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John Huston papers
5
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Title: John Huston papers
Date (inclusive): 1920-1985
Date (bulk): mid-1940s to mid-1970s
Collection number: 5
Creator:
Huston, John
Extent:
63 linear feet of papers.
4 linear feet of photographs.
Repository:
Margaret Herrick Library. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Languages:
English
Important Information for Users of the Collection
Available by appointment only.
Property rights to the physical object belong to the Margaret Herrick Library. Researchers are responsible for obtaining all
necessary rights, licenses, or permissions from the appropriate companies or individuals before quoting from or publishing
materials obtained from the library.
John Huston papers, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
John Huston was an American director, actor, and screenwriter whose film career spanned 1929 to 1987.
Huston came to Hollywood as a writer in the early 1930s, under contract first at Samuel Goldwyn, then at
Universal. Finding his niche as a writer at Warner Bros., Huston scripted JEZEBEL (1938) and HIGH SIERRA
(1941), among other films. His directorial debut was THE MALTESE FALCON (1941), for which he also wrote
the screenplay. Huston went on to direct such pictures as THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (1950), MOULIN ROUGE (1952),
MOBY DICK (1956), THE MISFITS (1961), FREUD (1962), THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA (1964), WISE BLOOD (1979),
UNDER THE VOLCANO (1984), and PRIZZI'S HONOR (1985). As an actor Huston has appeared in THE TREASURE OF
THE SIERRA MADRE (1948), THE CARDINAL (1963), and CHINATOWN (1974). Huston received Academy Awards for
writing and directing THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE. His other dozen nominations span five decades and
three categories (writing, directing, and acting).
Collection Scope and Content Summary
The John Huston papers span the years 1920-1985 (bulk mid-1940s to mid-1970s) and encompass 67 linear
feet. The collection contains production files (scripts, production material, correspondence, and
research); correspondence (material dealing with professional, personal, financial, and legal matters);
subject files (clippings, various drafts of his autobiography, material relating to his home in Ireland,
various publications of a general nature, a few drawings by Huston, and material gathered for an
unpublished biography of his father, Walter Huston); and photographs. The production files contain
material related to both produced and unproduced projects, including budgets, employment agreements,
casting information, shooting schedules, interoffice memos, cutting notes, censorship correspondence,
general correspondence, and publicity clippings and reviews. The emphasis is on the 1950s and 1960s.
There are no production files from the 1930s and only a few from the 1940s. Those from the 1940s include
the government wartime documentaries.
Arrangement
Arranged in the following series: 1. Production files, subseries A-B as follows: A. Produced; B.
Unproduced; 2. Television files, subseries A-B as follows: A. Produced; B. Unproduced; 3.
Correspondence; 4. Subject files; 5. Writings; 6. Photographs, subseries A-B as follows: A. Motion
picture production; B. Subject
Huston, John , 1906-1987--Archives
Actors
Directors
Screenwriters