William Dieterle papers
2017
Diann Benti
USC Libraries Cinematic Arts Library
2021 October
Doheny Memorial Library G4
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California 90089-0185
ctlibarc@usc.edu
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Cinematic Arts Library
Title: William Dieterle papers
Creator:
Dieterle, William, 1893-1972
Identifier/Call Number: 2017
Identifier/Call Number: 410
Physical Description:
5.75 Linear Feet
11 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1923-1950
Abstract: This collection contains production files for twelve American film projects of German director William Dieterle (1893-1972),
dating from 1936 to 1950. The files chiefly include production and wardrobe stills, research files, and outlines.
Language of Material:
English, German.
Conditions Governing Access
Advance notice required for access.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Provenance unknown.
Arrangement
Files are arranged chronologically by project production date with oversize materials in Box 11 at the end of the collection.
Box 1: 1936 (The Story of Louis Pasteur; The White Angel)
Box 2: 1937 (The Life of Emile Zola)
Box 3-4: 1938 (Blockade; Juarez)
Box 5-6: 1939 (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
Box 7-8: 1940 (The Story of Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet; A Dispatch from Reuters)
Box 9: 1940-1941 (A Dispatch from Reuters; All That Money Can Buy)
Box 10: 1942-1950 (Tennessee Johnson; Kismet; September Affair)
Box 11: Oversize materials and index
Biographical / Historical
William Dieterle (1893-1972) was a German actor and director. Dieterle immigrated to the United States in 1930 and worked
in Hollywood until returning to Germany in the late 1950s. His film
The Life of Emile Zola received the Best Picture Academy Award in 1937.
Preferred Citation
[Box/folder# or item name], William Dieterle Papers, Collection no. 2017, Cinematic Arts Library, USC Libraries, University
of Southern California
Processing Information
Initially inventoried as part of the Ethel Barrymore Performing Arts Division, USC. Additional work by USC students in 2019
as part of the "Piloting a Shared Practice for Accessible Archival Descriptions" Dean's Challenge Grant. Additional description
by Diann Benti in 2021.
Scope and Contents
This collection contains production files for twelve American film projects of German director William Dieterle (1893-1972),
dating from 1936 to 1950. The files chiefly include production and wardrobe stills, research files, and outlines. There are
no personal papers in this collection. Among the stills are photographs of many actors including Henry Fonda (Blockade), Maureen
O'Hara (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), Edward G. Robinson (A Dispatch from Reuters), and Marlene Dietrich (Kismet). An outdated
paper index and some biographical items on Dieterle are housed in Box 11.
Rights Statement for Archival Description
Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
Conditions Governing Use
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.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Actors -- Photographs
Motion picture producers and directors -- Archival resources
Feature films -- Archival resources
Motion pictures--Production and direction -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Motion pictures -- Archival resources
Film stills
Photographs
Scripts
Dieterle, William, 1893-1972 -- Archives
Dietrich, Marlene -- Photographs
Fonda, Henry, 1905-1982 -- Photographs
O'Hara, Maureen, 1920-2015 -- Photographs
Robinson, Edward G., 1893-1973 -- Photographs
The Story of Louis Pasteur
1936
The White Angel (Working title: "Florence Nightingale")
1936
Box 1, Folder 3
Research materials and written synopsis
Box 1, Folder 11
Production stills and building photographs
The Life of Emile Zola
1937
Box 2, Folder 7
Program, memo, and photographs
Blockade (Working title: "The Adventuress")
1938
Box 3, Folder 4
"Phantom Crown" (Suggestions for Revisions of Juarez Sequences)
Box 3, Folder 5-10
Background research, biographical characterization and historical treatment
Box 3, Folder 11
"Juarez the Impassible" [typescript translation]
Box 3, Folder 12
"Some Notes on the Life of Benito Juarez" by Jesse John Dossick, School of Education, New York University [typescript]
Box 3, Folder 13
"Phantom Crown" by Wolfgang Reinhardt [typescript continuity outline with notes]
Box 4, Folder 1
"Maximilian & Carlota" Continuity Outline by A. E. McKenzie
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1939
Box 5, Folder 1
Production stills from the 1923 silent film
Hunchback of Notre Dame [copy photographs]
1923
Box 5, Folder 5-6
Synopsis by Bruno Frank [in English and German]
Box 5, Folder 9
Synopsis and dialogue continuity
Box 5, Folder 11
Shooting schedule and preliminary budget details
Box 5, Folder 12
Letter from Edmond O'Brien to Pandro S. Berman
Box 6, Folder 1-22
Production and costume stills
The Story of Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet
1940
Box 7, Folder 1
"Paul Ehrlich: The Man and the Scientist" by Martha Marquardt [typescript]
1924
Box 7, Folder 2
"The Side-Chain Theory" by A. von Wasserman [typescript translation]
1939
Box 7, Folder 3-7
Research materials and images
Box 11, Folder 3
Oversize research materials
Box 7, Folder 10
Casting lists and correspondence
Box 7, Folder 11
"6 0 6" (Paul Ehrlich) treatment
1938
Box 8, Folder 2
Script (revised temporary)
1939
Box 8, Folder 4
Press
Scope and Contents
Magazine articles and clipping about Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet and William Dieterle.
A Dispatch from Reuters
1940
Box 8, Folder 5-8
Research materials, images, and correspondence
Box 9, Folder 1
"This Man Reuter" [treatment]
1939
All That Money Can Buy (The Devil and Daniel Webster)
1941
Box 11, Folder 1
Biographical and index file
Scope and Contents
Contains an original index for the collection from the Ethel Barrymore Performing Arts Division and photocopies of some articles
on Dieterle and his films.
