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


 

Manuscripts

 

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

 

Stage files

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

 

Subject files

folder 52

Academy Awards 1945--1953

Record ID: 71522251

folder 53

Miscellaneous 1924--1953

Record ID: 71522253