Description:

Eugene O'Neill TLS Re: "Anna Christie," "The Hairy Ape," "Desire Under the Elms," "The Great God Brown," "Strange Interlude," and "Mourning Becomes Electra" -- Among the Finest Known Letters!

A 1p typed letter signed by American playwright Eugene O'Neill (1889-1968) as "Eugene O'Neill" at lower right. Written on June 11, 1938, at Dao House, O'Neill's ranch in Danville, California, on a single leaf of paper printed "Tao House / Danville / Contra Costa County / California" at the letterhead. O'Neill has hand-corrected a typographical error, the "l" in the word "Electra," found in the second paragraph. Expected paper folds, isolated foxing, edge darkening, and uneven toning. A minor closed tear along the top edge, and several areas of paper thinness corresponding to former mounting traces verso, else near fine. 8.5" x 11." Housed in a handsome blue and rose marbled custom clamshell case with gilt leather spine reading "O'Neill / Letter to / Dunning." The case measures 9.625" x 12.25" x 1."

O'Neill wrote this letter to Broadway theatrical producer Philip Dunning (1889-1968), opining which one of his plays should be produced by Dunning in an unspecified future production. Dunning had lobbied for O'Neill's play "Anna Christie," which had been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1922. Yet O'Neill had numerous other suggestions, frankly dismissing "Anna Christie" as over-interpreted and mediocre!

O'Neill wrote in part:

"Dear Mr Dunning,

I think it's a grand idea and you can be assured of my cooperation. The royalty arrangement you talked over with Miss Silcox is all right with me.

My one objection is your choice of 'Anna Christie'. For one thing, I don't rate that play highly, compared to many of my others, and never have. But a more important reason, from your angle, is that it has been movied and radioed so much that it's pretty stale stuff. I think you would find the public only bored by the idea of a scene from 'Anna Christie'. My suggestion would be to choose from one of the earlier successes that have never been filmed, radioed or revived - 'The Hairy Ape', say, or 'Desire Under the Elms', or 'The Great God Brown'. Or, of the later plays, 'Strange Interlude' or 'Mourning Becomes Electra'. For this last, Nazimova ought to be available, I should think.

However, you are the doctor. If you insist on 'Anna', despite my warning that she's a jaded old wench and was never much of a gal at her best, you can have her.

Thank you for your good wishes. My health, after a rotten winter with neuritis, is fine now and I'm hard at work and liking it…"

"Anna Christie" was a play about a former prostitute named Anna Christopherson who falls in love with a ship engine stoker who disapproves of her past. It debuted on Broadway in November 1921. The play was also performed in London's West End in 1923, and its first film adaptation came out the same year. In 1930, Swedish silent movie actress Greta Garbo portrayed Anna in two versions, one English and the other German, in her widely publicized first talking role. And just four months before O'Neill's letter, on February 7, 1938, Joan Crawford had starred as Anna in a Lux Radio Theatre hour-long excerpt from the play. At sixteen years old, "Anna Christie" was definitely overplayed and overblown, in O'Neill's opinion.

Instead, O'Neill recommended that Dunning produce a scene from other works: "The Hairy Ape" (1922), about a ship stoker suffering from an existential crisis; "Desire Under the Elms" (1924), exploring a love triangle between a father, a son, and a younger woman; "The Great God Brown" (1926), an experimental play in which O'Neill tried to revive the Greek theatrical tradition of mask-wearing; "Strange Interlude" (1928), about one woman's secrets and tragic love affairs; and "Mourning Becomes Electra" (1931), in which O'Neill applied classical Greek tragic themes to a New England setting. For this last play, O'Neill specifically mentions a reprisal for Alla Nazimova (1879-1945), the Russian-American bisexual actress, director, writer, and producer who had portrayed character Christine Mannon in the Broadway run of "Mourning Becomes Electra" between October 1931 - March 1932.

Also in his letter, O'Neill mentions Louise Silcox, the secretary, treasurer, and spokesperson of the Authors' League of America. Copyright and intellectual property were hot button issues in the early 1930s, as classic literary works transitioned onto the stage, screen, and radio. Silcox had previously been involved in defending Eugene O'Neill against accusations of plagiarism levied against him by blackmailers.

O'Neill said in closing, "I'm hard at work and liking it." In 1938, he was most likely working on "The Iceman Cometh," a play completed in 1939. It was one of three plays--and among O'Neill's most famous--written at Tao House, the two-story Spanish-style farmhouse where O'Neill lived with his third wife actress Carlotta Monterey (1888-1970) from 1937-1944. O'Neill also wrote, "Long Day's Journey into Night" and "A Moon for the Misbegotten" at the 158-acre ranch in northern California about 10 miles south of Walnut Creek.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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