Impressive archive of material relating to the career of Ann Carter, a child actress best known for her roles in films like The Curse of the Cat People and The Two Mrs. Carrolls. The collection follows Carter’s career on radio, stage, and screen, and is highlighted by the host of autographs she obtained from several of her famous costars, including: a handsome matte-finish 11 x 14 studio portrait of Humphrey Bogart against a dark background, signed and inscribed in fountain pen, “For Ann Carter, a lovely little actress, Humphrey Bogart,” with the reverse bearing a Longworth-Warner Bros. photography stamp; and a pair of beautiful matte-finish 11 x 14 studio portraits of Barbara Stanwyck, both signed and inscribed in fountain pen, with one reading, “To Ann Carter—Many good wishes for my lovely ‘picture step daughter,’ Barbara Stanwyck” and “To Ann Carter, One of the loveliest ‘picture’ daughters I ever had, Fondly, Barbara Stanwyck,” with the latter bearing a John Engstead blindstamp. Also included is a pair of leather-bound autograph books, which Carter had signed by several of her fellow cast members from films like The Two Mrs. Carrolls, The Fabulous Dorseys, and The Virginian; signers of the dark blue autograph book include: Gregory Peck, Elizabeth Taylor, Cary Grant (2), Cedric Hardwicke, Dana Andrews, Ida Lupino, and Ray Milland; autographs in the red leather-bound autograph book include: Nigel Bruce (adding a self-portrait sketch), Barbara Stanwyck, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, and Robert Wise, who directed Carter in The Curse of the Cat People.
The archive also features over 100 vintage glossy and matte-finish publicity stills spanning Carter’s entire filmography, including images of her with Bing Crosby from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court; hundreds of newspaper clippings chronicling her career over the decades; eighteen early movie gossip publications that mention or feature Carter, including: Movie Story Magazine, Liberty, Lawrence Welk, Screen Guide, Parents’ Magazine, Time Magazine, Radio and Television Life, The American Magazine, Screenland, and Screen Romances; complete and partial shooting scripts for the films Blondie Hits the Jackpot (also includes two call sheets), The Two Mrs. Carrolls, A Love Story, Commandos Strike at Dawn, The Virginian, Into the Night, and The North Star (with press book); various interview, commercial, and radio transcripts for “Melody Time”; scripts for her RKO radio show with Debbie Reynolds; a revised script for an episode of the Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy Show; a script for an episode of The Danny Thomas Show; a copy of Pictures of Tomorrow and Directors’ Numbers from September 1947; issue 38 of the 1944 The Players Directory, which shows Carter on page 475; and a collection of scripts for the following stage adaptations: Jane Eyre, Mother Wore Tights, The Green Years, The Perfect Marriage, Prevention Preferred, This Is Hollywood, It’s a Wonderful Life, High Barbaree, Great Expectations, Mad About Music, Daisy Kenyon, Academy Award, Margie, The Yearling, Stars Over Hollywood, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, Milady’s Boudoir, I Remember Mama, and Hollywood Star Time. In overall very good to fine condition. Despite only acting in film for little more than a decade, Carter amassed a remarkable resume that saw her sharing the screen with some of Hollywood's biggest draws. Carter, who likewise enjoyed considerable success starring in many Lux Radio Theatre programs, ultimately left acting due to her polio rehabilitation—she contracted the disease in the summer of 1948—and to continue education on her way to becoming a schoolteacher. The breadth of material found here not only authentically represents the pride felt by Carter’s parents, but also offers a unique glimpse into the busy, no doubt hectic, career of a popular child actress.
