Duncan Cramer papers
Catalogued by Slide, Anthony
Margaret Herrick Library. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
333 S La Cienega Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Published January 2023
Descriptive Summary
Abstract: The collection includes film and television scripts, shooting schedules, set breakdowns, and photographs of sets.
Collector:
Cramer, Duncan
Dates: 1936-1952
Dates: 1944-1949
Collection number: 70
Collection Size:
2 linear ft. of papers
Repository:
Margaret Herrick Library. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access
Available by appointment only.
Publication Rights
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
Duncan Cramer papers, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Duncan Cramer, 1972
Collection Scope and Content Summary
The Duncan Cramer papers span the years 1936-1952 (bulk 1944-1949) and encompass 2 linear feet. The collection includes materials
relating to films for which Cramer was art director, as well as a few scripts relating to his work in television. For each
film title there is generally a script, shooting schedule, breakdown of sets, and assortment of set stills. Films represented
include ABILENE TOWN (1946), COPACABANA (1947), D.O.A. (1949), THE DARK MIRROR (1946), DELIGHTFULLY DANGEROUS (1945), THE
FABULOUS DORSEYS (1947), FOUR FACES WEST (1948), LULU BELLE (1948), A NIGHT IN CASABLANCA (1946), and THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW
(1945). There are also photographs of the sets for THE FIGHTING SEABEES (1944) and RAMONA (1936).
Biography
Duncan Cramer (1901-1980) was born in Logansport, Indiana, and trained as an architect at Valparaiso and Purdue universities.
Cramer entered the film industry by working in the art department at Thomas H. Ince Productions, and became a full-fledged
art director with Douglas McLean Productions in 1925. Cramer worked at Fox and 20th Century-Fox from 1926 to 1938. Most of
his career was spent independent of the studios. Cramer was involved with Four Star Productions television from 1952 to 1957.
His credits extend from 1929 to the early 1960s.
Arrangement of the Collection
1. Production files; 2. Television files
Indexing terms
Cramer, Duncan
Art directors
Production designers
Set decorators
folder 1
ABILENE TOWN--script
1945--1945
Record ID: 71302464
Scope and Content Note
third draft screenplay by Harold Shumate, interleaved with photographs and original pencil drawings of sets, April 23, 1945,
119 pages
folder 2
ABILENE TOWN--production
1945--1945
Record ID: 72027213
Scope and Content Note
shooting schedules; invoices; staff list; handwritten set breakdowns; notes and sketches; blueprints for sets 1-14
folder 3
COPACABANA--script
1946--1946
Record ID: 71302467
Scope and Content Note
final draft screenplay, October 28, 1946, 95 pages
folder 4
COPACABANA--production
1946--1946
Record ID: 72027216
Scope and Content Note
requisition forms; call sheets; shooting schedule; interoffice memoranda; set breakdowns; staff sheet; notes; construction
costs
folder 5
COPACABANA--set design drawings
1946--1946
Record ID: 72027217
Scope and Content Note
37 veloxes of set design drawings and concept illustrations
folder 6
D.O.A.--script
1949--1949
Record ID: 71302468
Scope and Content Note
revised final screenplay by Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene, August 11, 1949, 126 pages
folder 7
D.O.A.--production
1949--1949
Record ID: 72027222
Scope and Content Note
post-production breakdown; list of Los Angeles and San Francisco locations; staff list; set lists and numbers; breakdown of
sets; notes; drawings; call sheets; interoffice memoranda; master shooting schedule
folder 8
D.O.A.--set plan storyboards
Record ID: 71302469
Scope and Content Note
pencil-drawn set plans with thumbnail storyboards, 38 pages
folder 9
THE DARK MIRROR--script
1946--1946
Record ID: 71302470
Scope and Content Note
final shooting script, January 9, 1946, 125 pages
folder 10
THE DARK MIRROR--production
1946--1946
Record ID: 72027224
Scope and Content Note
requisition forms; set construction costs; shooting schedule; set breakdowns; staff list; call sheets
folder 11
THE DARK MIRROR--set design drawings
1946--1946
Record ID: 72027274
Scope and Content Note
set design drawings printed on photographic paper
folder 12
DELIGHTFULLY DANGEROUS--script
1944--1944
Record ID: 71302471
Scope and Content Note
screenplay by Walter LeLeon and Arthur Phillips, August 15, 1944, 133 pages
folder 13
DELIGHTFULLY DANGEROUS--production
1944--1944
Record ID: 72027275
Scope and Content Note
handwritten set breakdowns; pencil sketch; interoffice memoranda; staff list; call sheet; shooting schedules
folder 14
THE FABULOUS DORSEYS--script
1946--1946
Record ID: 71302472
Scope and Content Note
revised screenplay by Art Arthur and Curtis Kenyon, June 21, 1946, 110 pages
folder 15
THE FABULOUS DORSEYS--production
1946--1946
Record ID: 72027276
Scope and Content Note
receipts; purchase orders for set materials; strike orders; interoffice memos; staff list; notes; call sheets; handwritten
set breakdowns; shooting schedule
folder 16
THE FABULOUS DORSEYS--set design drawings
1946--1946
Record ID: 72027277
Scope and Content Note
twenty-seven veloxes of set design drawings
folder 17
FOUR FACES WEST--script
1947--1947
Record ID: 71302474
Scope and Content Note
screenplay by Graham Baker and Teddi Sherman, April 8, 1947, 117 pages; script is interleaved with set reference photos and
set design drawings
folder 18
FOUR FACES WEST--production
1947--1947
Record ID: 72027278
Scope and Content Note
call sheets; staff list; shooting schedules; location rates; location list; handwritten set breakdowns; set costs and estimates
folder 19
FOUR FACES WEST--set design drawings
1947--1947
Record ID: 71302475
Scope and Content Note
twenty-one veloxes of set design drawings
folder 20
LULU BELLE--script
1947--1947
Record ID: 71302476
Scope and Content Note
revised final script, October 22, 1947, 119 pages
folder 21
LULU BELLE--production
1947--1947
Record ID: 72027279
Scope and Content Note
staff list; shooting schedule; set list; set breakdowns
folder 22
LULU BELLE--set design drawings
1947--1947
Record ID: 72027281
Scope and Content Note
twenty-nine veloxes of set design drawings
folder 23
A NIGHT IN CASABLANCA--script
1945--1945
Record ID: 71302477
Scope and Content Note
final screenplay, September 5, 1945, 148 pages
folder 24
A NIGHT IN CASABLANCA--production
1945--1945
Record ID: 71302478
Scope and Content Note
set breakdowns, call sheets, shooting schedules, sketches, staff list
folder 25
ON OUR MERRY WAY--script
1947--1947
Record ID: 72027280
Scope and Content Note
Dorothy Lamour sequence script (A MIRACLE CAN HAPPEN, released as ON OUR MERRY WAY], September 25, 1947; 22 pages
folder 26
ON OUR MERRY WAY--production
1947--1947
Record ID: 72027282
Scope and Content Note
staff list, shooting schedule, and set breakdowns for the Dorothy Lamour sequence only
folder 27
THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW--script
1944--1944
Record ID: 71302485
Scope and Content Note
screenplay, March 23, 1944, 112 pages; script is interleaved with reference photographs, set sketches and plans
folder 28
WOMAN IN THE WINDOW--production
1943--1944
Record ID: 72027283
Scope and Content Note
Lotos Club pamphlet; cast sheet; shooting schedule; notes; sketches; set plans; revised set and set number list; staff list
Television files/Produced
folder 29
FOUR STAR PLAYHOUSE [television]--"The Officer and the Lady" script
1952--1952
Record ID: 71302486
Scope and Content Note
final revised teleplay by Leonard St. Clair, March 7, 1952, 38 pages
folder 30
FOUR STAR PLAYHOUSE [television]--"The Officer and the Lady" production
1952--1952
Record ID: 72027316
Scope and Content Note
schedule; set breakdown; clipping
folder 31
TERRY AND THE PIRATES [television]--script
1952--1952
Record ID: 71302851
Scope and Content Note
teleplay ("Black Market in Death") by Lou Rusoff, November 3, 1952, 42 pages; teleplay ("The Green God") by Irwin Ashkenazy,
November 4, 1952, 43 pages; teleplay ("Chinese Legacy") by Oliver Crawford and Barney Sarecky, 39 pa
folder 32
YANCY DERRINGER [television]--production
1958--1959
Record ID: 71302488
Scope and Content Note
budget and cost sheets; set breakdowns; notes; drawings
folder 33
YANCY DERRINGER [television]--production
1958--1959
Record ID: 72027317
Scope and Content Note
budget and cost sheets; set breakdowns; notes; drawings
Television files/Unproduced
folder 34
NIGHT PATROL [television]--production (pilot episode)
1959--1959
Record ID: 72027318
Scope and Content Note
sketches, set plans, set breakdown, shooting schedules, budgets and teleplay for pilot episode, "Police Killer"
