Finding aid for the Irene Dunne papers 2217
Diann Benti
USC Libraries Cinematic Arts Library
2021 October
Doheny Memorial Library G4
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California 90089-0185
ctlibarc@usc.edu
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Cinematic Arts Library
Title: Irene Dunne papers
Creator:
Dunne, Irene, 1898-1990
Identifier/Call Number: 2217
Physical Description:
22 Linear Feet
17 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1920-1971
Abstract: This collection contains the papers of American actor Irene Dunne (1898-1990) and chiefly consists of press clippings, photographs
and film stills, and business files related to her movie career.
Language of Material:
English.
Conditions Governing Access
Advance notice required for access.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Irene Dunne.
Biographical / Historical
Irene Dunne (1898-1990) was an American actor who starred in over forty movies between 1930 and the 1950s. She was nominated
for the Academy Award for Best Actress five times but never won. Outside of acting, Dunne was involved in philanthropic and
humanitarian causes. Dunne was married to Dr. Francis D. Griffin and they had one daughter, Mary Frances Griffin.
Preferred Citation
[Box/folder no. or item name], Irene Dunne papers, Collection no. 2217, Cinematic Arts Library, Special Collections, USC Libraries,
University of Southern California.
Processing Information
Processed by USC students in 2019 as part of the "Piloting a Shared Practice for Accessible Archival Descriptions" Dean's
Challenge Grant. Additional description and some rearrangement by Diann Benti in 2021.
Scope and Contents
This collection contains the papers of American actor Irene Dunne (1898-1990) and chiefly consists of press clippings, photographs
and film stills, and business files related to her movie career. Additional materials include small files of awards, correspondence,
and event programs, two music books, and four scripts (A Guy Named Joe; How the West was Won; I Remember Mama; and The White
Cliffs of Dover). There are also some scrapbooks/commemorative albums including ones for the christening of the S.S. Carole
Lombard in 1944 (Box 16, Volume 2); a New Jersey war bond luncheon and rally in 1942 (Box 16, Volume 3); and an American Red
Cross album, 1949 (Box 16, Volume 4).
The press clippings consist of files of loose newspaper clippings and well as forty-six 11 x 17" volumes with pasted clippings
of articles that mention or feature Dunne, dating from 1935 to 1951. While most of the clippings relate to her celebrity as
a movie star, the last volume (Box 11, Volume 7) deals with her work with St. John's Hospital.
There is little in the collection that reflects Dunne's personal life or family.
Rights Statement for Archival Description
Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Cinematic Arts Library
at ctlibarc@usc.edu. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Cinematic Arts Library as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Motion picture actors and actresses -- United States -- Archival resources
Motion picture actors and actresses -- United States -- Photographs
Actors -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Motion pictures -- Photographs
Film stills
Photographs
Clippings
Dunne, Irene, 1898-1990 -- Archives
Dunne, Irene, 1898-1990 -- Photographs
Box 1, Folder 2
Correspondence
Scope and Contents
A small file chiefly containing brief, formal letters from well-known individuals including Bernard Baruch, Omar Bradley,
Calvin Coolidge, Thomas Dewey, John Foster Dulles, Kathrine Hepburn, J. Edgar Hoover, Rose Kennedy, Henry Cabot Lodge, and
Earl Warren.
Box 1, Folder 3
Programs and various printed material
Scope and Contents
Various programs chiefly for civic and charitable events with some related materials.
Box 1, Folder 4
Saint John's Hospital
1951-1960s
Box 1, Folder 5
U.S. Army Berlin welcome booklet
1967
Box 1, Folder 6
California Arts Commission "Dimension" exhibition file
1970
Business files
Scope and Contents
Includes contracts, business correspondence, agreements, and earning statements arranged by studio.
Box 2, Folder 10
20th Century-Fox Film Corp.
Box 2, Folder 15
Television: Edward Lewis Productions/ Schlitz Brewing Series
Box 3, Folder 2
How the West was Won (Draft)
1961
Box 3, Folder 4
The White Cliffs of Dover
1942
Box 15, Folder 1
My Favorite Wife
Scope and Contents
Folded French poster for "Mon Epouse Favorite."
Box 4, Folder 1-10
Clippings
1939-1954-03
Language of Material: 03-1954
Box 5, Folder 1-22
Clippings
1954-1971 and undated
Language of Material: 1971
Box 15, Folder 2
Globe-Democrat Sunday Magazine: MUNY Opera Section [full issue]
1968-06-02
Box 15, Folder 2
St. Louis Post-Dispatch Sunday magazine [full issue]
1968-06-02
Clipping Volumes
Scope and Contents
17 x 11 inch volumes with clippings pasted on pages.
Box 6, volume 1-10
Press books
1935-April 1940
Language of Material: 12-1941
Box 7, volume 1-11
Press books
April 1940-September 1942
Language of Material: 06-1944
Box 8, volume 1-9
Press books
September 1942-January 1945
Language of Material: 08-1948
Box 9, volume 1-11
Press books
January 1945-August 1947
Language of Material: 02-1951
Box 10, volume 1-5
Press books
September 1947-January 1949
Box 11, volume 1-7
Press books
January 1949-1951
Photographs of Irene Dunne, friends, and places
Box 12, Folder 1, Box 15, Folder 3
Various photographs of Irene Dunne and others
1920s-1960s
Box 15, Folder 6
Harry Lemen photographs of Madison, Indiana
Creator: Lemen, Harry, 1889-1951
Scope and Contents
Set of 64 black-and-white photographs of various views around Madison, Indiana (Irene Dunne's hometown).
Box 15, Folder 4
Autographed actor headshots
Box 12, Folder 9
The Age of Innocence
1934
Box 12, Folder 12, Box 15, Folder 5
Box 12, Folder 14
Consolation Marriage
1931
Box 13, Folder 7
Magnificent Obsession
1935
Box 14, Folder 14
The White Cliffs of Dover
1944
Box 16, volume 1
New Zealand "Magnificent Obsession" comment book
1936
Box 16, volume 2
S.S. Carole Lombard christening photographs
1944-01-15
Box 16, volume 3
War bond luncheon and rally, Hackensack, New Jersey, scrapbook
1942
Box 16, volume 4
American Red Cross album
1949
Box 16, volume 5
Irene Dunne clippings scrapbook
Box 16, volume 6
"The Motion Picture Career of...Irene Dunne" [small handwritten notebook listing movies]
Box 17
Production stills scrapbook
1930s
Scope and Contents
Scrapbook of production stills as well as headshots of Dunne and other cast members for multiple films including "Cimarron"
and "Symphony of Six Million."
Box 3, Folder 10
Photocopies from other collections
Scope and Contents
Photocopies of documents related to Irene Dunne radio programs from other USC Cinematic Arts Library Collections.
