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Lot #966
Alfred Hitchcock

Twelve days after Hitchcock’s Vertigo opens to negative reviews and low box office receipts, Samuel Taylor, co-writer of the screenplay, exercises an option in his 1957 employment agreement with Hitchcock

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Description

Twelve days after Hitchcock’s Vertigo opens to negative reviews and low box office receipts, Samuel Taylor, co-writer of the screenplay, exercises an option in his 1957 employment agreement with Hitchcock

DS, one page, 8 x 10, May 21, 1958. In full: “You are hereby notified that the undersigned has exercised the second option contained in Paragraph 18 of the Employment Agreement between you and the undersigned Corporation dated as of the second day of January, 1957. Will you kindly acknowledge receipt of this notice by signing at the place indicated below?” Samuel Taylor (1912-2000) was nominated for the 1955 Academy Award for Best Screenplay with Billy Wilder and Ernest Lehman for Sabrina and for the 1962 Tony Award for Best Musical for the book of No Strings. Taylor also co-wrote the screenplay for Hitchcock’s 1958 classic thriller, Vertigo, starring James Stewart and Kim Novak. The film was released in San Francisco, the main locale of the film, on May 9, 1958, just 12 days before Taylor wrote this letter to Hitchcock. Early reviews were negative, and the film did poorly at the box office. When it opened in Los Angeles in late May, the review was headlined in the Los Angeles Times: “‘Vertigo’ Induces Same in Watcher.” Taylor later wrote a screenplay for Psycho that Hitchcock disliked (the final screenplay was by Joseph Stefano), wrote a draft of Torn Curtain, and wrote the screenplay for Topaz. In fine condition. RRAuction COA.

Auction Info

  • Auction Title:
  • Dates: #344 - Ended April 15, 2009