King Kong (RKO, 1932), Studio Production Revised Treatment Screenplay by Ruth Rose....

Description

King Kong (RKO, 1932), Studio Production Revised Treatment Screenplay by Ruth Rose. Vintage original studio bound and bradded typed-carbon 105-pg (as paginated) revised treatment of King Kong on goldenrod vellum tissue leaves, stamped twice on cover from the RKO Studios Story Department/West Coast. Retaining original moss-green wraps typed with the working title, "Kong/ by/ Ruth Rose" and dated "August 24. 1932" and "Corrected as of Sept. 1-1932/ Sept. 6-1932." Ink stamped "470" on the upper right front corner of the cover. Includes typed notations throughout, up to page 93, of scenes presumed to have been filmed up to that date. This legendary pre-code classic monster movie brought the stop-motion animation of Willis O'Brien and crew to the forefront of emerging Special FX filmmaking and inspired generations to come, influencing the future of fantasy filmmaking to this very day. Wikipedia offers a thorough timeline of the somewhat complicated script development for King Kong: "Filming commenced without a complete screenplay. Cooper hired Edgar Wallace to write the screenplay, which he started in December 1931. Cooper told Wallace what he wanted included in the script. Wallace's draft included several instances of attempted sexual assault, which were later removed by Ruth Rose. His draft also included racial tensions between characters. While drafting he wrote, 'I am hoping still to get a good horror picture without corpses, and I am certain that Kong is going to be a wow.' Wallace had a rough draft ready in January 1932 and died a month later. Some of his ideas ended up in the final film, such as Kong removing Ann's clothes from her body. He also roughly outlined the New York scenes, which were similar to how they appeared in the completed film, as well as a jungle chase scene. James A. Creelman picked up work on the screenplay. In his draft he changed character roles, making Denham Ann's cruel uncle. Cooper disliked it, remarking that 'The heavy is far too heavy.' Creelman adapted Wallace's jungle chase scene to appear as it does in the finished film. Creelman found it difficult to meet Cooper's plot requests, feeling that there were too many fantastical elements for the film to be believable. He objected, 'There is certainly such a thing as reaching a limit to the number of elements a story can contain and make sense.' Though he incorporated Cooper's requests, the dialogue proved to be too extensive. Cooper was unsatisfied with Creelman's work, and in June Creelman decided to quit. After some difficulty finding a replacement for Creelman, in July Cooper hired Ruth Rose, who had never written a screenplay before. She rewrote the majority of Creelman's dialogue. Though Creelman initially wrote the film's New York prologue, Rose polished it while writing most of the city scenes. Rose was able to incorporate the love story between Ann and Jack, something the other screenwriters had struggled with. Rose also added more 'fairy tale-like' aspects. Upon the film's release Wallace was credited with the screenplay, as Cooper had promised to give him the credit. The studio also saw it as an opportunity to gain positive publicity because Wallace was a well-established writer." Covers exhibit age, minor handling, some edge toning and brittleness with a few small tears, largest of which is at center of spine at middle binding brad. Contents remain clean and remarkably fresh, apart from very light production handling, and occasional fingerprints throughout at a few upper margins. The poster image is for reference only and is not included with this lot. Comes with a COA from Heritage Auctions

Heritage Auctions provides as much information as possible but strongly encourages in-person inspection. Condition statements are offered as general guidance only, not as complete representations of fact, and do not constitute a warranty or assumption of liability by Heritage. Some condition issues may not be noted but may be visible in the photos, which are considered part of the condition report. Lots estimated at $1,000 or less are not de-framed for inspection, and we may be unable to provide additional details for lots valued under $500. Heritage does not guarantee the condition of frames and is not liable for damage to frames, glass/acrylic coverings, original boxes, display accessories, or artwork that has shifted in the frame. All lots are sold "AS IS" under our Terms & Conditions of Auction.