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Wise (Robert) papers
2295
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Cinematic Arts Library
Title: Robert Wise papers
Creator:
Wise, Robert, 1914-2005
Identifier/Call Number: 2295
Physical Description:
69.65 Linear Feet
55 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1904-2001
Abstract: Robert Wise was an American movie director and producer, best known for "West Side Story" and "The Sound of Music", as well
as his early career at RKO Pictures, wherein he infamously re-edited and directed a scene in Orson Welles' "The Magnificent
Ambersons". This collection comprises primarily film files of twenty-six completed as well as proposed projects including
"The Sound of Music", "West Side Story", and "The Haunting". It also contains awards and ephemera, correspondence, personal
papers and publications, and leather-bound scripts of thirty titles.
Language of Material:
English.
Robert Wise, born September 10, 1914, was an American movie director and producer, best known for such works as "West Side
Story", "The Sound of Music", and "The Haunting". Wise grew up in Connersville, Indiana and went to school at Franklin College
for journalism. After the Great Depression impacted his education, Wise left for Hollywood in 1933, where he began working
at RKO Pictures in the film-shipping room. Wise moved up in rank, working as an assistant editor in the fields of sound, music,
and special effects. By 1939, Wise had earned the title of editor on such films as "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "My Favorite
Wife" and gained an Academy Award nomination for his work on "Citizen Kane". Wise also re-edited and directed a scene in the
1942 film "The Magnificent Ambersons" after RKO took over creative control from Orson Welles. Wise's official directing debut
came in 1944 as a replacement director on "The Curse of the Cat People". Wise's last film for RKO was 1949's "The Set-Up".
During the 1950s, Wise branched out to more genres, including science fiction, melodrama, and westerns. Beginning in 1959,
Wise served as the executive producer on a large portion of his films. In the 1960s, Wise added yet another genre to his directing
resume, proving competence amongst Broadway musicals with his film adaptions of "West Side Story", "Two for the Seesaw", and
"The Sound of Music." He also directed "The Haunting" in 1963, an adaption of Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House.
In the 1970s, Wise directed such films as "The Andromeda Strain", "Audrey Rose", and "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". After
"Star Trek", Wise would go on to direct only two more films. Instead, he focused on other aspects of the film industry, serving
as the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1984 to 1987 and sitting on the Board of Trustees
of the American Film Institute.
Wise was a four-time Oscar-winner (1961, "West Side Story" and 1965, "The Sound of Music"), as well as the winner of such
accolades as the Director's Guild of America for outstanding lifetime achievement (1988), the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial
Award (1966), and the AFI's Lifetime Achievement Award (1998).
Wise was married to actress Patricia Doyle until her death in 1975. In 1977 he married Millicent Franklin. He has one son.
Wise died of heart failure on September 14, 2005, at age 91.
The Robert Wise papers, 1904-2001 (bulk 1954-1979), consist of film files, awards and ephemera, correspondence, personal papers
and publications, and bound scripts created and collected by Wise during his life and career as a motion picture producer
and director. The majority of the collection comprises film files of twenty-six projects (both completed as well as proposed)
featuring numerous drafts, treatments, and sections of scripts, as well as production information, budgets, correspondence
and memos, call sheets, casting information, clippings, publicity, photographs, sheet music, and original storyboards. Featured
film titles include "The Sound of Music", "West Side Story", "Star!", "The Haunting", "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", and
voluminous material on the never-produced "Battle! The Lives and Wars of Robert Capa".
The remainder of the collection consists of awards and ephemera (including Wise's Golden Globe in 1961 for West Side Story),
correspondence, and personal papers and publications in the form of photographs, film magazines, novels, event programs, and
trip itineraries. The collection also includes leather-bound final drafts and annotated shooting scripts for thirty Wise-related
projects, including "The Magnificent Ambersons", "West Side Story", "The Set-Up", "The Andromeda Strain", "The Curse of the
Cat People", and "The Day the Earth Stood Still".
The collection is organized into the following series: 1. Film files; 2. Awards and ephemera; 3. Correspondence; 4. Personal
papers and publications; 5. Bound scripts. Film files have been broken down further into subseries, alphabetically by film
title. Film files and bound scripts are arranged alphabetically. Awards and ephemera, correspondence, and personal papers
and publications are arranged chronologically.
Advance notice required for access.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Cinematic Arts Library
at ctlibarc@usc.edu. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Cinematic Arts Library as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Rights Statement for Archival Description
Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Robert Wise, received in installments between 1969-1977. Additional box of items received on June 9, 1988, care of
Wise's assistant Julie Hirsh.
[Box/Folder# or Item name], Robert Wise papers, Collection no. 2295, Cinematic Arts Library, USC Libraries, University of
Southern California.
Collection was processed by Sarah Cassone in 2008.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Awards
Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence
Drafts (documents)
Ephemera
Film stills
Memorandums
Motion pictures -- Archival resources
Motion pictures -- Production and direction -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Motion pictures -- Reviews -- Archival resources
Motion picture authorship -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Motion picture plays -- Archival resources
Motion picture producers and directors -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Screenplays
Sheet music
Storyboards
Treatments (documents)
Wise, Robert, 1914-2005 -- Archives
Andrews, Julie
Capa, Robert, 1913-1954
Chaplin, Saul, 1912-1997
Gidding, Nelson
Kaplan, Mike, 1918-
Lawrence, Gertrude
Robbins, Jerome
Roddenberry, Gene