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Finding Aid for the Horace McCoy papers, 1920-1956
794  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Administrative Information
  • Biography/History
  • Scope and Content
  • Organization and Arrangement
  • Indexing Terms
  • Bibliography

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Horace McCoy papers
    Date (inclusive): 1920-1956
    Collection number: 794
    Creator: McCoy, Horace, 1897-1955
    Extent: 6 boxes (3 linear ft.)
    Abstract: Horace McCoy (1897-1955) wrote hard-boiled detective fiction and sold his first screenplay, The Luxury Girl, in 1933; his first and most notable novel was They Shoot Horses, Don't They?(1935). During the next twenty years, he wrote scripts for several Hollywood studios and produced five additional novels. The collection consists mainly of typescripts of McCoy novels and screenplays.
    Language: Finding aid is written in English.
    Language of the Material: Materials are in English. Portions of this collection are in Portuguese, French, Danish, German, Italian and Norwegian.
    Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library Special Collections.
    Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
    Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections for paging information.

    Administrative Information

    Restrictions on Access

    Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections for paging information.

    Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

    Property rights to the physical object belong to the UC Regents. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

    Provenance/Source of Acquisition

    Gift of Helen McCoy, 1962.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Horace McCoy papers (Collection 794). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

    UCLA Catalog Record ID

    UCLA Catalog Record ID: 2221363 

    Biography/History

    Horace McCoy was born April 14, 1897 in Pegram, Tennessee; worked for Dallas Journal and Dallas Dispatch in 1920s; his hard-boiled detective fiction appeared in Black Mask magazine; arrived in Hollywood to pursue acting career in 1931; sold screenplay, The Luxury Girl, in 1933; his first and most notable novel was They Shoot Horses, Don't They?(1935); during the next twenty years, he wrote scripts for several Hollywood studios and produced five additional novels; died December 15, 1955.

    Scope and Content

    Collection consists mainly of typescripts of McCoy novels and screenplays. Includes the final shooting script and ephemera for They Shoot Horses, Don't They?(1935). Also includes correspondence, copies of McCoy's work in translation, and ephemera.

    Organization and Arrangement

    Arranged in the following series:
    1. Manuscripts, typescripts, screenplays
    2. Ephemera, clippings, correspondence
    3. Books--foreign translations.

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

    Subjects

    McCoy, Horace,--1897-1955--Archives.
    American fiction--20th century--Archival resources.
    Authors, American--20th century--Archival resources.
    Screenwriters--United States--Archival resources.

    Genres and Forms of Material

    Film scripts.
    Photographs.
    They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

    Bibliography

    • from Black Mask
      • 1927 December: The Devil Man.
      • 1929 September: Dirty Work.
      • 1929 October: Hell's Stepsons.
      • 1929 December: Renegades of the Rio.
      • 1930 January: The Little Black Book.
      • 1930 March: Frost Rides Alone.
      • 1930 July: Somewhere in Mexico.
      • 1930 August: The Gun-Runners.
      • 1930 December: The Mailed Fist.
      • 1931 May: Headfirst into Hell - missing.
      • 1931 November: The Mopper Up.
      • 1932 March: The Trail to the Tropics.
      • 1932 June: The Golden Rule.
      • 1932 August: Murder in error.
      • 1932 October: Wings over Texas.
      • 1934 May: Flight at Sunrise.
      • 1934 October: Somebody must die - missing.
    • from Detective-Dragnet Magazine
      • 1930 December: Killer's Killer.
      • 1931 March: Death Alley - missing.
      • 1931 August: Juggernaut of Justice - missing.
    • from Detective Action Stories
      • 1931 Frbruary: Night Club - missing.
    • from Man Stories
      • 1931 July: A matter of Honor - missing.