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Finding Aid for the Dudley Nichols Papers, 1940-1959

Processed by Brooke Whiting; machine-readable finding aid created by Alight Tsai and Caroline Cubé
UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
Manuscripts Division
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
© 2002
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Finding Aid for the Dudley Nichols Papers, 1940-1959

Collection number: 834

UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections

Manuscripts Division



Los Angeles, CA

Contact Information

  • Manuscripts Division
  • UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
  • Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
  • Box 951575
  • Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
  • Telephone: 310/825-4988 (10:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Pacific Time)
  • Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
  • URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
Processed by:
Brooke Whiting, June 1964
Additions by:
Manuscripts Division staff, February 1985
Encoded by:
Alight Tsai
Encoding supervision by:
Caroline Cubé
Text converted and initial container list EAD tagging by:
Apex Data Services
Online finding aid edited by:
Josh Fiala, March 2003
© 2002 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: Dudley Nichols Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1940-1959
Collection number: 834
Creator: Nichols, Dudley, 1895-
Extent: 8 boxes (4 linear ft.)
Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Abstract: Dudley Nichols (1895-1960) was a journalist and screenwriter. He wrote or co-authored screenplays for some of John Ford's best-known films, including The informer (1935), which won an Academy Award, and Stagecoach (1939). He also wrote scripts for Howard Hawks, Jean Renoir, Fritz Lang, and Elia Kazan. The collection consists of mimeograph and typescript copies of movie treatments and drafts of Nichols' screenplays from the 1940s and 1950s, production notes, and magazine articles related to the films.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Language: English.

Administrative Information

Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of 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.

Restrictions on Access

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

Additional Physical Form Available

A copy of the original version of this online finding aid is available at the UCLA Department of Special Collections for in-house consultation and may be obtained for a fee. Please contact:
  • Public Services Division
  • UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
  • Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
  • Box 951575
  • Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
  • Telephone: 310/825-4988 (10:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Pacific Time)
  • Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu

Provenance/Source of Acquisition

Gift of Mrs. Dudley Nichols, 1961 and 1962.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Dudley Nichols Papers (Collection 834). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

UCLA Catalog Record ID

UCLA Catalog Record ID: 2470367 

Biography

Nichols was born on April 6, 1895 in Wapakoneta, Ohio; began career as reporter for the New York Evening Post, then switched to the New York World; worked as journalist in New York City for 10 years; with his first screenplay, Men without women (1930), he began a long association with John Ford and subsequently wrote or co-authored screenplays for some of Ford's best-known films, including The informer (1935), which won an Academy Award, and Stagecoach (1939); adapted two Eugene O'Neill plays, Long voyage home and Mourning beomes Electra (1947), for the screen; wrote scripts for Howard Hawks, Jean Renoir, Fritz Lang, and Elia Kazan; was president of Screen Writers Guild (1938-39); produced and directed three films in 1940s; wrote action and Western scripts in 1950s; died January 4, 1960.

Scope and Content

Collection consists of mimeograph and typescript copies of movie treatments and drafts of Nichols' screenplays from the 1940s and 1950s. Also includes production notes and magazine articles related to the films.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Nichols, Dudley, 1895- --Archives.
O'Neill, Eugene, 1888-1953--Film and video adaptations.
Screenwriters--United States--Archival resources.
Motion picture producers and directors--Archival resources.
Film scripts.

Box 1

Long voyage home, by Eugene O'Neill. Adapted for the screen by Dudley Nichols.

Physical Description: 172pp. Mimeographed.

Note

See also: Boxes 5,8.
Gift from Mrs. Nichols, July 1962.
Box 1

Ford, John. How We Made the Long Voyage Home. In: Friday, vol.1 no.22 (August 9, 1940).

Physical Description: pp.21-26.

Note

Gift from Mrs. Nichols, July 1962.
Box 1

Mourning becomes Electra, by Eugene O'Neill. Produced, directed, and adapted for screen by Dudley Nichols. Final script. February 25, 1947.

Physical Description: 201pp. Mimeographed.

Note

Gift from Mrs. Nichols, July 1962.
Box 1

Script and production notes for Mourning becomes Electra. November 5, 1946.

Physical Description: 26pp. Mimeographed.

Note

Gift from Mrs. Nichols, July 1962.
Box 1

Pyle, Albert M. Designs for Mourning becomes Electra.

Physical Description: 23 leaves.

Note

Gift from Mrs. Nichols, July 1962.
Box 1

Movie of the week: Mourning becomes Electra. In: Life. December 8, 1947.

Physical Description: pp.63-66.

Note

Gift from Mrs. Nichols, July 1962.
Box 1

Nichols, Dudley. Theatre, society, education. In: Educational Theatre Journal, vol.8 no.3 (October 1956).

Physical Description: pp.179-184.

Note

Gift from Mrs. Nichols, July 1962.
Box 1

--- Dots and dashes - dramatized. In: News of the World, Hollywood, California. vol.1 no.13 (May 1, 1937).

Physical Description: pp.6-7.

Note

Gift from Mrs. Nichols, July 1962.
Box 2

--- Air Force, screenplay. Warner Brothers. July 3, 1942.

Physical Description: 179pp. Mimeographed.
Box 2

--- The Bells of St. Mary's (rough draft). February 14, 1945.

Physical Description: 131pp. Mimeographed.
Box 2

--- The big sky, from the novel by A.B. Guthrie, Jr. Shooting script by Dudley Nichols. Winchester Pictures Corporation, Los Angeles. n.d.

Physical Description: 187pp. Mimeographed.
Box 2

--- Blaze of the sun. First draft screenplay by Dudley Nichols. From a novel by Jean Hougron. April 25, 1958.

Physical Description: 300pp. Typescript (carbon).
Box 2

--- ---- June 23, 1958.

Physical Description: 194pp. Mimeographed.
Box 3

--- For whom the bell tolls [from the novel by E. Hemingway]. May 21, 1942.

Physical Description: 202pp. Mimeographed.
Box 3

--- The fugitive [directed by John Ford]. October 15, 1946.

Physical Description: 95pp. Typescript (carbon).
Box 3

--- ---- Screenplay: from the novel, The Labyrinthine Ways, by Graham Greene. Final script. October 26, 1946.

Physical Description: 96pp. Mimeographed.
Box 3

--- The hangman. Treatment by Dudley Nichols. August 2, 1957.

Physical Description: 138pp. Typescript (carbon).
Box 3

--- ---- Screenplay. August 21, 1957.

Physical Description: 156pp. Typescript (carbon).
Box 3

--- ---- Screenplay. 1st preliminary green. October 3, 1957.

Physical Description: 143pp. Mimeographed.
Box 3

--- Heller with a gun. October 16, 1958.

Physical Description: 128pp. Typescript (carbon).
Box 4

--- ---- Story lime. November 6, 1958.

Physical Description: 42pp. Typescript (carbon).
Box 4

--- ---- (Rough draft - incomplete). November 21, 1958.

Physical Description: 190pp. Typescript (carbon).
Box 4

--- ----Second draft - screenplay. December 17, 1958.

Physical Description: Typescript (carbon).
Box 4

--- ---- Screenplay. Tentative shooting script. January 22, 1959.

Physical Description: 120pp. Mimeographed.
Box 4

--- ---- Story and screenplay by Dudley Nichols. February 16, 1959.

Physical Description: 121pp. Mimeographed.
Box 4

--- Homeward borne (from the novel by Ruth Chatterton). Screenplay. March 14, 1952.

Physical Description: 179pp. Mimeographed. 2 copies.
Box 4

--- ---- Screenplay. March 17, 1952.

Physical Description: 160pp. Typescript.
Box 5

--- It happened tomorrow, [directed by Rene Clair]. Screenplay. Arnold Productions, Incorporated, Hollywood. October 9, 1943.

Physical Description: 149pp. Mimeographed.
Box 5

--- Lewis and Clark. Screenplay. First draft. September 3, 1954.

Physical Description: 242pp. Mimeographed.
Box 5

--- ---- Revised draft. October 25, 1954.

Physical Description: 182pp. Mimeographed.
Box 5

--- ---- Revised screenplay. October 25, 1954.

Physical Description: 177pp. Typescript (carbon).
Box 5

--- The long voyage home, by Eugene O'Neill. Adapted for the screen by Dudley Nichols. n.d.

Physical Description: 172pp. Mimeographed.

Note

See also: Boxes 1,8
Box 5

--- Married in Hollywood. Screenplay. n.d.

Physical Description: 126pp. Typescript (carbon).
Box 6

--- Miracle in the rain. (First draft screenplay). n.d.

Physical Description: 196pp. Typescript.
Box 6

--- ---- (First draft screenplay). n.d.

Physical Description: 141pp. Typescript (carbon).
Box 6

--- Pinky (Final draft - screenplay). October 6, 1948.

Physical Description: 159pp. Typescript (carbon).
Box 6

--- Prince Valiant. Treatment. November 14, 1952.

Physical Description: 56pp. Mimeographed.
Box 6

--- ---- Screenplay. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. March 11, 1953.

Physical Description: 140pp. Mimeographed.
Box 6

--- ---- Screenplay. Based on the picture stories of Harold Foster. Final script. April 8, 1953.

Physical Description: 138pp. Mimeographed.
Box 7

--- Rawhide. Original screenplay by Dudley Nichols. Shooting script. November 11, 1949.

Physical Description: 157pp. Typescript (carbon).
Box 7

--- Return of the Texan [originally called The Home Place]. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1st draft continuity. January 22, 1951.

Physical Description: 187pp. Mimeographed.
Box 7

--- ---- Shooting script (3rd draft). February 15, 1951.

Physical Description: 155pp. Typescript (carbon).
Box 7

--- ---- Shooting final. August 9, 1951.

Physical Description: 130pp. Mimeographed.
Box 7

--- River of the sun; treatment by Dudley Nichols. December 11, 1953.

Physical Description: 108pp. Typescript (carbon).
Box 7

--- Run for the sun. Final shooting script. October 31, 1955.

Physical Description: 118pp. Mimeographed.
Box 7

--- Scarlet street. Screenplay. Diana Productions. July 2, 1945.

Physical Description: 163pp. Mimeographed.
Box 7

--- ---- Screenplay. Diana Productions. July 2, 1945.

Physical Description: 206pp. Mimeographed.
Box 8

--- Stagecoach. Screen play by Dudley Nichols from the story Stage to Lordsburg, by Ernest Haycox. Walter Wanger Productions, Incorporated, Final continuity. n.d.

Physical Description: 122pp. Mimeographed.
Box 8

--- Ten little Indians. Screenplay by Dudley Nichols from the novel, And then there were none, by Agatha Christie. n.d.

Physical Description: 173pp. Mimeographed.
Box 8

--- The tin star. Screenplay. 1956.

Physical Description: 120 pp. Mimeographed.
Box 8

--- Windmill. Screenplay. Nat Holt Productions. July 26, 1956.

Physical Description: 101pp. Mimeographed. 2 copies.
Box 8

--- ---- Screenplay. 1956.

Physical Description: 100pp. Mimeographed.
 

Addition. February 1985

Box 8

--- The long voyage home. Screenplay. Adapted for the screen by Dudley Nichols. n.p. [1940].

Physical Description: Mimeographed. pp.134-137 are noted as revised, 4/24/40.

Note

See also: Boxes 1,5.
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