PADDY CHAYEFSKY - CONTRACT SIGNED 02/02/1951 - HFSID 167772

PADDY CHAYEVSKY
Signed contract permitting the Theatre Guild to produce his play The Man Who Made the Mountain Shake, and stipulating his royalties. This was an early (pre-Oscar) contract, as reflected in the modest advance he received.
Contract signed: "Paddy Chayefsky", 7 pages, 8¼x11, with 15 additional printed pages of Supplemental Provisions. New York, N.Y., 1951 February 2. Document titled "Dramatic Production Contract", signed by Chayevsky on page 7. He has initialed two minor corrections. Chayevsky leases his play titled The Man Who Made the Mountain Shake to the Theatre Guild for a $1,000 advance on royalties, 5% of the first $5,000 of gross weekly box office receipts, with increasing percentages up to 10% of weekly receipts exceeding $7,000. The contract stipulates that Elia Kazan will direct the play, if he agrees to do so by July 1, 1951. Screen writer Paddy Chayevsky (1923-1981) is the only person to have won three Oscars for Best Screenplay: for Marty (1955), The Hospital (1971) and Network (1976). He did much of his best writing for television, to which his realistic scripts were well suited, but he left the genre because he felt it wasn't seeking quality. (His revenge came with Network, which skewered industry executives.) Among his other well known films are The Bachelor Party (1957), The Americanization of Emily (1964) and Paint Your Wagon (1969). The Man Who Made the Mountain Shake was not produced on either stage or television. It must have been a radio broadcast of Theatre Guild of the Air. Staples at top edge. Corners lightly creased. Page 5 toned and creased. Paper clip imprint at top edge. Vertical mailing fold through center. Otherwise, fine condition.