The Walter Wanger papers are arranged in nine major series of General Correspondence and
Related Materials, which includes personal, family, and business letters; Wanger's Diaries,
Speeches, Appointment Calendars, Notes, and Other Personal Papers; Corporate and Financial
Records of Wanger and his production companies; Business Correspondence and Staff Memoranda
of Wanger and of Walter Wanger Productions Inc. and Walter Wanger Pictures Inc.; Film
Production Files; Television and Theater Files; Other Papers; records of the Free World
Association; and Films. While the collection contains materials from Wanger's boyhood and
college years and service in World War I, the major portion of the collection dates from the
late 1930s.
It is very likely that records of Wanger's early productions remained with the studios
where he worked. (For some of these early records, researchers should consult Series 4G and
5G of the United Artists collection.) In Box 43, Folder 32A, there are two inventories of
Wanger's office files, made in 1956 and in 1962, and a 1965 listing of Wanger's papers
located at the offices of his attorneys, Mitchell, Silberberg, and Knupp; an additional
listing of documents kept in Wanger's safety deposit box, 1945-1966, is located in Box 45,
Folder 15. From these documents, it appears that portions of Wanger's papers that once
existed are not included in this collection. The papers may still be among the papers of
other individuals, or may no longer exist. In some of her correspondence with Wanger, his
secretary, Francine Fitch, occasionally referred to his older files, apparently stored in
obscure places on studio lots and virtually forgotten.
Wanger's GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE AND RELATED MATERIALS consists of both personal and
business letters; with the majority dating from 1940. The correspondence has been arranged
alphabetically by name of each individual or corporate body, and filed chronologically
thereunder. Among Wanger's long-time correspondents were Abraham Bienstock, Wanger's New
York lawyer and personal friend; Mendel Silberberg and other members of the Mitchell,
Silberberg, and Knupp law firm; and his brother and sister-in-law, Henry and Etta Wanger.
Wanger also corresponded with other professionals and members of the film industry, such as
producers Allyn Butterfield, Walt Disney, William Dozier, Jesse Lasky, Sol Lesser, and David
Selznick; directors Victor Fleming, Fritz Lang, and Max Opuls; writer Robin Maugham; and
actresses Susan Hayward and Simone Silva. His interest in politics is shown through his
correspondence with California Governor Edmund G. Brown, Will Rogers, Jr., Eleanor
Roosevelt, Harold Stassen, and Wendell Willkie. There is also correspondence with Frank
Lloyd Wright in the “W (General)” files of the General Correspondence.
Wanger also maintained extensive contacts with the major film and theater organizations,
which are represented in the correspondence series. These include the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences, American National Theatre and Academy, Motion Picture
Association, Motion Picture Association of America, Motion Picture Industry Council,
Producers and Producers Association, Screen Producers Guild, and Society of Independent
Motion Picture Producers. There are separate files of correspondence and papers with film
agents, on audience research, censorship, on publications and literary rights, publishers,
radio show ideas, on unsolicited scripts returned to writers, on story information, and
talent seeking. During the early days of television, Wanger was interested in the medium,
and in closed circuit television and pay television in particular. He kept extensive files
of his negotiations with Sheraton Closed Circuit Television and Zenith, all of which are
filed together under Television. Wanger maintained a lifelong interest in his alma mater,
Dartmouth College, and kept files of the college announcements and alumni publications. His
zeal for the World War II effort, coupled with his wish for postwar peace and interest in
adult education, led Wanger to work with many organizations. He was especially active in the
Free World Association, and his files reflect his extensive correspondence with its leaders.
(There is another file of general and organizational Free World Association records in the
Free World Association series.) Other groups represented in Wanger's collection include the
Atlantic Union Committee, Council on Foreign Relations, Crusade for Freedom, Los Angeles
Committee on Foreign Relations, Los Angeles Committee for Home Front Unity, and Office of
War Information. Wanger was active with many organizations, and many of these records are
arranged alphabetically by title of the organization. Filed with the personal correspondence
are letters, genealogical records, small photographs, and affidavits compiled by Wanger to
assist several of his European Feuchtwanger relatives in escaping from Nazi Germany and
postwar Europe. Following World War II, Wanger and his brother Henry supported them for many
years.
Wanger's DIARIES, SCRAPBOOKS AND NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS, SPEECHES, APPOINTMENT CALENDARS,
NOTES, AND OTHER PERSONAL PAPERS are listed in alphabetical order, and include biographical
material on Wanger, his address books and telephone directories, certificates and awards,
and appointment calendars kept both by Wanger and by his secretaries, some of which date
from the 1920s. Wanger generally made daily notes not only of appointments, but of planned
activities. During the 1950s and 1960s, Wanger often supplemented his daily calendar with
lists of appointments, telephone calls to be made, and other memoranda to himself. Several
personal diaries are included in this series, and also in the files pertaining to Wanger's
book, My Life with Cleopatra. (Many of
these diaries were later annotated by Wanger's attorneys for use in legal documents and
court appearances associated with Wanger's lawsuit against Twentieth Century-Fox.) As he
grew older, Wanger kept extensive diaries of his activities, thoughts, and feelings. The
diaries from the Cleopatrayears are
especially expressive, and show his disgust with the studio and the effect of stress on his
deteriorating health.
The microfilmed scrapbooks and newspaper clippings include material representing Wanger's
first theatrical ventures in the United States beginning in 1919, and his later production
work in England. There are also general clippings about Wanger, his second wife--actress
Joan Bennett, her sisters, and their children. 1961-1962 clippings from Varietyconcern Wanger's film Cleopatra, Spyros Skouras, and Twentieth-Century
Fox, and are slightly annotated by Wanger, apparently for his lawsuit against the film
company. Also microfilmed are miscellaneous press releases and draft articles about
Wanger.
There is an extensive file of Wanger's speeches, which are most numerous for the 1940s and
early 1950s, with some reference material and correspondence pertaining to the topic. Most
of the speeches deal with the movie industry and its contribution to the World War II
effort, wartime topics in general, prisons and prisoners, and education.
Also within this series are a few very early records pertaining to Wanger's family, and to
his college and producing careers (Box 36, Folder 4B). Included is a Notice of Application
for Change of Name, filed by Stella Feuchtwanger for her three sons, July 21, 1908; two
typed letters, 1908, to Stella Feuchtwanger from her brother (probably Walter W.
Stettheimer), generally concerning his oversight of family investments while the
Feuchtwangers were in Europe, with a power of attorney form; a letter of July 22, 1908,
probably from Stettheimer, concerning the payment of a portion of the Sigmund Feuchtwanger
estate to Lala B. Feuchtwanger; and several letters between Stettheimer and his nephew,
Herbert Wanger, 1908, concerning money loaned to Herbert for mortgage payments on his
fraternity house at Dartmouth. There are no other papers concerning Herbert Wanger in the
collection. There are also letters of February 15 and 16, 1912, noting that Wanger had
failed his course work and had been asked to leave Dartmouth; typescript and handwritten
versions of “The Test,” by Wanger and John Meylert Mullin which won first prize
in the 1913 Dartmouth vaudeville show; a letter from Wanger to his mother telling her of his
summer position teaching dramatics at Dartmouth; an undated proposal and outline of
arrangements for Granville Barker's productions of Greek plays, listing Wanger as a staff
member; Wanger's certificate of election to The Players, October 15, 1915; and letters from
George Arliss, February 8, 1919, Alan Dale, September 9, 1919, David Belasco, September 16,
1919, and 1920, Alla Nazimova, May 4, 1920, and Lynn Fontanne, undated. There is also a
press release and an announcement of the “Nazimova Season,” which opened in 1920
with 'Ception Shoals, and a few documents
regarding On the Hiring Linepresented at
the Philadelphia Theatre (leased by Wanger in 1919), and Five O'Clockand the Five O'Clock Company in New York.
Wanger's CORPORATE AND FINANCIAL RECORDS include both personal and family records and
records of Wanger's film production companies. Included with the corporate records are small
files regarding Citadel Pictures, Diana Productions Inc., Eagle-Lion Studios Inc., I'd
Rather Be Left Company, Marlowe, Ltd., Sierra Pictures Inc. (En Corporation), Societa
Anonima Italiana Cinematografica, Tec-Scope, W. Wanger Productions Ltd., Walter Wanger Inc.,
Walter Wanger International, and Walwa Films, S.A., although records of Walter Wanger
Pictures Inc. and of Walter Wanger Productions Inc. are most numerous. Wanger's personal
financial records are arranged first, followed by fragmentary personal records of Joan
Bennett, Melinda Markey Bena, and Diana Wanger Anderson; guardianship records of Stephanie
Wanger Guest and Shelley Wanger; and records of Stephanie Wanger's wedding in 1963. Most of
the family records are fragmentary in nature. There are a few scattered records of Barbara
Bennett Randall, and from the settlement of the estates of Richard Bennett, Stella Wanger,
and Beatrice Wanger.
Wanger's personal financial records are most complete from about 1940 until his death. His
accountants, Osborne and Harvey, Morgan Maree and Associates (primarily Jess Morgan), and
the British firm of Sydney Morse and Company, kept detailed, individual records of the
personal and business transactions of Wanger and Joan Bennett. There are fairly complete
runs of account books, journals, ledgers, and cash books, supplemented by bank statements,
contracts (between Wanger personally and actors and technicians; contracts made by a Wanger
company are filed with the corporate financial records), financial correspondence and
memoranda of bank balances prepared by the accountants, expenditures, financial statements
and summaries, receipts and disbursements, and payroll and tax records. Other personal
financial records include records of house purchases, renovations, and maintenance;
insurance records; investments, stocks, bonds, and oil and gas exploration records; loans to
and from Wanger; and legal papers and records of lawsuits. Wanger's personal records clearly
document his interests and lifestyle, which was quite luxurious through the early and mid
1940s. Wanger's economic problems beginning in 1947 or 1948 are also clearly shown in his
files of loans received, insurance (cash values of policies), and tax records. These
problems can also be seen in files concerning Wanger's sale of films and film rights between
1947 and 1954. Of the several lawsuits documented, the most interesting is the 1923 suit by
Wanger against Provincial Cinematograph Theatres, Ltd. (Great Britain), over Wanger's
management of the Regent Theatre, Brighton. The suit was dropped on a consent action, on the
terms that the defendant pay Wanger 8000 pounds in full discharge of all claims.
Since the same accounting firms kept both Wanger's personal and business records, in many
cases it was difficult during arrangement of the files to separate the two types of files.
Researchers should check both personal and corporate files to insure that all pertinent
documents are located; when it was impossible to separate the two types, records were placed
in Wanger's personal files. (Researchers should also check the Business Correspondence and
Staff Memoranda series for further information.) The financial records of Walter Wanger
Pictures Inc. and Walter Wanger Productions Inc. are fairly complete and contain documents
similar to those in Wanger's personal financial records. Records of Walter Wanger Pictures
Inc. include minute books and other corporate records, bank statements, cash received
records, contracts and agreements (including loan-out agreements with other studios),
invoices paid, loans, receipts, and tax records. There are corporate dissolution records,
1941, and a 1963 inventory of office files prepared in anticipation of transfer to the
University of Wisconsin. Of interest are the numerous files of contracts and legal
agreements, between Wanger and studios, and between Wanger and actors, technicians, and
guilds. Of particular note are early contracts, loan-out agreements, and loan records
between Wanger and actress Sylvia Sidney. Also noteworthy are the files of loans which were
arranged by Wanger during the late 1940s, and the file concerning Wanger's loan to Ingrid
Bergman as part of the agreement involving En Corporation (later Sierra Pictures Inc.).
There is a substantial run of corporate, employer's, and income tax returns, with some
drafts and financial statements used in drafting also available (Box 42, Folder 9). Similar
though less numerous records for Walter Wanger Productions Inc. are also present. These
records consist of bank statements, contracts, financial statements, journals, and tax
records.
A small but interesting file in the corporate records series is that of the Societa Anonima
Italiana Cinematografica (SAIC). During the late 1930s, Wanger attempted to establish a film
studio in Italy in conjunction with the Italian government. Although the file of
correspondence regarding SAIC is small, it clearly shows the increasing influence of fascism
in Italian life and business and the obstacles placed in Wanger's path by Mussolini's
government. Wanger finally withdrew from the project after the suppression of Jews began in
Italy.
Of particular interest to the researcher seeking to locate early Wanger records and films
are two files of inventories of Wanger's papers. Box 43, Folder 32A contains inventories
made in 1956 and 1962 of Wanger's office files and a 1965 record of his papers kept in the
office of his attorneys, Mitchell, Silberberg, and Knupp. In Box 45, Folder 15 is a listing
of the contents of Wanger's safety deposit box including important documents, 1945-1966.
Unfortunately, while these inventories tell the researcher what documents once existed, they
only confirm that many of the early records now may be lost, destroyed, or inaccessible
because they are located elsewhere. Information regarding the disposition of Wanger's films
may be found in the files in Box 45, Folders 19-21 pertaining to Wanger's sale of films to
Allied Artists in 1954, and of film rights to Sol Lesser Productions, 1950; and to Trans
World Films Inc., 1947-1954. These records also show the relinquishment of Wanger's
ownership and rights forced by two bankruptcy suits during the early 1950s. Other records of
these bankruptcy proceedings and of Wanger's efforts to maintain financial stability are
also present in this series.
Other business records may be found in the files of BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE AND STAFF
MEMORANDA. These files contain letters and inter-office memoranda prepared by Wanger's
secretaries, administrative assistants, comptrollers, legal counsel, and publicists and thus
are important sources of information about the daily business of Wanger and his company.
Most interesting are the records kept by Rosemary Foley, Wanger's secretary who eventually
became his administrative assistant, because they date from 1937 to 1950; Percy Guth,
Wanger's comptroller, 1934-1942, including film distribution, cost, loan, and bank balance
information; George Mercader, Wanger's business manager; and David Tannenbaum, his legal
counsel. There are detailed daily notes and memos to and from Wanger prepared by secretary
Francine Fitch, 1961-1966, which record Wanger's last years as a film producer, but
unfortunately, these documents deal primarily with routine matters. Also included in this
series are daily staff notes kept to remind Wanger of his appointments and planned
activities, and lists of telephone calls and messages. From the mid-1950s until his death,
Wanger dictated many of his letters, memos, and notes to his staff on an audograph
(Dictaphone) machine. While his staff then transcribed his correspondence, they also kept a
large carton of the actual discs, which are now among the unprocessed additions to this
collection. There are also files of correspondence and lists of box office and film receipts
figures collected for Wanger by Budd Rogers and by Producers' Representatives. These files
provide daily reports concerning film promotion campaigns, and public reception of the
films, often by comparing Wanger's pictures to the most popular contemporary films. Also
included is correspondence with the Title Registration Bureau and registration records of
film titles chosen by Wanger.
The FILM PRODUCTION FILES best document Wanger's films dating from the late 1930s and early
1940s. Wanger's earliest films are not represented in the collection, while beginning with
The President Vanishes(Paramount, 1934),
there is generally only a script, and a few financial records, such as a budget or negative
cost report. Later films are better documented, with the files usually including
correspondence from the period of film production, and the pre- and post-production periods;
financial records, such as budgets, contracts, some distribution and income records,
insurance policies, picture and story cost reports, and some box office reports; casting and
staff records; clippings and reviews; and credits and titles. Often Wanger's films had
censorship difficulties, documentation of which is also included in censorship or
correspondence files. Among the films so illustrated are “The Ballad and the
Source” (which never was produced because of British censorship problems), Cleopatra, I Want to Live!, Scarlet Street(over which Universal sued the City of Atlanta), and Smash-Up. There are also records of the routine
military censorship applied to all films with war or military subjects made during World War
II.
The film production files are arranged in alphabetical order by name of production, and
contain information on produced and unproduced films, on films produced by other producers
at a later date, and story ideas collected but never used by Wanger and his staff. Films for
which there are extensive records include The
Adventures of Hajji Baba(1954), “The Ballad and the Source”
(unproduced because of script and censorship problems), “The Duchesse de
Langeais” (an unproduced film planned for Greta Garbo), Eagle Squadron(1942), Gung-Ho!(1943), the Academy Award winning film I Want to Live!(1958), The Invasion of the Body Snatchers(1956), The Lost Moment(1947), A Night in Paradise(1946), The Reckless
Moment(1949), Riot in Cell Block
11(1954, inspired by Wanger's prison sentence), “So Gallantly
Gleaming” (an unproduced story of Jessie Benton Fremont), Tap Roots(1948), Tulsa(1949), and “Yellow Knife” (an unproduced story of the Yukon).
Several of the films represented were made by Wanger to support the military effort during
World War II, either by inspiring patriotism or encouraging escapism (for which Wanger and
others were criticized at the time). There are also fairly complete files of story ideas
that were well developed but which were never produced as films, including “The Dud
Avocado,” the four novels of Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria Quartet, “Night of the Short Knives,”
“Dynasty,” and “The Man From Snake River.” The first three of this
group were in preparation during the early 1960s, and were entangled with Wanger's lawsuit
with Twentieth Century-Fox. When the lawsuit was resolved, Wanger also lost control of these
properties. Also included is material concerning To
the People of the United States, a venereal disease film made by Wanger for the
U.S. Public Health Service, but which was never widely distributed due to pressure from the
Catholic Church and several city censorship boards.
Wanger's last movie, Cleopatra, is most
heavily documented, and the extensive files clearly show early production problems, the
growing disagreement between Wanger and studio staff, Wanger's inability to control the
film's stars, and the final breakdown of the production and upheaval within the Twentieth
Century-Fox hierarchy, resulting in dismissals, incredible cost overruns, and lawsuits.
There is extensive correspondence between Wanger and his attorneys and members of the
Twentieth Century-Fox studio and production staff. Among those represented by files are
studio officials Buddy Adler, Robert Goldstein, Peter Levathes, Doc Merman, Archibald Ogden,
Sid Rogell, Lew Schreiber, Spyros Skouras, head of Twentieth Century-Fox until the Cleopatraproblems caused his ouster, Jerry Wald,
and Darryl Zanuck, Skouras's successor. Wanger also corresponded with director Rouben
Mamoulian and with his replacement, Joseph L, Mankiewicz, who also wrote portions of the
film script, and with Carlo Maria Franzero, author of the original story, The Life and Times of Cleopatra. There are small
files of correspondence with Elizabeth Taylor and Rex Harrison, and larger files of letters,
notes, and ideas sent to Wanger by writers. Hate and fan mail inspired by the controversy
over the film and the sensationalism of the press also reached Wanger, and some is present
in the collection. Lawyer Gregson Bautzer, and members of the firm Gang, Tyre, Rudin, and
Brown, and the firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, and Garrison (who handled Wanger's
lawsuit against Twentieth Century-Fox), are also represented in the correspondence.
The production of Cleopatrais well
illustrated by files of production, location, and art department correspondence. The
correspondence especially reveals the initial conflict between the studio, which wanted to
film on location in London, and Wanger, who realized that a warmer location was necessary,
and the great costs and production delays incurred by the attempt to film in London. Also
present are a daily production log; minutes of production meetings, September 1961 to June
1962, and with Buddy Adler, September 1959-June 1960; daily production reports of first and
second units, September 1961-July 1962; a salvage list prepared when the film was moved to
Rome; and set construction orders. Other files also deal with production problems, including
bank account records; budgets and cost estimates; casting, employment, and staffing
correspondence; censorship materials; picture cost summary sheets and story cost reports;
detailed cost, distribution, and invoice statements; and files dealing with costumes and
wigs, hairdressers, music, credits and titles, shooting schedules, and weather forecasts in
London and Rome. Several folders of clippings show press and public reaction to the
production and later, to the activities of stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, and
Eddie Fisher. Copies of Wanger's contract to produce the film and other contracts, including
those of his subsidiary company, Walwa Films, S.A., are found in the collection, with
correspondence and papers transferring Wanger's legal rights in the film. There are also
numerous drafts and revisions of the script, together with outlines, notes, a treatment,
synopses, and a breakdown.
Among the most interesting materials in the Cleopatrafiles are Wanger's personal notes regarding delays in production, and
notes of meetings and research, particularly when combined with the extensive diaries Wanger
kept throughout production. The diary volumes from 1959 to 1965 are to be found in the
series Diaries, Speeches, Appointment Calendars, Notes, and Other Personal Papers, but
portions of Wanger's annotated diary from 1960 to 1962 are included in this series. The
annotations were added by Wanger to a transcript of his reminiscences and responses to
questions of Joe Hyams. Four tape recordings of the Hyams-Wanger interview are also
present.
Also included are records of Wanger's 2.6 million dollar lawsuit against Twentieth
Century-Fox for breach of contract in dismissing him from Cleopatraand discontinuing payments of salary and expenses.
Spyros Skouras also sued Wanger for libel, based on Wanger's book. Both of these suits were
settled out of court in 1965, although other suits between Twentieth Century-Fox and Taylor
and Burton continued for a time.
A small file of TELEVISION AND THEATER FILES contains synopses and outlines, a few scripts,
story ideas, contracts, and correspondence concerning television programs Wanger was
interested in promoting. Most were never produced. There is also a small file concerning the
play Parlor Story, in which Wanger
invested.
OTHER PAPERS in the collection consist of a few files of records from conferences Wanger
attended and projects with which he was involved, and miscellany.
There are also records of the Hollywood branch of the FREE WORLD ASSOCIATION RECORDS, an
organization first proposed in 1940 as a union of anti-fascist forces, and formed as the
International Free World Association in 1941 by representatives of 16 nations. The
Association worked with similar organizations to help with World War II, and to contribute
to the organization of a democratic world based on principles of collective action, social
security, freedom and justice. Clark Eichelberger was the first director, and the general
secretary was Louis Dolivet. The Hollywood branch was interested primarily in the use of
films to promote adult education, especially among members of the film industry. The
Association believed that films were powerful international and social influences. Walter
Wanger was a major financial supporter of the group, and his correspondence with the
organization is located in the General Correspondence and Related Material files. This
series of records was probably the office files of the Association itself, in particular
those records kept by the director, Elsie Jensen, with some papers of Louis Dolivet.
Unfortunately many of the records are routine in nature. Included are correspondence of the
board of directors and of Elsie Jensen, fragmentary financial records, membership lists and
files, personnel files, radio scripts, speeches, statements of principle, and subscriptions.
The files show the initial involvement of several prominent and wealthy Hollywood
individuals and corporations, and the eventual disbanding of the organization due to lack of
interest and to organizational problems with the parent body, New York Free World
Association.
The AUDIO RECCORDINGS in the collection consist mainly of dictation including
correspondence, memos, and scheduling. Also includes a few interviews.
The FILMS in the collection consist mainly of home movies, most probably taken by Gene
Markey, of Joan Bennett and her three eldest daughters as children. These films date from
1929 through the early 1940s. Other films include two copies of Aladdin and His Lamp, a Wanger film; one of two parts of a Greta
Garbo screen test, made circa 1940 for Wanger's proposed film “The Duchesse de
Langeais” (the second part of the test was lost or stolen from the studio); Northern Frontier(Associated Screen Studios,
Canada, 1945); Sometimes You Strike It
Right(a Salmita Production, 1945); two Universal Pictures Newsreels, October 31
and November 12, 1946; and Woman in the
Window(International Pictures, 1944).