The Blue Dahlia (Paramount, 1946), Vintage Original Typed-Carbon Early Treatment plus Typed-Carbon "Emergency Rewrite"...

Description

The Blue Dahlia (Paramount, 1946), Vintage Original Typed-Carbon Early Treatment plus Typed-Carbon "Emergency Rewrite" Screenplay by Raymond Chandler. Vintage original 90-pg typed-carbon advance treatment on canary vellum tissue leaves, brad-bound, dated January 18, 1945, titled "The Blue Dahlia" with Chandler's credit, "SF 88670", and stamped "File Copy/Return to Script Dept./ Paramount Studio- Hollywood" on front; together with vintage original 128-pg (as paginated) typed-carbon "Revised White" screenplay on buff tissue vellum and blue revision leaves, brad-bound, dated March 23, 1945 (revisions 3/26/45-5/18/45) with film title, Chandler's credit, "P.11403", and stamped "Return to story Dept./Paramount Pictures/Corporation" Exceptional and arguably unique (2) primary-source documents which illuminate the development of one of the only films made from Raymond Chandler's writing that is not from a previously-existing published literary work. Chandler was already deep into his next novel-in-progress when approached by his friend and prior Double Indemnity associate, John Houseman to (very) quickly fashion an appropriate screenplay as a vehicle for Paramount star Alan Ladd, about to ship out for WWII military service. One of the quintessential film noirs, The Blue Dahlia sees the return of the dynamic pairing of Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake, in their third of four films together. This twisting tale of murder and intrigue was penned by the master of the mystery genre, Raymond Chandler, his first and only original screenplay. Despite time pressure from the studio and rewriting at the behest of the Navy, Chandler's screenplay made the film a smashing success at the box office and his complex storyline and witty dialogue earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Such was the film's popularity at the time that the title was reworked when a young woman named Elizabeth Short was brutally murdered in January 1947, with the press dubbing her "The Black Dahlia". From the landmark early work on the titular subject, Film Noir: The Dark Side of the Screen [1981, Foster Hirsch], "Chandler...worked as both practitioner and critic to lift crime fiction to full-fledged literary status. He was raised in England...and received a fine classical education. Returning to his native America as an adult, Chandler saw it with the eyes of a foreigner, and with a clarity perhaps possible only to an outsider." And, "His work is distinguished not by its tension, though the reader has a lingering curiosity as to how the story ends, but by its evocation of setting (Chandler is the poet laureate of Southern California) and by its wry tone- in short, by its fine writing." The treatment and the screenplay naturally display a number of transitions of tone, settings, character names, etc. (in addition to fairly frequent uncorrected misspellings and other typos, being typed-carbon "manuscripts"), but the most significant difference is the stuff film history legends are made of. The treatment ends with a brain-damaged, decommissioned Naval aviator confessing, in a confused haze to his friends, as the murderer, after the police are convinced the dead nightclub owner was responsible. Roughly a week before filming was to wrap, military censors, with WWII still going strong in the Pacific, objected to this depiction of their valiant servicemen's sacrifice in action. Fueled by gallons of liquor and round-the-clock stenographers, Chandler fashioned a brand new (albeit crazy and confusing) ending, rescuing the project in the nick of time. This new ending basically plays "go fish" with the existing palette of characters, which for all intents and purposes was pulling a rabbit out of a hat. It is difficult, if not impossible, to overestimate the historical significance of each of the two drafts offered here, as they each in their fashion represent the true "first editions" of this particular literary work of one of the truly great "hardboiled fiction" masters. Each document exhibits very minor production use and handling, though both are remarkably well-preserved considering the fragile, ephemeral nature of their construction. The treatment shows a trace of corner curling and handling plus a very faint dampstain at center top margin; the screenplay shows slightly more handling to extremities, with small marginal tears and bends. Interior of each remains relatively free of any wear or age. The poster image is for reference only and is not included with this lot. Comes with a COA from Heritage Auctions.

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