955 Lawson Dinner
Physical Description: 1 page 

TLS from Adrian Scott to the rest of the Hollywood Ten concerning a message to them all by Jules Dassin, April 3, 1956
Physical Description: 1 page 

One TLS from Stephen Fritchman to Alvah Bessie, May 6, 1964, and reply signed statement

TLS from T. Cheng, editor of Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, China, April 8, 1957, and TLS reply

Invitations honoring Edward Barsky, Joe North, and one for the Daily Worker

Original telegram from the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee, June 2, 1954, plus 1 TLS from their Executive Board
Physical Description: 2 pages 

TLS from Freedom Ways, December 30, 1967, signed by Ossie Davis, James Baldwin, William Sloan Coffin, Pablo Casals and Basil Davidson, requesting sponsorship of Alvah Bessie for the magazine
Physical Description: 1 page 

Signed article on Harry Bridges, written by Alvah Bessie and signed by Harry Bridges

VALB poster handbill from a VALB meeting on January 5, 1951

TLS from Hollywood Writers Mobilization to Alvah Bessie, November 17, 1944
Physical Description: 1 page 

TLS from C. Galjano, Secretary General De Autores De Espano, with envelope and one TLS reply, October 26, 1970
Physical Description: 2 pages 

TLS to Bob Kenny from Alvah Bessie, undated, and one TLS to Alvah Bessie from Attorney Richard Siegel, , January 17, 1952
Physical Description: 2 pages 

Original typed play, 1954, Are You Now-?
Physical Description: 150 pages with handwritten changes, signed 

Archive of several typed internal Communist Party memos of Alvah Bessie using his party name, N.A. Daniels, 1955, 1956
Physical Description: 75 pages 

Original certified judgment and Commitment of U.S. vs. Bessie

Original copy of Alvah Bessie's clemency petition, November 27, 1950 and Department of Justice TLS to Alvah Bessie regarding clemency and parole records

Original story idea by Helen Clare Nelson (Bessie), The Hollow Man, undated
Physical Description: 10 pages with corrections 

Twelve unfinished plays, stories, articles
Physical Description: Approximately 75 total pages, most signed with handwritten changes 

Original play, The Night People
Physical Description: 321 pages, signed 

Original teleplay, I Can't Sleep, August 1965
Physical Description: 60 pages, signed 

Screenplay, 1950
Physical Description: 31 pages, plus revised edition with adaptation notes 

Revised screenplay, One for My Baby, with handwritten changes, plus 10 page schedule of changes, May 16, 1984

Original script, Jeanne d'Arc, August 12, 1972
Physical Description: Signed, with carton and reply, TLS photo 

Photocopy of One For My Baby with handwritten notes of Alvah Bessie

Teleplay, The Un-Americans, Berlin, 1961, , August 30, 1961
Physical Description: 100 pages, with handwritten changes 

Typed radio-play of The Un-Americans
Physical Description: 88 pages, with handwritten notes of Alvah Bessie and his home address stricken 

Original short fiction, “The Free World”
Physical Description: 120 pages, typed and signed with hand changes 

Photocopy of Spain Again
Physical Description: 75 pages, handwritten changes 

Archive of Spain Again
Physical Description: 120 pages 
Scope and Content Note: Primarily in Spanish, including 10 page typed synopsis. Includes letters to and from Bessie to the film's director, letters to and from Milt Wolff and others.

Original photo of Abraham Lincoln Brigade members leaving on ship to Spain,
Physical Description: 8¾″x6½″, 22 signed on back 

Alvah Bessie's stationery
Physical Description: 30 pages 

Original correspondence by and between Alvah and Eva Bessie and his mother, 1930 to 1985, much about the black list and Hollywood Ten
Physical Description: About 1,000 pieces 

Original screenplay Joaquin, with handwritten changes and letter from Dan Bessie regarding Joaquin
Physical Description: 103 pages 

Original carbon of novel, One For My Baby
Physical Description: 376 pages 

Original cover art work and mock up by Bessie of Bread and a Stone
Physical Description: Mounted [in oversize folder] 

Russian postcard, mounted with Stalin quote

Original manuscript, The Snake Friend, typed, with letter to Jerry Zinnamon
Physical Description: 23 pages 

Archive of letters, et cetera, to and from Jerry Zinnamon, Ring Lardner, Jr., Dalton Trumbo, et cetera, including Save the American Eagle, Bubo Virginianus and The Serpent Was More Subtle; half from Bessie
Physical Description: About 700 pieces 

Archive correspondence between Alvah Bessie and his grandson, Joseph Bessie, 1974-1985

Photocopy of Campo Abierto by Max Aub with original correspondence with Will Kirkland, the illustrator, 1982, signed, several ALS

Revised original manuscript The Hesitation Waltz
Physical Description: 25 pages, with handwritten changes, signed 

TLS to Paul Mazursky and signed reply TLS
Physical Description: 2 pages 

Four TLS, signed from Lester Cole, 1964, great substance in letters

Two TLS and 1 page reply from Carl Marzani, 1967, signed

TLS to Phil Gersh, June 21, 1982 and , July 6, 1982, and one page reply signed

Small archive of correspondence by and between Alvah Bessie and Walter Matthau, February 1982-June 1982

TLS from Milton Berle and two notes from Alvah Bessie to Milton Berle, signed, 1982

TLS to Woody Allen with 2 page ALS reply from Woody Allen, 1982

Framed photo and ALS from author Pablo Neruda to Alvah Bessie
Physical Description: 8"x10" 

Archival material from author Stephen Heym from , 1978 to 1985
Physical Description: 200 pages 

Framed photo of Angus Cameron with ALS on back
Physical Description: 8"x10" 

2 TLS from Albert Maltz to Alvah Bessie, good content, 1980

Archive of letters from Alvah Bessie to Milton Wolff on matters relating to VALB, Hollywood Ten, and politics, 1981-1984
Physical Description: 30 signed letters 

TLS from George Seldes and TLS reply from Alvah Bessie signed, 1983
Physical Description: 2 pages 

Agreement between Lenny Bruce and Alvah Bessie, September 2, 1959
Physical Description: 1 page, signed 

Typed original article, “Bill Bailey, Belchite-One Man's View”
Physical Description: 30 pages, handwritten changes 

Small archive on The Passionate War by Peter Wyden, letters, clippings, et cetera

First draft, The Symbol, teleplay
Physical Description: 103 pages, typed, handwritten changes 

Final shooting script of The Sex Symbol, ABC Movie of the Week, November 26, 1973
Physical Description: 90 pages, signed with handwritten changes 

Original manuscript radio play, Honesty, typed, September 26, 1961, with handwritten changes with German original manuscript Ehrlichkeit, typed, handwritten changes, with press release
Physical Description: 75 total pages 

Script and first draft of film, Try It-You'll Like It, May 2, 1980
Physical Description: 30 pages, typed, signed, handwritten changes 

Original typed manuscript, The Serpent Was More Subtle, 1969
Physical Description: 151 pages, handwritten changes 

Original manuscript, Dwell in the Wilderness, published 1935, Alvah Bessie's first novel
Physical Description: 540 typed pages, handwritten changes 

Hollywood On Trial ( 1948), 1st edition with ripped desk jacket
Physical Description: Signed by Alvah Bessie and inscribed by seven Hollywood Ten members, plus the author 

Small archive of July 12, 1961, visit to Hotel Newa, Berlin, Germany, for international conference of writers

Three TLS from author and editor Kyle Chrishton, August 1938 - September 1938, great content
Physical Description: 8 pages, all signed 

ALS article for Pravda, August 23, 1961
Physical Description: 5 pages, signed 

TLS testimonial for his friend Dr. Richard Lippman, undated
Physical Description: 2 pages, signed 

Four ALS from Spanish Censors to Alvah Bessie, May 15, 1938, , May 25, 1938, , July 20, 1938, and , August 26, 1938, great content
Physical Description: 4 pages 

TLS from Alvah Bessie to his girlfriend while he was in Spain, August 10, 1938, with Spanish censor notice

TLS from Chu Teh, Commander-in-Chief of 18th Group Army (Red Chinese Army head, second to MHO), September 8, 1944
Physical Description: Signed, on Army letterhead 

Alvah Bessie's typed address to the jury in his Contempt of Congress trial
Physical Description: 13 pages, signed, handwritten changes 

18 ALS and TLS from Alvah Bessie in prison to his children, July 20, 1950-April 14, 1951
Physical Description: Signed 

TLS to his children, April 12, 1950, just before going to prison in which he talks about his values, Hollywood Ten matters and socialism and communism
Physical Description: 8 pages, signed 

Typed TLS from Alvah Bessie, June 20, 1950, read at his sentencing
Physical Description: 2 pages, signed 

Three TLS from Hubert Humphrey to Alvah Bessie, 1965 and 1966 on Vice-Presidential stationery, regarding Vietnam
Physical Description: Signed 

Original film, The Hollywood Ten ( 1950), script by the Ten, produced by Paul Jarrico, directed by John Berry, includes Dmytryk
Physical Description: 15 minutes 

Original wood book markers of Alvah Bessie with Hammer and Sickle and his initials with inscription on side, 1942, from Tom McEwew, Canadian Communist author and leader

Archive of correspondence concerning The Hostages, between Alvah Bessie and Dan Bessie and others, 1970-1975
Physical Description: About 50 letters 

Unpublished original manuscript, Easier Than Walking, by Alvah Bessie
Physical Description: 16 typed pages, handwritten changes, signed 

Alvah Bessie's family recollections and history, October 1974, with initialed two-page TLS, , May 19, 1983
Physical Description: 12 typed pages with handwritten changes 

Archive of John Lawson; includes 1955 Tribute to Lawson booklet inscribed by Lawson, letter from Lawson, 4-page TLS memorial speech by Alvah Bessie at Lawson's memorial, signed September 8, 1977

Six TLS from “Jo” on Frisbie Case

Starting detective article and articles on Frisbie Case

Two letters to Mary Burnett (Bessie's first wife), undated, 1940s

One-page TLS, signed, from Attorney Joseph Inghacium, May 28, 1941, to Alvah Bessie regarding Frisbie Case, plus letter and petition regarding case

TLS from Alvah Bessie to publisher regarding Frisbie Case, August 5, 1941
Physical Description: 2 pages, signed 

TLS to Harold Frisbie from Minister F.A. Smith, February 25, 1941
Physical Description: 2 pages 

Notes of Alvah Bessie on Bread and a Stone
Physical Description: 3 pages 

Two letters to Mary Burnett (Bessie's first wife) regarding Frisbie Case

TLS from Mary Burnett to Alvah Bessie, October 17, 1940, good content on Frisbie Case and personal matters
Physical Description: 1 page, signed 

Notes and news article on Bread and A Stone

Updated version of Bread and A Stone written as film treatment
Physical Description: 30 pages, with signed photo pages 

Photo of Goya print initialed by Alvah Bessie with notes

Original typed screenplay, Museum, by Alvah Bessie, January 8, 1974
Physical Description: 14 pages, signed 

Typed manuscript, first draft of Many Waters, July 12, 1971
Physical Description: 16 pages, handwritten changes 

Typed manuscript Life and Death, September 8, 1971
Physical Description: 16 pages, with handwritten changes 

Part 4 (M95-128): Additions, 1938-1983
Physical Description: 0.1 c.f. (1 folder) 
Scope and Content Note: Additions (photocopies), 1938-1983, consisting of Alvah Bessie's analyses of his marriages to Mary Burnett and to Helen Clare Nelson; letters to his grandson, Joseph David Bessie; a letter to son David Bessie with Alvah's thoughts on the breakup of David's second marriage; correspondence received by Alvah in Spain during the Civil War in 1938; a partial summary of Alvah's employment history; and several miscellaneous letters.

Part 5 (M98-001): Additions, 1930-1985
Physical Description: 1.0 c.f. (1 record center carton) and 4 photographs 
Scope and Content Note: Additions, 1930-1985, to the Bruce Rubenstein Collection of the Alvah Bessie Archive, including biographical material; clippings and notes; personal and professional correspondence; manuscripts of writings by Alvah Bessie; and four personal photographs. Of note is correspondence between Alvah and his wife and daughter while he was in prison, 1950-1951.

Series: Biographical

Clippings, vitae, financial notes, et cetera, 1940-1985

HUAC-related items, 1949-1955
Scope and Content Note: Subpoenas, documents prepared for attorneys, statements and court speeches, petitions, parole board documents, et cetera

Gabriel Miller on Alvah Bessie, 1977-1982
Scope and Content Note: Reviews of Alvah Bessie books and introductions to his works by Gabriel Miller.

Series: Correspondence

Alvah Bessie/Helen Bessie/Eva Bessie Correspondence, 1950-1951
Physical Description: 191 letters (including a few inserts) 
Scope and Content Note: Correspondence exchanged between Alvah Bessie, his wife Helen Clare Nelson Bessie, and their daughter Eva (aged 6 in 1950) from just before Alvah Bessie's sentencing for contempt of Congress in June 1950 to his release from Texarkana Prison in April 1951 (the entire correspondence was sent to Eva Bessie Wilson by Alvah Bessie in 1968).

Alvah and Sylviane Bessie's Letters to Eva Bessie Wilson and her family, 1965-1986
Physical Description: 117 letters 
Scope and Content Note: Correspondence from Alvah and Sylviane Bessie to Alvah's daughter Eva, her husband Wes Wilson, and their children (the Wilsons' side of the correspondence is not included).

Miscellaneous professional correspondence
Scope and Content Note: Exchanges of letters (usually the letters received by Alvah Bessie and carbons of his own letters) between Alvah Bessie and others concerning matters of politics, writing, publishing, screenwriting, employment, et cetera. The correspondence falls into a series of discrete groups of letters over a short period on a particular topic, and these groups have been foldered here by correspondents in chronological order of the beginning of the correspondence.

Henry Moe of the Guggenheim Foundation, 1935-1950, on Alvah Bessie's Guggenheim Writer's Award

Ernest Hemingway, open letter from the Veterans of the Lincoln Brigade, 1940

Henry Shine, regarding a projected anti-Hitler magazine, 1941

Luther Adler, regarding publishing matters, 1948

Elia Kazan, regarding producing a play by Alvah and Helen Clare Nelson Bessie, 1948

Ramón Sender, regarding his novel The King and the Queen, 1948

Screen Writer's Guild, regarding Alvah Bessie's membership, 1951

Herbert [?], regarding writing for L'écran Français/Les Lettres Françaises, May 19, 1952

Morris [?] of the International Longshore Workers Union, regarding Alvah Bessie's employment by the Union, 1953

People's World magazine, notes for articles and correspondence about book reviews, 1956

Harry Bridges, regarding Alvah Bessie's position with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, 1958

Dalton Trumbo and Angus [?] of Cameron Associates, regarding a film or novel drawing on Alvah Bessie's night-club experiences, 1958

Oronite statement, returned by Cuban revolutionary management, 1961

Herb Caen, regarding a gossip column item on Alvah Bessie, 1961

San Francisco Chronicle, regarding an article on the Rosenberg case, 1965

David and Daniel Bessie, and Jaime Camino, regarding the screenplay for the film The Hostages, 1971-1975

Time magazine, in response to an article about Charles Chaplin, 1972

Robert Crichton, regarding his father, Kyle Crichton, 1975

Victor Navasky, about his HUAC research, 1975

Ring Lardner, Jr., in response to a review of his book My Family Remembered, 1976

Ring Lardner, Jr., Lester Cole, Albert Maltz, and the San Francisco Chronicle, in relation to an article by Lardner, 1978

Lester Cole, in relation to his book Hollywood Red, 1982

PEN American Center (especially Kathy Boyle), regarding a possible award for Alvah Bessie, 1982

Martha Gellhorn, principally about a television documentary-drama on Ernest Hemingway in Spain, 1982-1985

Edward Anser, about an appeal on behalf of El Salvador trade-unionists, 1984

Ring Lardner, Jr., in relation to his book, All for Love, 1985

Lou Gottlieb, about the introduction to a performance of some of Alvah Bessie's songs, 1985

Series: Writings of Alvah Bessie

Miscellaneous unpublished manuscripts

“The Ballad of the International Brigade”: libretto for oratorio or radio ballad, undated

Untitled play about the Spanish Civil War, undated

Jules Roy, The Horses of the Sun, translated by Sylviane and Alvah Bessie, undated

“Condena,” poem in Spanish by Rafael Alberti, December 8, 1970, with translation by Alvah Bessie, as “Sentence”

Novels

Chapter from The Un-Americans with preface for publication in The Contemporary Reader, undated, 1950s

Short stories

Five short stories by Alvah Bessie with unsigned cover letter to “Bruce” [Rubinstein] from Dan or David Bessie

“Like Father,” 1935

“Libation,” 1935

“The Professor's Friend,” undated

“Problem in Design,” 1936

“Vermont Landscape: 1931”

“American Underground,” by Peter Redman [pseudonym?], 1950

“In French,” undated

“I Am Mr. Russki,” undated

“Bubo virginanus” (first published in Alvah Bessie's Short Fictions, 1982)

Poetry

Unbound Typescripts

“Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?”, undated

“The Co-Existence Blues,” 1956

“Five Prison Poems” ( August 10, 1951-titles: “White Night,” “For My Dead Brother,” “A Song for the New Year”-two versions, “For Mr. Lincoln,” “The Free World”)

“Five Songs for Spain” (Missing titles: “Lamentations, For My Dead Brother”; Present titles: 2. “Memory of Battle,” 1951; 3. “Flamenco,” , 1952; 4. “The Dead Past,” , 1952; 5. “For Steve Nelson,” , 1953)

“For My Daughter,” undated

“For My Dead Brother/Love and Live,” undated

“For My Sons,” undated

“For the Political Prisoners,” December 30, 1953)
Physical Description: 3 versions 

“Getting Short,” undated

“I Am Addicted to You,” undated

“June 19, 1953,” undated

“Miltown Blues” ( 1956), and copy with “Miltown” crossed out and replaced with “Valium” throughout

“Outside Looking In,” 1951

“Parole Board,” undated

“Rest Room,” October 21 with Los Angeles Times, , October 20, 1949, clipping on arrest of Dalton Trumbo for drunkenness

“Those Subversive Blues,” verse play, 1960

Untitled, January 1, 1956

The Free World (and other captive verse) by Alvah Bessie (introduction, April 9, 1951)
Physical Description: Bound typescript of poetry collection 

Film stories and screenplays

Cross of Gold, 1950 story by Alvah Bessie(?)
Physical Description: Inscribed “Black market original ... sold by Ned Young”. 

Executive Action, screenplay by Dalton Trumbo, revisions by Alvah Bessie, May 1973; letter concerning Executive Action from Alvah Bessie, , May 9, 1973
Physical Description: Annotated cylostyled typescript of screenplay with revises inserted 

The “S” Bomb, screenplay by Jerrold I. Zinnamon [and Alvah Bessie, uncredited], 1956

To Kill a Man, Film Treatment by Alvah Bessie and Helen Clare Nelson [Bessie] based on Bessie's novel Bread and a Stone, undated, but before Alvah Bessie's imprisonment

The Un-Americans, screenplay by Alvah Bessie from his novel, undated

The Wasteland, film story by Alvah Bessie, registered April 28, 1976

Without Fear or Favor, screenplay by Alvah Bessie, October 6 - November 18, 1943

Miscellaneous articles and a speech

“Wanted: A People's War” ( undated, but during World War II)

“A Hero for this Month,” undated, but , late 1940s or 1950s
Note: Newspaper article on Joseph Rosmarin

“Casablanca Revisited,” article, 1979

“Fanning the Flames of Discontent,” text of speech to First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles, May 29, 1983

Unpublished Articles

Group of typescripts originally in folder labeled “unpublished”

Open letter by Alvah Bessie calling for purchase of War Bonds, January 19, 1942

“There's a Difference,” short article by Alvah Bessie, with letter from Frances Pinduck reporting rejection by Liberty magazine, January 5, 1943

“Wings of Victory,” film review, undated, but early 1940s

Untitled review of film All the King's Men, undated but contemporary with the release of the film

“The Touchstone (Franco Spain and America since 1939),” unpublished pamphlet, undated (, 1950 or 1951, by internal evidence)

Letter of resignation by Alvah Bessie from the Communist Party of the USA, February 15, 1957
Physical Description: Carbon draft 

Unpublished reviews of various books on the Spanish Civil War commissioned by Ramparts and San Francisco Chronicle (, 1966-1967)

Review of Studs Terkel's Hard Times, commissioned but not published by Scanlan's Monthly, March 30, 1970

Autobiographical Writings

“Where are you, Leon Ansbacher?” (autobiographical essay), undated
Physical Description: Photocopy 

“Slice of Life: Prospectus for a Memoir,” by Alvah Bessie, July 15, 1981
Physical Description: Carbon typescript 

“Sequel (to Inquisition in Eden)”: correspondence with Carey McWilliams of The Nation, 1972, concerning writing reviews for the magazine and possible sequel to Inquisition in Eden; 1951 clippings on Edward Dmytryk's switching sides; , 1972 clippings about Dmytryk and letters to the press by Alvah Bessie; corrected proof of “Sequel”

Series: Photographs
Scope and Content Note: 4 snapshots, separated from Letters of Alvah and Sylviane Bessie to Eva Bessie Wilson and her family.

Hôtel-Dieu, Beaune (Burgundy), May 22, 1979
Note: Enclosed with Alvah Bessie to Eva Bessie-Wilson, July 4, 1979.

Physical Description: 3"x4" color print, inscribed on reverse, “... also known as L'Hospice de Beaune” 

Alvah Bessie, 1980
Note: Enclosed with Alvah Bessie to the Wilsons, August 26, 1980.

Physical Description: 3"x4" color print, inscribed on reverse 

Alvah and Sylviane Bessie, November 1982
Note: Enclosed in Alvah Bessie to the Wilsons, December 22, 1982.

Physical Description: 3"x4" color print, inscribed on reverse, “At a cocktail party recently in Ross” 

Adam and Alvah Bessie, June 1982
Note: Enclosed with Alvah Bessie to the Wilsons, July 26, 1982.

Physical Description: 3"x4" color print, inscribed on reverse, “2 (Adam) and 78 (Alvah)” 

Part 6 (M99-106): Additions, 1972-1979
Physical Description: 0.2 c.f. (1 archives box) 
Scope and Content Note: Additions, 1972-1979, including scripts, drafts, notes, and correspondence between Alvah Bessie, Daniel Bessie, and Arthur S. Landis for an uncompleted film to be titled The Last Volunteer.

Part 7 (M2002-064): Additions, 1936-1991
Physical Description: 0.6 c.f. (2 archives boxes), 9 photographs, and 62 audio recordings (38 reel-to-reel tapes) 
Scope and Content Note: Additions, 1936-1991, consisting of miscellaneous personal papers, writings, and news clippings (1936-1991); photographs of the campaign on behalf of the Hollywood Ten (1949-1950); and sound recordings (1947-1985) including Bessie's testimony before HUAC, but mostly interviews with him or talks he gave.

Series: Legal Documents, Correspondence, et cetera

Letters from Dan Bessie to Ben Brewster (Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research), 2001, describing the contents of the accession

Divorce papers, 1938

Draft cards and correspondence regarding draft, 1943

Pilot's license and flight log books, 1937-1948

Address book, undated

Accounts, 1939-1947, in a steno pad; note of loans, , 1962

Draft of a letter by Alvah Bessie to Naomi ? about her research into McCarthyism, undated; letters to Glen Petrie, , April 28, 1935 and , November 15, 1936 (found in copy of book The Sons of Bilitis given to Petrie by Alvah Bessie and bought in a second-hand bookshop by Dan Bessie, , October 1999)

Series: Books by Alvah Bessie

Men in Battle, originally published by Scribners, New York
Scope and Content Note: Clippings of reviews of the 1939 edition; a note written by the author for the 1954 edition, published by the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in 1954, together with clippings of reviews; a list of publication dates up to 1970, with extracts from reviews (jacket copy for the 1977 edition?); clippings of reviews of the edition by Pinnacle Books, 1977.

Men in Battle and Spain Again, the first, originally published in 1939 by Chandler and Sharp, Corte Madera, California, in 1975
Note: Clippings of reviews of the two books together.

The Un-Americans (New York: Cameron Associates, 1957)
Note: Clippings of reviews.

Inquisition in Eden (New York: Macmillan, 1965)
Note: Clippings of reviews.

The Symbol, novel by Alvah Bessie (New York: Random House, 1967)
Scope and Content Note: Clippings of reviews of the novel (including a column by Bessie himself on the reception) and of the television play The Sex Symbol Bessie adapted from it, broadcast by ABC in 1974; correspondence about the residuals to The Sex Symbol, 1975.

Spain Again (Corte Madera, California: Chandler & Sharp, 1975)
Scope and Content Note: Two pages from chapter 5 and carbon typescript of pages 236-272 (marked “dup” in pencil).

One for My Baby, novel by Alvah Bessie (New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1980)
Scope and Content Note: Clippings and typescripts of reviews; correspondence, mostly 1974-1975, a few items up to 1982, mostly on a possible screen adaptation.

Alvah Bessie's Short Fictions (Solo Flight and The Serpent Was More Subtil): (Corte Madera, California: Chandler and Sharp, 1983)
Scope and Content Note: Correspondence, bank statements and receipts for the savings account set up to take the subscriptions whereby this collection of previously published Alvah Bessie stories was published; prospectus, press releases, and reviews.

One Man in His Time, unfinished and unpublished autobiography
Scope and Content Note: Drafts, research materials.

Untitled short story, undated
Note: Incomplete typescript marked “dup”.

Series: Pamphlets by Alvah Bessie

This Is Your Enemy: A Documentary Record of Nazi Atrocities against Citizens and Soldiers of Our Soviet Ally (Front Line Fighters Fund, 1942)

Mr. Smith Went to Washington (California Emergency Defense Committee, 1951)

Would You Be an Informer (A Letter from the County Jail), signed by Oleta O'Connor Yates ( July 1952)

Look, You Do Have a Choice for U.S. Senator (Joint Action Committee of Northern California Unions, September 1952)

Steve Nelson, A Tribute by 14 Famous Authors, including Alvah Bessie (Provisional Committee to Free Steve Nelson, undated, but probably , 1952)

The Everlasting Bridges Case (International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, May 1955)

Series: Articles by Alvah Bessie

“Pie in the Eye Opens San Fran Film Fest,” Entertainment World 1, number 6 ( November 7, 1969): 4-5 (anonymous)
Physical Description: Clipping 

“A Couple of Conferences That Weren't Covered,” The Realist, number 61 ( August 1965): 5, 8-9
Physical Description: Copy of the issue 

“Remembering Jack London,” Fiction Monthly 2, number 5 ( January 1985): 9-10
Physical Description: Copy of the issue 

Obituary of Helen Clare Nelson, San Francisco Chronicle ( May 4, 1981)
Physical Description: Clipping with corrections 

Alvah Bessie's columns in Marin Life and In These Times, 1976-1978
Physical Description: Clippings 

Series: Speeches by Alvah Bessie

“American Film in 1960,” delivered at the First Unitarian Church, Los Angeles, California, January 1, 1961

“The Spanish Civil War and the American Inquisition,” delivered at Rice University, Texas, and other Oklahoma and Texas venues, January-February 1979

Series: Occasional Writings by Alvah Bessie

Letters to the press (also clippings of the articles, et cetera, that occasioned the letters), 1956, 1975-1982

Series: Miscellaneous

Brief mentions of Alvah Bessie in the press, 1951-1982
Physical Description: Clippings 

“The hungry i”
Scope and Content Note: Clippings on this San Francisco cabaret, at which Alvah Bessie served as stage manager and announcer, 1957-1963, mostly by Don Asher.

Appearances and Events: clippings and correspondence on lectures, interviews, et cetera, by Alvah Bessie, 1962-1985

Short articles, interviews, and mentions in non-U.S. publications

“Durch den spanischen Spiegel,” Das Magazin, 16, nummer 1 (Berlin, DDR: January 1969): 50-2

“Le privilège,” Almanache de l'Humanité (Paris, 1983); Filmihullu (Eiripaino, Lahti, Finland: , May 1976), special issue on the Hollywood blacklist (pictures of Bessie, no article on or by him)

Enric Satue, “El discreto encanto del diseño gráfico USA (I),” CNU (Barcelona: 1974)
Note: Article on Milton Wolff, citing Alvah Bessie.

Pierre Lachat, “'Ich bin nicht dies! ich bin nicht das! ich gehöre zu nichts! ich glaube an nichts! ich kritisiere nichts!': Hollywood und die unamerikanischen Umtriebe,” Tagesanzeiger Magazin, 7 (Zürich: January 19, 1972): 29-33

“Legal gelyncht,” Der Spiegel, 27 (BRD: June 28, 1971)

Ricardo Muñoz Suay, “Una columna: Aquellos testigos,” Fotogramas, 24, numero 1012 (Barcelona/Madrid: March 8, 1968): 3

Alvah Bessie, “Susan Aldridge, sie ruhe in Frieden!” Das Magazin, 14, nummer 6 (Berlin, DDR: June 1967): 6-9, 72

Alvah Bessie, “Blick in die literarische Unterwelt der USA,” Sonntag, nummer 21 (Berlin, DDR: 1966): 12; nummer 23 (, 1966): 23

Alvah Bessie, “Leonhard Frank in Hollywood,” Das Magazin (Berlin, DDR: undated): 21-3

“Eine Stimme des anderen America, interview mit Alvah Bessie,” Neues Deutschland (Berlin, DDR: March 20, 1965)

“Kontakt und Austausch: BZ-Interview mit Alvah Bessie,” Berliner-Zeitung (Berlin, DDR: May 13, 1965)

Alvah Bessie, “Nenne es Liebe,” Das Magazin, 10, nummer 3 (Berlin, DDR: March 1963): 6-11

Alvah Bessie, “Soldaten,” Das Magazin, 9, nummer 7 (Berlin, DDR: July 1962): 20-3

Klaus Bellin, “Unsere Hoffnung ist die DDR,” Junge Welt, 15, nummer 240B (Berlin, DDR: October 10, 1961)

“Internationale Spanienkundgebung,” Neues Deutschland (Berlin, DDR: July 16, 1961)

Alvah Bessie Oral History interview
Scope and Content Note: Correspondence between Sylviane Bessie, Dan Bessie and Roy Rosenzweig and others at George Mason University regarding Alvah Bessie oral history, 1985 and 1992

Series: Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB)

Text of speech by Alvah Bessie for VALB 39th anniversary dinner, Spenger's Grotto, Berkeley, California, February 8, 1976
Physical Description: Typescript 

Sam Spiller, “Remembering Alvah Bessie and Aaron Lopoff”: handwritten draft of article; letters from Sam Spiller to Dan Bessie, 1991

Al Amery: letter to Dan Bessie, August 8, 1991, enclosing card and letter from Alvah Bessie to Al Amery, , January 12, 1984, and , December 30, 1984

John L. Simon: letter to Dan Bessie, August 2, 1991, enclosing photocopies of letters from Alvah Bessie to Simon, , 1980, and a catalog page on One for My Baby Bessie sent to Simon

Congratulatory messages printed in a booklet for the VALB 39th Anniversary dinner, Berkeley, California, February 8, 1976

Moe Fishman: letter to Dan Bessie, November 26, 1991

The Volunteer (Organ of the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade), 12, number 1 ( May 1990), with letter from George Kaye about Alvah Bessie's depiction of Irving Norman in Men in Battle

Series: Writings of Others

Helen Clare Nelson, “The Case of the Contemptuous Wife”
Physical Description: Photocopy of pages 27-38 of a volume published by Mainstream, New York, 1948 

Series: Photographs
Scope and Content Note: 9-8"x10" black-and-white photographs, 1949-1950, showing Alvah Bessie and other members and supporters of the Hollywood Ten during the campaign to free them (see letter from Dan Bessie with descriptions).

Series: Sound Recordings
Note: Descriptions of the contents of the following tape recordings derive from the labels on the tapes and tape boxes, not from an audition.

Subseries: Quarter-Inch Reel-To-Reel Tape, Seven-Inch Reels

“The Page St. Players, July 26-27, 1953. Eva Bessie. Alvah Bessie. Madame X (X. Claire Nelson)”

“Alvah Bessie. Berlin-Leipzig. July 1961. Side One-English (Berlin)-copied from 7½ ips master. Side Two-German (Leipzig)-copied from 30 ips master. Side Two-French (Berlin)-copied from 3¾ ips master. This tape to be played at 7½ ips. Half track. 165 Corbett Avenue, near 17th.”

“KPFA- March 5, 1965-Inquisition. Inquisition in Eden. 3¾ ips. Full track.”

“ March 25, 1965. KXKX-FM-Inquisition.”

“1. Contact-WKYC- August 16, 1965-10:05-11.05 p.m. American Inquisition. Tape #1 of 3 7½”

“2. Contact-WKYC- August 16, 1965-11.05-11.30 p.m. American Inquisition. Tape #2 of 3 7½”

“3. Contact-WKYC- August 16, 1965-11.30 p.m.-12:00 M. Tape #3 of 3 7½”

“KFAX (San Francisco), February 28, 1967-4:45 & 11.30 p.m. Author-Alvah Bessie. Interviewed by Bob Furry on KFAX, San Francisco, , February 22, 1967”

“A8359. KCBS. Alvah Bessie dub (Mel Hatton February 23, 1967). Speed: 7½. Date recorded: Friday, , February 25, 1967”

“1.30-2:00 p.m. 7½ KSFO. March 1, 1967. Jack Carney”

“WERE (Cleveland), March 9, 1967. Bill Gordon Interview March 9, 1967 (recorded , February 22, 1967 in San Francisco).”

“KTIM, October 14, 1974. Jorie Parr. Interview-Alvah Bessie-Jorie Parr. KTIM radio (San Rafael, California), October 14, 1974. SYMBOL on TV & other matters. 21 minutes”
Physical Description: Actually five-inch tape in seven-inch box 

“5846: Spain & Hollywood 10. Alvah:-4, 4 minute programs were used on all 180 stations on our program called 'All Things Considered' on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday- November 11, 12, 13, and 14 [1975]-the long piece will be used one day this month. Best, Ken.”

“KIIS (Los Angeles), November 16, 1975, 8:00-8:30 ... Boyd Britton. Spain Again”

“KPFA, November 28, 1976Spain-interview with Helga-Lohe-Bailey. 30 minutes-5 last minutes!”

Subseries: Quarter-Inch Reel-To-Reel Tape, Five-Inch Reels

“HUAC-October 28, 1947 (AB). Alvah Bessie. Unamerican Committee Testimony. October 28, 1947. 3¾ ips”

“FUCLA & March 14, 1965. AB. March 14, 1965-playing speed 3¾” per second. Louis Mumford's letter to the President: read by Lloyd Gough. 'The Continuing Inquisition,' Alvah Bessie. First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles. Recorded by George W. Bishop. Reel number 90808”

“KQED March 27 & , March 31, 1967. 3¾ ips. Symbol-30 min. KQED-SF-TV (James Dey)-Audio. 27 & March 31, 1967.”

“Sex Symbol 1. Sex Symbol Tape #1 (Agatha Murphy opening statement missing). ABC MOW September 17, 1974. 8:30-10:00 pm WDT”

“Sex Symbol 2. Sex Symbol Tape #2.”

“Sex Symbol 3. Sex Symbol Tape #3.”

“Sex Symbol 4. Sex Symbol Tape #4 (about 30 seconds missing between tapes).”

“Sex Symbol 5. Sex Symbol Tape #5.”

“Men & Spain, KTIM radio, San Rafael, California, April 15, 1975. Spain Again & Men in Battle. Interview with Jorie Parr ... KTIM, San Rafael, California AM 1510, April 15, 1975, 9:30 PDT”

Subseries: Quarter-Inch Reel-To-Reel Tape, Three-Inch Reel

“SHF on AB-FUCLA- March 14, 1965”

Subseries: Cassette Tapes

“Alvah Bessie / Peter Caroll 'Book Talk' Part I,” undated

“Alvah Bessie / Peter Caroll 'Book Talk' Part II,” undated

“HUAC Hearing-San Francisco City Hall- May 13, 1960-testimony of Tyler Brooke-Salud!”

“Alvah Bessie, May 19, 1970”: A and B

“Alvah Bessie, May 19, 1970”: C and D

“Alvah Bessie, May 19, 1970”: E and F

“Men & Spain: KPOO, San Francisco, March 27, 1975, 89.5 FM, 9-10 a.m. Dave Whitaker”

“'Jim Eason Show' KGO Radio, 1pm, May 9, 1975” (Side One and Side Two)

“Alvah Bessie-1 hour interview 'Eason Show' KGO, May 9, 1975” (Side One and Side Two)

“KPFA-FM (94.1), Berkeley, California, June 26, 1975. Roundtable, Spain, Frances Emley (Mod), Milt. Wolff, Juan Duran, AB, 45 minutes”

“NBC News. Liberty Act 1. March 30, 1976-9:30 pm (PDT) Trumbo & A.B.”

“KPIX. Evening-Alvah Bessie & Lester Cole- December 1, 1976, San Francisco. Evening-Alvah Bessie and Lester Cole-December 1, 1976.”

“KQED, Open Studio, Hollywood Blacklist ... 30 minutes, April 5, 1977. KQED-Open Studio-Hollywood Blacklist-Side One”

“Bessie Seminar, November 7, 1977, Sacramento-California State University: Side One-Bessie seminar in Sacramento Room-2:30, November 7, 1977; Side Two-2:30 seminar (continued)” ,

“'From Spain to Washington', California State University-Sacramento, November 7, 1977: Side One-Bessie lecture: November 7, 1977, 'From Spain to Washington'; Side Two-Discussion following Bessie lecture; November 7, 1977”

“Bessie, Alvah Tape #1. Interviewed by Rollins, Peter, 1979”