$14,080
Three typed pages signed by Some Like It Hot director Billy Wilder, dated March 17, 1958. The first page has Wilder’s professional letterhead at upper left, is addressed “Dear Marilyn:” and opens “As one Arthur Miller will substantiate, nothing is more frustrating for a dramatist than to expose the bare bones of something he is working on. However, the script is only partly written, and since time seems to be of the essence, I would rather take the risk of sending you this cold-blooded outline than of losing you altogether. You have to give me enough credit to assume that the piece, skimpy as it may sound in synopsis, will be written on the highest level, and that the characters will emerge live and three dimensional. It has always been my theory that a story should be as simple and graphic as possible, to give oneself enough leeway to explore the characters fully, and develop the situations in depth. Don’t be misled into thinking that this story is going to be treated as a farce — because unless some real emotion emerges from all this comedy, we will have failed.” The remaining two and a half pages are a full synopsis of the plot of Some Like It Hot in writer/director Wilder’s own words. Wilder closes the letter saying that since word of the project has “seeped out,” there has been great interest from actors, and “we will have our choice of Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and several other top flight leading men. In addition, we will load up the picture with all t
Auctioneer:
Juliens Auctions
Date:
2016-11-17
