A heavily annotated script for a work by Fritz Kortner (1892-1970), one of Austria's best-known character actors and the nation's foremost performer of Expressionist work. Kortner titled this early working draft Ein Traum, kein Leben, but he later renamed the work Donauwellen and turned it into a play that was first performed in Munich in 1949. Kortner wrote the draft titled Ein Traum, kein Leben in Los Angeles while in exile. He carried the manuscript with him back to Germany in December 1947. Donauwellen was Kortner's first release in Europe following his exile. The play was a success with the public and it was performed 30 times. Following Donauwellen's initial popularity, the United States military banned subsequent productions of the play in post-war Germany.

Fritz Kortner (1892-1970) was one of Austria's best-known character actors and the nation's foremost performer of Expressionist work. In 1933, Kortner went on a performance tour of Scandinavia--and, being Jewish--decided not to return. After the tour, Kortner fled to the United States by way of London. By 1941, Kortner was living in Hollywood and writing scripts.

0.06 Linear Feet 1 pamphlet binder

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Department of Special Collections at specol@usc.edu. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections 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.

Advance notice required for access.