Finding Aid for the William A. Drake Papers, ca. 1915-1946; bulk 1930-1946

Processed by Jennifer Myers; machine-readable finding aid created by J. Myers and J. Graham
UCLA Library, Performing Arts Special Collections
University of California, Los Angeles, Library
Performing Arts Special Collections, Room A1713
Charles E. Young Research Library, Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Phone: (310) 825-4988
Fax: (310) 206-1864
Email: speccoll-paging@library.ucla.edu
http://www2.library.ucla.edu/specialcollections/performingarts/index.cfm
© 2005
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.


Descriptive Summary

Title: William A. Drake Papers
Date (inclusive): ca. 1915-1946,
Date (bulk): (bulk 1930-1946)
Collection number: 289
Creator: Drake, William A., b. 1899
Extent: 7 boxes (3.25 linear ft.)
Abstract: William Drake was an assistant editor for Vanity Fair magazine in New York and a screenwriter in Hollywood. The collection consists of a mixture of writings that appear to be playscripts, screenplays, preliminary and suggested outlines for stage and screen projects, assorted stories, synopses, and essays written, adapted, translated by or possibly submitted to Drake.
Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Performing Arts 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 the UCLA Library, Performing Arts Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.

Administrative Information

Restrictions on Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.

Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Performing Arts Special Collections. 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.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], William A. Drake Papers(Collection 289). Performing Arts Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

Biography

William Drake was born in Dayton, OH, in 1899. He was an assistant editor for Vanity Fair magazine in New York. He later moved to the West Coast where he worked as a screenwriter in Hollywood, CA. He worked on film projects such as Grand Hotel (1932), One More Spring (1935), Stanley and Livingstone (1939), The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939), and The Three Musketeers (1939). Drake also wrote, adapted, or translated articles, stories, and plays. William Drake died of a heart attack on October 28, 1965 in Hollywood, CA.

Scope and Content

The collection consists of material related to the career of writer William Drake. The collection includes what appears to be playscripts, screenplays, preliminary and suggested outlines for stage and screen projects, assorted stories, synopses, and essays written, adapted, translated by or possibly submitted to Drake. For many of the writings it is not clear if they were intended for motion pictures, stage, or publication; and/or if they were ultimately produced or published. In some cases, it is not clear if the materials were written by or submitted to Drake. There are writings for projects such as Brown Derby, One More Spring, Sherlock Holmes, and a project titled Ready to Wear, adapted from the story by Claudia Cranston, which are all assumed to be for motion picture projects. The file titles were assigned by the processor.

Organization and Arrangement

The collection is arranged alphabetically by what appears to be the titles of the items/works.

Indexing Terms

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

Subjects

Drake, William A.,--b. 1899--Archives.
Screen writers--Archival resources.


Box 1, Folder 10

According to the Evidence - preliminary outlines (no date)

Note

With loose pages for "Sequence A". See also All the Evidence.
Box 6, Folder 12

Adieu, New York - story translated by W.D. (no date)

Box 6, Folder 33

Alfred Düblin Towards a New Naturalism - essay (no date)

Box 7, Folder 7

Alibi Baby - by Claudia Cranston - reader summary (1932 Nov 30)

Box 1, Folder 8

All the Evidence - [story outline or synopsis] (no date)

Note

With loose script pages.
Box 7, Folder 18

Anybody's Crime - story synopsis and notes (no date)

Note

See also All the Evidence.
Box 4, Folder 2

Apartments 1,5,7 - playscript (no date)

Box 4, Folder 3

Apartments 1,5,7 - playscript (no date)

Box 6, Folder 13

Aphrodite - [synopsis of story] (3 pages) (no date)

Box 7, Folder 4

Artists and Ad Writers - by Claudia Cranston synopsis (1931 Sept 25)

Note

First in a series of short stories in Good Housekeeping, Oct. 1931. See also Ready to Wear.
Box 6, Folder 25

Bernhard Kellermann - essay (no date)

Box 5, Folder 10

Big Jim - by William A. Drake - outline screen adaptation and suggested continuity revisions (no date)

Box 5, Folder 11

Big Jim - outline screen adaptation by William A. Drake (236 pages) (no date)

Box 6, Folder 1

Big Jim - outline screen adaptation by William A. Drake (267 pages) (no date)

Note

.
Box 7, Folder 2

Big Sale (The) - [outline or synopsis?] (no date)

Box 6, Folder 10

[Big Tim Sullivan?] - incomplete story (no date)

Box 6, Folder 15

Blue-Bird (The) - a fairy tale by Count Aleksoy N. Tolstoy translated from the Russian by William A. Drake - story (no date)

Box 3, Folder 2

Boomerang - rough first draft play script - William A. Drake (no date)

Box 6, Folder 16

Brave Sparrow (The) by Eugene Chirikov - story (no date)

Box 1, Folder 5

Breach of Discipline - first draft continuity script (1939 Oct. 9 - 1940 Jan. 8)

Note

With letter to W.D. from Julian Johnson dated 15 Jan. 1940.
Box 1, Folder 4

Breach of Discipline - story and screenplay by William Drake (1939 Oct. 9 - 1940 Jan. 8)

Box 1, Folder 6

Breach of Discipline by William A. Drake - first draft continuity script (1940 Jan. 13)

Box 4, Folder 4

Brothel (The) - story by Karl Hans Strobl translated from the German by William A. Drake (no date)

Box 4, Folder 12

[Brown Derby] - character list, script pages and notes (no date)

Note

With magazine story "What Makes Sammy Run?" by Bud Wilson Shulberg, Liberty Magazine Aug. 10, 1940.
Box 7, Folder 16

Brown Derby - character profiles and notes (no date)

Note

Also known as The Happy Marriage.
Box 4, Folder 10

Brown Derby - preliminary outline of a proposed play by Eddie Cantor and William A. Drake (no date)

Note

See also The Happy Marriage.
Box 4, Folder 9

Brown Derby - suggested plots for play (no date)

Note

See also The Happy Marriage.
Box 1, Folder 9

Capital Punishment - preliminary outline of an original story by Chase Morgan (no date)

Note

See also All the Evidence.
Box 6, Folder 19

Carl Sternheim - by A. Mircea [?] - essay (no date)

Box 6, Folder 9

Case of Too Much Conscience by Norman Barrett - story (15 pages) (no date)

Box 2, Folder 2

Clown (The) - screen play by William A. Drake and Stanley Paley (no date)

Box 5, Folder 4

Coat, A Hat, A Glove (A) - a play adapted from the German of Wilhelm Speyer by William A. Drake (1934 Jan 31)

Box 4, Folder 15

Comrade Stalin - cut out stories from magazines (ca. 1940's)

Box 7, Folder 17

Comrade Stalin - notes and writings (no date)

Note

With memo to Julian Johnston from Darryl Zanuck dated Jan. 12, 1940.
Box 4, Folder 14

Comrade Stalin - preliminary outline by William A. Drake (1940 March 23)

Note

With memo from William Randol.
Box 4, Folder 13

Comrade Stalin - synopsis outline for screen story, notes and research (no date)

Box 6, Folder 2

Cut out stories from magazines - one translated by W.D. (ca. 1916)

Box 2, Folder 9

Dance Hall - rough first draft script (1939 Feb. 15)

Note

Probably duplicate copy of screenplay.
Box 2, Folder 8

Dance Hall - screenplay (no date)

Note

Probably duplicate copy of rough first draft
Box 3, Folder 8

Death Takes a Holiday - synopsis for the play by Alberto Casella (no date)

Box 6, Folder 3

Delirium - a Paul Gordon Production - script (no date)

Box 2, Folder 3

Deportation Train - by William A. Drake - story outline (no date)

Note

With 12 page memorandum on possible story revisions.
Box 6, Folder 11

Don Carlos: A Dramatic Poem by Friedrich von Schiller - synopes (2 versions) (1938 Aug 15, no date)

Note

With list titled: Translations of Schiller's "Don Carlos."
Box 2, Folder 1

Education De Prince - An Anecdote in Fourteen Episodes by Maurice Donnay - translated from the French by William A. Drake - play (no date)

Box 6, Folder 27

Else Lasker-Schüler - essay (no date)

Box 6, Folder 28

Ernst Lissauer - essay (no date)

Box 1, Folder 11

Escape - preliminary outline of an original story by William A. Drake (1931 Dec. 14)

Box 6, Folder 6

Excentrique - by Bruce Bell - [story] (no date, 1930)

Note

With article "Last Words," by Heinrich Heine, from Living Age, Nov. 1930
Box 2, Folder 4

Fear - story by Stefan Zweig; tentative screen treatment by William A. Drake - project proposal (no date)

Box 7, Folder 11

Fifth Avenue Fatality - by Claudia Cranston reader synopsis (1933 Oct 4)

Note

See also Ready to Wear.
Box 6, Folder 4

Fight Story - rough sketch - original based on "Gentleman in Black" (1938 Aug 2)

Box 5, Folder 6

Gentleman in Black - story by Francis M. Cockerell, 3rd. (no date)

Box 6, Folder 22

Gottfried Benn. pp. 820-7 - essay (no date)

Box 1, Folder 1

Grand Hotel and Dinner at Eight (no date)

Note

Dinner at Eight one page scene synopsis and Grand Hotel playbill, Belasco Theatre
Box 6, Folder 31

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918) - essay (no date)

Box 4, Folder 11

Happy Marriage (The) - rough outline of a proposed play by William A. Drake (1943 Dec 23)

Note

With rewrite for Act III p. 21-27 and a letter to Eddie Cantor from W.D. dated Dec. 23, 1943. See also Brown Derby.
Box 6, Folder 23

Herbert Eulenberg - essay (no date)

Box 6, Folder 32

Herbert Eulenberg - essay (no date)

Box 5, Folder 5

Hotel for Women - revised treatment by Kathryn Scola and William A. Drake (1938 Nov 23)

Box 7, Folder 9

I've Been Around - by Claudia Cranston reader synopsis (1937 Aug 25)

Box 6, Folder 30

Kasimir Edschmid - essay (no date)

Box 6, Folder 7

Knight of the Flame by Lucien Lorriland - story (21 pages) (no date)

Box 7, Folder 12

Lady's Own Goods - by Claudia Cranston reader synopsis (1931 Feb 25)

Note

See also Ready to Wear.
Box 5, Folder 8

Last Spring (The) - a play in three acts by Eugene Berton and Ralph Berton - script (no date)

Box 6, Folder 34

Leaves From My Log - by Ardengo Soffici - writings (no date)

Box 7, Folder 5

Love Versus Fame - outline for serial by Claudia Cranston (no date)

Box 3, Folder 5

Lysistrata - annotated playscript by Maurice Donnay (no date)

Box 3, Folder 6

Lysistrata - annotated playscript by Maurice Donnay (no date)

Box 3, Folder 4

Lysistrata - annotated playscript by Maurice Donnay and program (no date)

Box 3, Folder 3

Lysistrata - playscript by Maurice Donnay (no date)

Box 4, Folder 1

Makoff - story by Maxim Gorky translated from the Russian by William A. Drake and Maxim Statsky (no date)

Box 3, Folder 7

Marie Galante - screen play by William A. Drake from the novel by Jacques Deval (ca. 1932)

Note

With a memo to W. Sheehan from W.D. regarding Marie Galante material, Dec. 17, 1932.
Box 3, Folder 9

Mister God - A Tragedy of Success by Maxim Gorky - story translated from the Russian by William A. Drake (no date)

Box 7, Folder 8

Murder Maritime - by Claudia Cranston reader summary (1935 Aug 30)

Box 6, Folder 18

Napoleon - a satirical tale by Carl Sternheim - rough translation (no date)

Box 6, Folder 8

Napoleonette - synopsis (1936 Sept 2)

Box 6, Folder 35

Novels and the Ideas of Madame Marcelle Tinayre (The) by Benjamin M. Woodbridge - in the Bulletin of the University of Texas (1915 Jan 25)

Box 5, Folder 3

One More Spring - script (ca. 1934, 1935)

Box 7, Folder 13

Only a Contingent - by Claudia Cranston reader synopsis (1931 Feb 25)

Note

See also Ready to Wear.
Box 6, Folder 26

Oskar Kokoschka - essay (no date)

Box 6, Folder 17

Over the Ravine - story (15 pages) (no date)

Box 3, Folder 11

Passing of the Third Floor Back (The) - preliminary screen treatment and annotated outline treatment and by William A. Drake (play by Jerome K. Jerome) (1931 Dec and 1932 Aug)

Box 3, Folder 10

Passing of the Third Floor Back (The) - screen play by William A. Drake from the play by Jerome K. Jerome (no date)

Box 4, Folder 6

Professor Dimonio - playscript for a comedy by Leopold Marchand (no date)

Box 6, Folder 14

Rainer Maria Rilke 1875-1926 - essay (no date)

Box 7, Folder 1

Ready to Wear - a play in three acts and six scenes by Claudia Cranston (no date)

Box 6, Folder 37

Ready to Wear - an original screen story by William A. Drake (no date)

Box 6, Folder 36

Ready to Wear - an original screen story by William A. Drake - title page only (no date)

Box 6, Folder 38

Ready to Wear - by Claudia Cranston - synopis (2 versions) (1935 Nov 6)

Box 6, Folder 40

Ready to Wear - Parmount Pictures reader synopsis (1942 March 19)

Box 6, Folder 41

Ready to Wear - Parmount Pictures reader synopsis (1932 Oct 5)

Box 7, Folder 15

Ready to Wear by Claudia Cranston in Good Housekeeping Magazine (1931 Jan)

Note

Illustrated by Thomas Webb.
Box 6, Folder 39

Ready-to-Wear (The) - by Claudia Cranston synopsis (1930 Dec 22)

Box 6, Folder 29

René Schickele - essay (no date)

Box 4, Folder 8

Sacha Guity - clippings (1932, 1940)

Box 5, Folder 1

Satyrus on the Boards - a consideration of the dramas of Frank Wedekind by William A. Drake - essay (no date)

Box 2, Folder 5

Sherlock Holmes - first draft script (1939 April 14)

Box 7, Folder 6

Sky Gypsy - by Claudia Cranston - synopsis (1936 Feb 17)

Box 6, Folder 24

Stefan George - essay (no date)

Box 6, Folder 5

Taming of the Shrew (The) - synopsis (17 pages) (no date)

Box 1, Folder 3

That We May Live - author's working copy with script corrections - annotated (1946)

Box 1, Folder 2

That We May Live - dramatic presentation by William Drake - annotated script and ephemera (1946 Dec. 17,18)

Note

To be presented December 17th and 18th, 1946 at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles
Box 4, Folder 7

Their Faces Their Fortunes - reader report (1938 May 16)

Note

With memos to and from Ruth Fasken and Henry Klinger.
Box 4, Folder 5

Three Musketeers (The) - conference notes (1938)

Note

Conference with Mr. Zanuck Sep. 16, 1938 and Sep. 26, 1938.
Box 3, Folder 1

Trina - an original screen story by Ethel L. Drake, William A. Drake and Karl Hajos (no date)

Box 5, Folder 7

Trip to Sorrento (A) - a comedy in three acts by Hans Adler and Paul Frank - rough preliminary version playscript (no date)

Box 5, Folder 9

Twelve Thousand - synopsis of a play by Bruno Frank adapted by William A. Drake (no date)

Box 1, Folder 7

Unnepi Jatek [Festival Play?] - playscript (1931)

Note

With loose title page for Trial by Arms.
Box 7, Folder 3

Untitled [Ready to Wear?] - [story outline or treatment?] (no date)

Box 5, Folder 2

Valley (The) - rough preliminary version of play by Jerzy Zulawski (no date)

Note

[English translation of Sabbatai Z'vi]
Box 6, Folder 20

Vanderbilt - [story] [by] Carl Sternheim (no date)

Box 7, Folder 14

Way of All Chiffons (The) - by Claudia Cranston eader synopsis (1931 Feb 25)

Note

See also Ready to Wear.
Box 2, Folder 7

We Call For Judgement - by Milton Robertson for The Palestine Emergency Fund Madison Square Garden March 5th 1946 - annotated stage script (no date)

Box 2, Folder 6

We Call For Judgement - by Milton Robertson for The Palestine Emergency Fund Madison Square Garden March 5th 1946 - stage script (1946 Jan. 1)

Box 7, Folder 10

Women and Misses - by Claudia Cranston reader synopsis (1931 Feb 25)

Box 6, Folder 21

Yousouff - story (33 pages) (no date)