Frank Cavett papers
Catalogued by Johnson, Doug
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 consists almost exclusively of script material, for both produced and unproduced films, and playscripts. The
script material includes drafts, outlines, and treatments. Of interest is a handwritten treatment for GOING MY WAY. There
are congratulatory letters related to Cavett's two Academy Awards.
Collector:
Cavett, Frank
Dates: 1924-1957
Dates: 1939-1953
Collection number: 449
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
Frank Cavett papers, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Jonathan C. Cavett, Morgan Cavett, and Susan Cavett, 1999
Collection Scope and Content Summary
The Frank Cavett papers span the years 1924 to 1957 (bulk 1939 to 1953) and encompass two linear feet. The collection consists
of production files (produced and unproduced), stage files, and subject files, and is almost exclusively comprised of script
material.
The bulk of the collection can be found in the production files (produced). There are several drafts of Talbot Jennings’ script
for ACROSS THE WIDE MISSOURI (1951), for which Cavett was credited for the story. Also included are scripts for THE CORN IS
GREEN (1945), SECOND CHORUS (1940), and a draft of the script for TOM BROWN’S SCHOOLDAYS (1940) co-written with Robert Stevenson.
GOING MY WAY (1944), for which Cavett won an Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay, shared with Frank Butler, is the
best represented title in the series. There are numerous treatments and drafts of the script, including treatments written
by Leo McCarey, and script sequences and a draft written by Cavett and McCarey. There is also material for films on which
Cavett is not credited, including an outline, written with Robert Stevenson, for BLACKBEARD, THE PIRATE (1952), and notes
and script pages for WABASH AVENUE (1950). The only material representing THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH (1952), for which Cavett
won his second Academy Award for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story, shared with Frederic M. Frank and Theodore St. John,
is a program, and there is nothing on SMASH-UP--THE STORY OF A WOMAN (1947), which he co-wrote with Dorothy Parker.
The production files (unproduced) contain script material for several projects co-written by Cavett, many with notable collaborators.
There are scripts for ASK FOR LOVE! and DIARY OF A WEDDING with Edward Roberts, Cavett’s writing partner from early in his
career. There is a treatment for a film called BOMBER SERENADE, cowritten with William B. Hawks and Morgan B. Cox, an outline
for a film called COME BLOW YOUR HORN, from a story by Cavett and Artie Shaw, a treatment for a film called TRUMPET MAN, written
with Virginia Kellogg, and an original screenplay for WORLD ON A STRING, written with W. R. Burnett in 1957. The stage files
contain playscripts for a handful of projects, many likely unproduced, including playscripts for HIGH NOON and THE TWILIGHT
TREE, both co-written with Edward Roberts. Of interest is an undated playscript for OXYGENERATOR by Ellsworth Prouty Conkle.
The subject files are the smallest series in the collection and include congratulatory correspondence related to Cavett's
two Academy Award wins. Of interest is a theater program from 1933 for FORSAKING ALL OTHERS, starring Tallulah Bankhead.
Biography
Frank Cavett was born in Jackson, Ohio in 1905. He attended Ohio University and Yale University, graduating from the Baker
School of Drama at Yale. He entered the film industry as an assistant director for Paramount Pictures in Long Island. In 1932
producer Walter Wanger, who had recently moved from Paramount’s East coast studios to Columbia Pictures in Hollywood, recruited
Cavett and writer Edward Roberts to write the story for Columbia’s VANITY STREET (1932). After completing the assignment,
Roberts and Cavett returned to New York to write for Broadway, where they co-authored the play FORSAKING ALL OTHERS, a romantic-
comedy starring Tallulah Bankhead which ran for 110 performances. In 1935 he was hired for the radio drama “Backstage Wife,”
which he wrote for in its first year on the air. He returned to Hollywood in 1937 and worked there as a screenwriter for the
remainder of his career. His credits include the original story for SECOND CHORUS (1940) and the screenplays for SYNCOPATION
(1942), THE CORN IS GREEN (1945), and ACROSS THE WIDE MISSOURI (1951). He was nominated for an Academy Award, with Dorothy
Parker, for Best Writing, Original Story for SMASH-UP--THE STORY OF A WOMAN (1947). He received two Academy Awards, first
with Frank Butler for Best Writing, Screenplay for GOING MY WAY (1944), and with Fredric M. Frank and Theodore St. John for
Best Writing, Motion Picture Story for THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH (1952). Cavett died in 1973.
Arrangement of the Collection
1. Production files, subseries A-B as follows: A. Produced; B. Unproduced; 2. Stage files; 3. Subject files
Indexing terms
Cavett, Frank
Screenwriters
Production files/Produced
folder 1
ACROSS THE WIDE MISSOURI--script
Circa 1951--1951
Record ID: 71541698
folder 2
ACROSS THE WIDE MISSOURI--script
1949--1949
Record ID: 71522211
folder 3
ACROSS THE WIDE MISSOURI--script
1949--1949
Record ID: 71522215
folder 4
ACROSS THE WIDE MISSOURI--script
1949--1949
Record ID: 71541700
folder 5
ACROSS THE WIDE MISSOURI--script
1950--1950
Record ID: 71522216
folder 6
ACROSS THE WIDE MISSOURI--script
Circa 1951--1951
Record ID: 71541702
folder 7
BLACKBEARD, THE PIRATE--script
Circa 1952--1952
Record ID: 71522217
folder 8
BLACKBEARD, THE PIRATE--script
1950--1950
Record ID: 71522218
folder 9
BLACKBEARD, THE PIRATE--script
1951--1951
Record ID: 71522219
folder 10
THE CORN IS GREEN--script
1944--1944
Record ID: 71522220
folder 11
FORSAKING ALL OTHERS--script
Circa 1934--1934
Record ID: 71522221
folder 12
GOING MY WAY--script
Circa 1944--1944
Record ID: 71541704
folder 13
GOING MY WAY--script
Circa 1944--1944
Record ID: 71541705
folder 14
GOING MY WAY--script
1943--1943
Record ID: 71541706
folder 15
GOING MY WAY--script
1943--1943
Record ID: 71541707
folder 16
GOING MY WAY--script
1943--1943
Record ID: 71541708
folder 17
GOING MY WAY--script
1943--1943
Record ID: 71541709
folder 18
GOING MY WAY--script
1943--1943
Record ID: 71541710
folder 19
GOING MY WAY--script
1943--1943
Record ID: 71541711
folder 20
GOING MY WAY--script
1943--1943
Record ID: 71541712
folder 21
GOING MY WAY--script
1943--1943
Record ID: 71541713
folder 22
GOING MY WAY--script
1943--1943
Record ID: 71541714
folder 23
GOING MY WAY--script
1943--1943
Record ID: 71541716
folder 24
GOING MY WAY--script
1943--1943
Record ID: 71522222
folder 25
THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH--program
Circa 1952--1952
Record ID: 71522223
folder 26
RULERS OF THE SEA--script
1939--1939
Record ID: 71522224
folder 27
SECOND CHORUS--script
1940--1940
Record ID: 71522225
folder 28
SECOND CHORUS--script
1940--1940
Record ID: 71522226
folder 29
TOM BROWN'S SCHOOL DAYS--script
1939--1939
Record ID: 71522227
folder 30
WABASH AVENUE--script
1947--1947
Record ID: 71522228
folder 31
WABASH AVENUE--script
Circa 1950--1950
Record ID: 71541721
Production files/Unproduced
folder 32
ASK FOR LOVE!--script
Circa 1940--1940
Record ID: 71522229
folder 33
ASK FOR LOVE!--script
Record ID: 71522231
folder 34
ASK FOR LOVE!--script
1956--1956
Record ID: 71522232
folder 35
BOMBER SERENADE--script
Record ID: 71522233
folder 36
COME BLOW YOUR HORN--script
Record ID: 71522234
folder 37
COME BLOW YOUR HORN--script
Record ID: 71522241
folder 38
DIARY OF A WEDDING--script
Record ID: 71522235
folder 39
HERALD SQUARE--script
Record ID: 71522236
folder 40
MILLIONAIRE--script
Record ID: 71522237
folder 41
POCKET FULL O' RYE--script
Record ID: 71522238
folder 42
SCREENPLAY OF A LOVE STORY--script
Record ID: 71522239
folder 43
TRUMPET MAN--script
1943--1943
Record ID: 71522240
folder 44
WORLD ON A STRING--script
Record ID: 71522242
folder 45
WORLD ON A STRING--script
Record ID: 71522243
folder 46
WORLD ON A STRING--script
1957--1957
Record ID: 71522244
folder 47
HIGH NOON [stage]
1931--1931
Record ID: 71522245
folder 48
OXYGENERATOR [stage]
Record ID: 71522247
folder 49
SOUNDING BRASS [stage]
Record ID: 71522248
folder 50
THE TWILIGHT TREE [stage]
1930--1930
Record ID: 71522249
folder 51
Unidentified play
Record ID: 71522250
folder 52
Academy Awards
1945--1953
Record ID: 71522251
folder 53
Miscellaneous
1924--1953
Record ID: 71522253