Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Fairfax, Marion
- Abstract:
- The collection contains scripts, correspondence, clippings, miscellaneous manuscript material, a few contracts, and a photograph album. There is some material regarding her husband Tully Marshall.
- Extent:
- 1 linear ft. of papers
- Language:
- Languages represented in the collection: English
- Preferred citation:
-
Marion Fairfax papers, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Marion Fairfax papers span the years 1890-1967 (bulk 1910s-1920s) and encompass 1.0 linear foot. The collection contains primarily scripts and correspondence. Of interest are her scenarios for THE BLACKLIST (1916), THE CLOWN (1916), COMMON GROUND (1916), THE HONOR OF HIS HOUSE (1918), THE IMMIGRANT (1915), THE LYING TRUTH (1922), THE SECRET GAME (1917), THE WHITE MAN'S LAW (1918), and THE WIDOW'S MIGHT (1918). Play scripts represented include "The Builders" (1907); "The Talker" (1912), later adapted for the screen by Fairfax and released by First National in 1925; and "The Ways and the Means" (1908), based on Winston Churchill's novel "Mr. Crewe's Career." Other writings include her column, "Marionettes," clipped from "Rob Wagner's Script," and miscellaneous manuscript material. Much of the correspondence is miscellaneous in nature. Among the more interesting items are letters regarding THE LOST WORLD and THE LYING TRUTH, and handwritten letters from Marshall to Fairfax at the time he was making THE COVERED WAGON and THE BIG TRAIL. A small amount of correspondence relates to Marion Fairfax Productions and the Writers Club. A few contracts and a photo album with snapshots of Marshall and Fairfax are also of interest.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Marion Fairfax (1875-1970) was born Marion Neiswanger in Richmond, Virginia. She was educated at South Division High School in Chicago and Emerson College in Boston. A short stint as a stage actress preceded her career as a successful playwright in New York. Fairfax moved to California around 1915 and became a screenwriter. She wrote a number of scenarios for the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company, many of which were directed by William C. de Mille. Fairfax's writing credits include DON'T EVER MARRY (1920), SHERLOCK HOLMES (1922), and THE LOST WORLD (1925). She wrote, produced, and directed THE LYING TRUTH (1922), through Marion Fairfax Productions, of which she was president. (Pete Smith handled advertising and publicity.) Fairfax married character actor Tully Marshall (né Tully Marshall Phillips) in 1899. Although she was known as Mrs. Tully Marshall and Marion Fairfax Marshall Phillips, she wrote under the name Marion Fairfax.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of the Motion Picture and Television Fund, 1982
- Arrangement:
-
1. Production files; 2. Subject files
- Rules or conventions:
- Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Screenwriters
- Names:
- Fairfax, Marion
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Available by appointment only.
- Terms of access:
-
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.
- Preferred citation:
-
Marion Fairfax papers, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
- Location of this collection:
-
333 S. La Cienega BlvdBeverly Hills, CA 90211, US
- Contact:
- (310) 247-3036 extension 2226