SIR CEDRIC HARDWICKE - CONTRACT SIGNED 01/14/1954 - HFSID 167601

CEDRIC HARDWICKE
He signs a Standard Run-of-the-play contract for his performance in The Burning Glass
Contract signed: "Cedric Hardwicke" as Actor, 1p front and verso, 8½x22. New York City, 1954 January 14. Headed: "Actors' Equity Association/Standard Run-of-the Play Contract". Hardwicke agrees to play the part of "Montagu Winthrop - Prime Minister" in a play titled The Burning Glass during the 1953-1954 season and also for the 1954-1955 season, including the months of June, July and August 1954. Hardwicke was to receive a salary of $800 for eight performances of the play, which was set to open on February 11, 1954 "or not later than fourteen days thereafter". When the gross weekly box office receipts exceeded $16,000, the actor would receive six percent over that amount; while on tour after October 1, 1954, Hardwicke would receive $800 for eight performances and ten percent of gross box office receipts over $16,000. Initialed: "CH" three times on rider, 1p, 8½x11. Also signed and initialed (once) by a representative of The Theatre Guild. The Burning Glass, a drama by Charles Morgan, played on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre from March 4-27, 1957 (a total of 28 performances). Walter Matthau was also in the cast of the play, which was produced by The Theatre Guild and John C. Wilson. British actor Sir Cedric Hardwicke (1883-1964), who was knighted for his acting in 1934, was called the finest actor in the world by playwright George Bernard Shaw. Hardwicke, who had appeared in a number of stage plays, including Shaw's Major Barbara, made his film debut in 1926 in Nelson and continued to make films through 1964, the year of his death. His long list of film credits include Les Miserables (1935), King Solomon's Mines (1937), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939), Wilson (1944), The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945), I Remember Mama (1948), Around the World in 80 Days (1956), The Ten Commandments (1956) and The Pumpkin Eater (1964, his last film). Lightly creased and soiled. ¼x1¾-inch paper loss at blank right margin of rider, chipped at blank left edge of contract. Staple holes at upper left corners. Overall, fine condition.