CHARLES D. COBURN - DOCUMENT SIGNED 10/25/1946 CO-SIGNED BY: RICHARD HUNGATE - HFSID 287741

CHARLES COBURN
Signed agreement with Vanguard Films (on behalf of producer David Selznick), modifying the terms of an earlier agreement with Coburn on production of two upcoming movies, Little Women and The Paradine Case, and stipulating payment terms in case he is only used in one of the films. (This proved to be the case.)
Document signed: "Charles Coburn", 4 pages, 8½x11. New York, N.Y., 1946 October 25. Also signed "Richard Hungate".Agreement with Vanguard Films (of producer David O. Selznick) to appear in two movies, Little Women and The Paradine Case, to be produced concurrently during 1947. This agreement replaces an earlier agreement for Coburn's appearance in two films, Little Women and The Paradine Case. In the event that Little Women is not produced, Coburn will receive 10/17th of the previously agreed salary ($170,000), and if The Paradine Case is not made, he will receive only 7/17th.Broadway actor, producer and director CHARLES COBURN (1877-1961), with his wife, Iva Wells, led a Shakespearean company, the Coburn Shakespeare Players, from 1906 to 1937. Only after her death did he close the company and move to Hollywood. Coburn did not appear in his first feature film (Of Human Hearts) until 1938, when he was 61. In 1940, he portrayed Dr. Henry Gordon, who unjustly amputated Drake McHugh's (Ronald Reagan) legs in Kings Row, resulting in the future President's greatest screen line (and title of his first autobiography): "Where's the rest of me?" Coburn was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor (1941, The Devil and Miss Jones; 1943, The More the Merrier; 1946, The Green Years), winning in 1943. The films contracted here did not prove to be highlights of Coburn's career. Little Women was ultimately not produced by Selznick, rights being transferred instead to MGM and Coburn's "Mr. Laurence" character being written out of this 1949 film version. He did appear in a supporting role in The Paradine Case, but the film proved expensive to make and disappointing at the box office. As a result, producer Selznick became disenchanted with Alfred Hitchcock, and never worked with him again. RICHARD HUNGATE was a lawyer employed by producer David O. Selznick until 1955, when he became a partner in Youngman, Hungate and Leopold, a law firm representing clients in the entertainment industry. While Hungate was with the firm - he retired in 1980 - it represented Farah Fawcett, sued for breach of contract for leaving the cast of Charlie's Angels; and also Universal Studios, sued by Twentieth Century Fox and Lucas Films on the grounds that the TV series Battlestar Galactica (1978) was a copyright infringement on Star Wars. Both cases were ultimately settled out of court.Lightly toned. Filing holes at left edge. Staple wholes at top left corner. Otherwise, fine condition.