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Harold
Sherman worked
as as writer on two
Hollywood films,
Are We
Civilized?
(1934) and
The
Adventures of Mark
Twain (1944). Among Sherman's papers stored at the
Torreyson Library at the University
of Central Arkansas at Conway, there
is voluminous correspondence
relating to these two episodes in
his life, and both sets provide
fascinating glimpses into Hollywood
filmmaking history.
Are We
Civilized?
Harold and Martha Sherman
were living in New York in 1933 when
Sherman was called West to write the
screenplay for Are We Civilized?,
a "message" film about man's
inhumanity to man. Martha stayed
behind with their two school-age
daughters, and Sherman - in
Hollywood for several months - wrote
daily letters with minute details
describing the writing and filming
of the picture as well as social
events he attended with well-known
figures. Many of the cast and crew
went on to greater fame, and others
were on the way out from the silent
era. Read about it
here.
The Adventures of Mark Twain
In
1941 Sherman, who had written a
play, "Mark Twain," and had been
granted exclusive dramatic rights by the Twain
Estate, was hired by Hollywood
producer
Jesse L. Lasky
to write a treatment for his
upcoming film, The Adventures of
Mark Twain. Correspondence between
Sherman and Lasky, as well as
Twain's daughter
Clara
Clemens Gabrilowtisch, is
documented in the eBook,
Behind the Screenplay,
compiled and edited
by Saskia Raevouri. Read more about
it
here.
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