Lot 380

Tennessee Williams Signed "Baby Doll" Screenplay, German Translation

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Tennessee Williams Signed "Baby Doll" Screenplay, German Translation

Estimate: $200 - $300

Starting Bid: $70

(0 Bids)

June 17, 2026 10:00 AM EDT
Live Auction
Wilton, CT, US

Description:

Tennessee Williams
New York, NY, July 7, 1980
Tennessee Williams Signed "Baby Doll" Screenplay, German Translation
SB

A first edition paperback copy of Tennessee Williams's "Baby Doll" screenplay for the 1956 movie of the same name, translated into German, and signed by the author. Tennessee Williams, "Baby Doll" Drehbuch [Screenplay] (Frankfurt/Main: West Germany: Verlag Filmcritik GmbH, 1967), Cinemathek, Ausgewählte Filmtexte 20 [Cinemathek, Selected Film Texts 20]). Stated "Erste Auflage" or, First Edition, on the copyright page. Signed, inscribed, and dated by the celebrated American playwright Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) along a horizontal orientation on the full title plage as: "To James: from / Tennessee Williams / 7.7.80 / New York." Williams has added a stylized C-shaped doodle extending from the inscribed date upwards towards the printed title. Mostly clean within. Expected wear including scuffs and minor corner bumping to the covers. Else near fine. 5-6; 7-96pp. With movie still photographs interspersed throughout the text. 4.75" x 7.5" x .375."

The 1956 movie "Baby Doll" was based on characters, settings, and plotlines of two Tennessee Williams one-act plays, both set in the American South: "The Unsatisfactory Supper" and "27 Wagons Full of Cotton." Williams wrote the screenplay for "Baby Doll" and the film was directed and produced by Elia Kazan. It tells the story of a rivalry between cotton gin operators in rural Mississippi who compete for business, and of course, also compete for the affections of the title character, Baby Doll Meighan.

Just a few months before Tennessee Williams autographed this German-language screenplay in July 1980, his play "Clothes for a Summer Hotel" had debuted on Broadway and been panned by critics. The play explored the relationship between F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda, who in later life was hospitalized for mental illness. After its negative reception, Williams vowed never to open a play in New York again, and indeed, this was the last one to ever open on Broadway during Williams's lifetime.

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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  • Dimensions: 4.75" x 7.5" x .375"
  • Medium: SB

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